It is no secret that many of us (especially women, but not only) can easily waste tons of money on clothes. The old stereotype about letting loose with credit cards certainly didn’t come out of nowhere. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

In fact, there are plenty of things that you can do to reduce your expenditures at the mall and still end up with all the stuff you want. Read on.

Take control of your finances

The first thing you should do – even before you hit the shops! – is take control of your personal finances. This can involve everything from re-thinking your currency-based investments to becoming more savvy about sales. Think about the following points:

• Learn how to budget. You might think, “OH sure, I do that.” But do you know how to really do it effectively? Budgeting effectively means not only tracking all your expenses, but creating categories for expenditures (yes that includes clothes) and really sticking to them. This is an essential part of staying on track.
• Think more carefully about your investments. The world is an unpredictable place, and things like national currencies are becoming volatile in many parts of the world. Have you thought about investing in gold? If you take a look at a xauusd live chart, it gives pretty convincing evidence that you should.
• Try to eliminate expenses that you don’t need. Take a hard look at your subscriptions, luxury purchases, etc. and try to distinguish wants from needs. When you’re done, you can sit back and think about the things you really want

Look for the right sales

Simply looking for any sale anywhere is obviously something you can do, but doing it strategically is much more effective. And sometimes sales take place for reasons that are not particularly appealing. I’m sure we’ve all noticed massive clearance sales, for example, but the sad truth is that those stores often have to clear out the things that nobody wants.

Instead of looking for any floating percentage sign without thought, consider the following ideas:

• Close to end-of-season can be a great time to shop. When stores are starting to run low on a given season’s stock, they start marking prices down. Unless you think that next year’s coat collection is going to be massively different, it pays to look in March.
• Compare discounts at different stores. The world is all about marketplaces these days, so you’re likely to come across the same brands (and probably the same models) in different places. Sales might be radically different depending on who the primary target group of a given mall is.
• If you can, go out of your way geographically. Identical shops might have completely different price ranges if they are located in lower-income areas. It is true that shopping online is increasingly popular, but you shouldn’t neglect brick and mortar altogether (in fact, they say that old-school malls are making a comeback because the kids got lonely online…).

Loyalty programs can be amazing

It might seem like a pain to add more cards to your wallet, and you might think it probably takes forever to really benefit from loyalty programs, but you should rethink these ideas.

For one thing, many programs are digital these days. The only room they take up is a small icon on your phone. Also, there are a lot of different kinds of programs to suit different kinds of shoppers:

• Point-based programs. This can easily get you a freebie or a major discount with every fourth or fifth purchase at your favorite store.
• Tier-based programs. If you’ve got a favorite store, you could get a “gold-level” membership there, which will give you even greater rewards than the majority of customers.
• Value-based programs. If you are interested in sustainability, for example, you could get discounts at environmentally-minded shops. Some stores will reward customers who illustrate responsible behavior in their lives with special offers.

A few smart changes can make a big difference

Ultimately, you would be amazed at how making just a few concerted changes in your approach to shopping and personal finance can ultimately make a huge difference in your personal savings. Spending wisely is about more than simply hunting for every bargain you can find; it is about understanding the larger forces behind price making and capitalizing on the best opportunities. Once you’ve gotten a better hold of this idea, you will find yourself not only saving tons of money, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve gained mastery over the system that tries to control you. Then you can go out and grab that fabulous outfit with pride!

Apart from that, if you are interested to know about “Top 10 Online Shopping Platforms in the UAE” then visit our “Blog” category.