The World According to Me

Choice 3: Where can you cut spending? Clothes and Entertainment.

Spending money on clothes and entertainment is easy for a lot of people. For some, buying clothes is entertainment. Setting a monthly budget for these expenses is a great idea and shouldn’t mean you enjoy life less. When you track your spending as suggested in my first post, make note of those expenses that fall into these two categories. Is it much higher that you thought? Consider how much of your income you want to allocate to these types of expenses.

Need some tips for cutting your entertainment budget?

Eat at home. Make eating out a special treat not a regular occurrence. It is expensive and not a good use of entertainment dollars.

Check out your community listings for inexpensive and free things to do in your city. Check out the local high school and college theatre and music productions. Visit museums and art galleries on their free evenings. Consider season’s passes to a favorite attraction to save money.

Make your own entertainment. Host a pot luck dinner. Start a book, knitting or scrapbook club. Have a friend or family game night. Once you start thinking you will come up with many possibilities.

Wondering how you can reduce what you spend on clothes?

First, shop in your closet. There may be things in there you’ve forgotten about or haven’t worn in awhile. There may be things you can have altered for a new look, like shortening a long skirt. While you are at it, take out the things that you don’t wear, don’t fit or are ready to let go of. Take the better pieces to a consignment store or sell them through an on-line auction site. Donate the rest to a local charity.

Second, explore your local resources. Your community may have thrift stores, outlets and other discount options that will be a source of great lower cost options. Get to know when your favorite stores have their sales and plan your shopping around them.

Third, remember that most of what you are buying is a want. Delay purchases until you’ve had a chance to sleep on it. Do you want it more than you want your goal?