10 Secrets to Buying Clothes on a Budget

When it comes to the fashion world, having the latest and trendiest brands can put a pretty big burden on your wallet. However, it doesn’t need to be this way if you’re frugal about your spending. No matter which brand you’re looking for, here are 10 tips you may want to consider to spend considerably less on your next clothing purchase:

Secrets to Buying Clothes

Secrets to Buying Clothes

1. Count on sales notifications

With modern e-commerce, you can set up push messages and notifications that inform you whenever your favorite products are on sale. This way, whenever something you want is at a price you want, you can receive a notification on your phone or an alert sent to your email. The popular Chrome plugin Shoptagr, for example, lets you pin an item, and when it drops to a certain price, you will receive an alert.

2. Request inventory schedules

Become buddies with your local store’s manager and ask when their new products are arriving. This is usually the time when items in the past inventory are put on sale at cheaper prices to quickly fetch profit since the stock money has already been generated. For example, for kids shopping click here, get discounts, request inventory schedules, and save big money on your child’s clothes.

3. Consider the eBay save search

The eBay save search feature is a way to ensure you do not miss on the next big sale. If you have something in mind, simply search it on eBay and then click on the “save search” as the option to receive an email when the product is listed or available at a price you want.

4. Look for coupon codes

Coupons and promo codes are perfect ways to get discounts of up to 50% at many various retailers. Different stores offer coupon codes and you can always search promos for a particular product or retail outlet on popular websites like RetailMeNot.com or via a simple Google search. If searching via Google, however, always make sure you filter your results and look at results that were done within the past week. This will help you avoid finding expiring coupons. You can also Chrome extensions such as Honey, an extension that notifies you if the retailer you’re currently visiting has an offer available.

5. Amex sync social deals

When you link your American Express card with your Facebook, Twitter, and/or Foursquare accounts, you can get attractive deals of up to $10+ in exchange for sharing posts, liking a page, or simply activating the deal. It will also alert you when a retailer you like is offering a special promotion. Your deals will be automatically credited to your American Express card the next time you go out shopping at that retailer and use your card.

6. Shop during the offseason

Instead of shopping for coats and jackets during winter, do this during the summer and vice versa. Shopping during the offseason is a basic yet very effective way of dropping the cost and slicing your budget. Although it may not be fun buying something like a swimsuit in September when no one is going out to swim, it will save you enough to pay for the best brands during the next swimming season.

7. Subscribe to a newsletter for the store

Subscribing to the store’s newsletter is also another way of cutting down costs. Stores are known to attract newsletter subscribers with promo codes and shopping deals that you can use. Oftentimes, these coupon codes will be exclusive to your email and can save you quite a bit. Since some stores can get out of hand with their emails, consider setting up filters and having all of your store emails sent to a certain e-mail folder when they come in.

8. Get Cashback

Popular websites such as Swagbucks allow you to get as much as 20%+ cash back just for doing your shopping.  All you have to do is click the special Swagbucks link, do your normal shopping and the company will credit your account.  You can either download the official website extension or you can use their search feature on the official website before making a purchase.  Try to make it a habit of doing so because you would be quite surprised at how many retailers offer cashback.  Here’s a Swagbucks review I found online if you’re interested in learning more about it.

9. Comparison shop

Websites like Shopstyle allow you to search for popular brands you like to help you save money.  If you had your heart set on a particular item, you simply search the outfit and the search engine shows you which retailer has it for the lowest cost.

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10. Abandon your cart

If you really want something at a certain store, create an account if you haven’t done so already and put some items in your cart.  The key here is to avoid purchasing it and let it sit there for 24 hours because some companies will send you an automated email asking you why you didn’t purchase it yet, and most of the time, they will try to sway you with a special coupon code.