What I Would Do With a Greater Budget

TBT follow-up to yesterday’s post about auditing my wardrobe investment.

Shop Fall’s Coolest Trends from this Season’s Hottest Beats at macys.com at macys.com! Offer valid 9/4-10/31

Sometimes I worry that you all think I am so frugal I am not fun. Or that you think that I think everyone should be as frugal as I am. Or that someday I’ll no longer have to be so frugal, and then maybe I’ll forget what it was like. I certainly hope not!

So I thought I’d give you a peek into what would change and what wouldn’t change with my shopping habits, if I had a larger budget. As it is now, I don’t spend all the money available to me in the clothing category. The reason? I’m trying to save enough to go furniture shopping. Usually I end up spending my extra on a gift for someone. (That’s fun too.)

What would change is that I would feel free to go into any respectable store and buy anything I needed that was reasonably priced. I would still do the same deliberate, sequential wardrobe planning that I do now. But the acquisition of each necessary garment would be quicker. Every few months I would hit the upscale mall, pay for parking, and buy what I needed.

Maybe I’d even go with a friend. Any takers?

Follow up comment (9/4/2014): I cannot over-emphasize the importance of planning, though. This is not high school! (I am yelling at myself, here, in the nicest possible way.) While leaving oneself open to possibility is certainly important, I have to own up to the reality that I am a long way from being able to make a snap buying decision without knowing exactly what I need. And, I discovered today, I feel guilty insincere when I try on clothes in the nice stores where they actually help you and then run out of time or decisiveness and don’t buy anything. The end.

6 thoughts on “What I Would Do With a Greater Budget”

  1. Now, Rebecca, I have a mall with a Neiman’s, a Chanel boutique,a Burberry store, and a dozen other true designer (as defined by this: everyone has heard of them) boutiques and parking is free, so I think you should check into the paid parking thing and perhaps even start a protest/petition/or something along those lines; after all, you do have your rights. Of course, you can have valet parking at all of our malls here in Dallas. I think you should work it into your budget to come to Dallas (the city that has the distinction of having the highest square foot shopping space per person ratio and the oldest shopping center in the United States)for a week, shop everyday at a different mall, and then write a book all about it. What do you think?

    Susan, who has no intention of paying to park in order to shop!

  2. Of course the parking is free if the stores are that expensive! I don’t know if you remember, Susan, but the parking structure here has already been a big political stink. I think I’ll save my energy and my cheerful attitude by staying out of that one.

    Isn’t tipping the valet something like paying for parking?

    Pondering the idea of your proposal is a true chicken-and-egg scenario (unlike the original chicken and egg which is very clearly spelled out). It seems I would need the income from the book to be able to afford the trip. Perhaps you could convince someone to give me an advance.

    Rebecca, who would gladly pay for parking in order to have someone else drive.

  3. Pingback: The Space Between My Peers » An Outfit a Month

  4. Pingback: The Space Between My Peers » Where Would You Shop?

Leave a Reply to Susan Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.