We all have to wear clothes. Whether just for modesty or to keep warm, cool or dry we will always need some. However, they can be really expensive. If we are trying to save up money, repay a loan or simple trying to make it easier to make ends meet, then finding a cheaper source of clothing can be really handy. Luckily there are lots of things that you could try which might reduce the amount of money that you spend on clothing.

Find free clothing

You may be able to find free clothing if you are lucky and want to completely eliminate the cost of clothes. If you look at local social media sites then you may find that there are people giving things away if you can collect them. You might find all sorts of interesting things available and clothing might be one of them. It is good to just keep an eye out as you never know what might appear.

Buy second hand

Buying second hand items is very often cheaper than buying them new. This is not always the case though and so it is important to make sure that you do compare prices and make sure that you really are saving money. Make sure that you look at the quality of the item though as you want to make sure that it is something that will last if you are intending on wearing it a lot. It can be tempting to think that because it is cheaper, this does not matter, but it is wise to still be careful about things like this so that you definitely get good value from the items that you are buying.

Wear out the clothing you have

Often we will buy new clothes before we have worn out other clothing that we have. This can be for a variety of reasons, but it is wise to try to wear those out before buying new. If you cannot fit into the clothes, perhaps they are too big or too small, then look for tips online as to how to alter them. It might be that you can expand waistlines using special tricks or that you can pull them in. If you are bored with them, then you might be able to change them or repurpose them if you are handy. If not then why not try swapping them with your friends and family, seeing if they would want anything of yours in swap for theirs. You might even be able to find some clothes swapping evenings that you can go to where you can take clothing and pick up other things in swap for them. You might even find that if you get all of your clothes out that you find things that you decide you like but you went off for a while that you would be happy to wear again.

Look for sales

Buying in the sales is always a risk. It can be very tempting to buy more than we actually need just because it looks like a good price. Therefore, you have to be really careful when you are shopping like this and make sure that you only buy things that you really need. It can be good to restrict yourself to a budget and a list and to perhaps even only take cash to spend so that you cannot spend more than you can afford. Going with a friend or family member can also be handy, if they are the type of person that will steer you away from making purchases that you do not need or cannot afford. Make sure that you take the right sort of person though; not someone that will encourage you to spend even more!

Set a budget

If you know that you will need new clothing or will want to, then it can be wise to set yourself a budget for spending on clothes. You should be able to calculate how much you can afford by looking at your bank statements. See how much you normally have available each month and this is what you can afford to spend on luxuries such as clothing. If you have nothing left, then look at how much you normally spend on clothing and think about whether you should reduce that to leave room for other spending. There may be other places that you can cut down though which could help free up some money to buy clothing. Once you have established how much you can afford to spend on a monthly basis you will need to note it down. It is important to make sure that you are always of aware of this so that you do not overspend. You might want to change the budget so that it is a certain amount a week to allow you to spend more often or so that you only buy something every few months, so that you have more money available to spend. It is up to you how you do it, you will be best sorting it out so that it works for you and the way that you normally spend money on clothing.