How many of you buy thing online? I normally buy makeup, beads for making earrings and craft related products for my cards.
I know a lot of people buy clothes online but not for me because I don't want to waste money if I have bought and can't fit. In the past, I used to but I'm not always so lucky. I'm only lucky if someone gives them away or sell it for less if they can't fit it..heh.
Normally I keep to a very small budget if I were to buy things online because you can go crazy if you don't put a cap on it. Ever happen to you before right? Ha! I knew it.
Nowadays I don't always keep tab of how much balance I have because whatever money I hold, they're not meant to be hold forever..haha. I mean, yeah it will be good to have some money until my next pay day and there were days that I had to loan money from friends and relatives in order to survive until my next pay day and that is sad but I had no other choice.
This month, I've got a pay raise, a mid year bonus which actually isn't that much at 0.3% but you know me, I'm thankful for any money that goes my way..ha! To cap it off, on 1st of August, the government will be giving people like me whose valuations is less than $24k in a year a sum of money which equates to $250. It's called GST voucher. But to me it is called 'free money'..heh.
I didn't expect to get because during the budget announcement, they were mentioning about helping the lower income people like really lower income people who are barely surviving and yet have to work so hard to earn their keeps such as cleaners and contract workers. I mean I'm fine with that because even with my pay I'm struggling and I don't know those people earning even lesser and have bigger family to support. There are even those with smaller children and then only one of them is working, usually the husband because the wife will be busy taking care of the children because they can't afford childcare services.
This time round, I have lesser to spend after I've paid my dues but luckily, I don't have mere dollars left after deductions. After giving my mum some money, and paying off my loans, I still have about half less and while I used to be so calculative in how much money I have left, now I concentrate on limiting myself to a certain budget and trying my best to stick to it. Reason being, no point I always keep tabs of how much I have because somehow, somebody will chase me for money down the road or there are simply things that I just have to buy. Sigh, always happen.
Then I also learn to be thankful in a way that I MUST tell myself that I have more than enough money. I must learn to practise gratitude. I know I can get over this hiccup of credit card bills, I know I will. I just have to learn to be mindful of the things I buy.
I think one of the things I can share in regards to ensuring you spend only on those things that you need is to make a list of what you need. It's really easy to just buy buy and buy because everything looks so nice. It is also useful to have a budget and I don't mean a big one and just work it out from there and stick to it as far as possible.
For example for me, I will say that I have a budget of between $10 and $15 if I were to buy craft items for my cardmaking. I definitely will try my best to stick to it which trust me, it isn't easy because everything is so pretty!!! So at times, I will make use of my brain cells to seriously see what I need and what I don't need. It's a painful process but someone gotta do it, haha. I always manage to stick to it. Usually, I would get it within $10++ only. And oh yes, the best thing to do is to...wait for the sales where they will give you discounts and I love it! Why? These craft items are not cheap. Actually if you can replicate some of the items, it's best you can. They make it more unique as well coz it's so YOU.
Actually more useful if you can join forums or if you know anyone who is into similar hobbies as yours and are pretty 'hardcore' about them because chances are, they know their sources. Watching youtube videos by locals and also reading local blogs, can help you get in touch with obscure sources that only those in the inner circle will know and are kind enough to share with you.
And most of them are really nice. It's like a mini family due to the similar interests shown.
This is the same for both my groups for make up and crafts. If lucky, we can get RAK or random act of kindness from someone who simply have too many in their stash and would just like to clear them and not make money out of it. There are such people you know! Of course not everybody gets a chance at this RAK. I got mine today when I posted on the facebook group saying I need buttons for my cardmaking and someone showed me her collection and she would give some of hers.
So nice right?!
For those makeup lovers like me, it's not wrong to get our hands on the latest make up range by the higher end brand. But! But! We must be careful with our choice. One tip is to see what you already have such as the shades. I realized that many girls usually buy and buy and then realize they have duplicates.
Same as clothes too. When we accumulate, we don't realize we have similar ones or even the same exact thing. Even if you try to sell them away, unlikely we will sell it at full price if our aim is to get rid of the extras so in a way we still lose some money.
For higher end brands, my logic is that you should get them when you are a true make up lover, make up artist and you will really really use them. Oh, and then once you get them, you should cut down on buying the drug store brands. Why? While many drugstore brands are putting in more research into their brands making their range just as good or comparable to the higher ends one, but at a lesser price, the price and quality of one high end brand may match a group of drugstore products of similar kind. It's also a way to save on cost while trying to justify that you need that high end product because you can get more mileage out of it and also have better product quality.
The concept is similar to buying one designer bag and you don't need to buy these other bags selling way way lesser than the bag and usually this designer bag can be used for more number of years. Plus if you get one that is easily matched and can be used through the various seasons, even better. For make up, try to get shades especially that of a higher brand, try to get the shade that will ensure you use frequently and can be matched with other shades easily. Or get a shade that is pretty, neutral and can be used without that 'shocking' effect like perhaps a shocking pink which may not be suitable for every outfit and occasion.
I know of some women as well who have no qualms in buying a pair of shoes on sale from those shops that seem to be everywhere like Charles and Keith but is willing to splurge a bit more handbags. There are others who will do the vice versa. It's a matter of preference. You don't have to splurge on everything.
The best tip I can give is that you can wear in non designer clothes or accessorize with a non designer bags but if you don't know how to rock it, the brand doesn't matter. You must learn to love what you wear even it's quirky and not in season. With this thought, you can choose well cut clothes that suit you and can be easily mixed and matched.
Make up wise, try as much as possible to not pay in full retail price. Every now and then, they will have some kind of sales such as those one week deals. There also available sources online which you can get at even better price. For the high end brands, this will take a longer time but I think the best time to buy them is to buy during the Christmas seasons. Often they have limited edition palettes or those set pieces that cost lesser than if you were to buy them individually. If you also know of 'inside people' they can help buy for you things during closed door sales of past season items for less! Seriously if they're on you, nobody will care which season it's from unless it's those irritating punks who like to play guess what season is this.
You also can be very selective in the shades that you are buying. Don't get those OTT shades that you will only hardly wear like seriously what's the point. This applies for both drugstore and high end brand. Get neutral or pretty shades that you will definitely use. Normally I get only one or two shades from a range.
Whatever it is, don't be like this woman..
While we don't have to keep track and eyeball every single cent because it can be SOOOO stressful, we can ensure we are careful with out spending and to stick to a budget as far as possible. Over time it will get easier and you will truly know the meaning of you having more than enough money :)
I make cards..help support me! http://www.facebook.com/mylittlecardshop
I know a lot of people buy clothes online but not for me because I don't want to waste money if I have bought and can't fit. In the past, I used to but I'm not always so lucky. I'm only lucky if someone gives them away or sell it for less if they can't fit it..heh.
Normally I keep to a very small budget if I were to buy things online because you can go crazy if you don't put a cap on it. Ever happen to you before right? Ha! I knew it.
Nowadays I don't always keep tab of how much balance I have because whatever money I hold, they're not meant to be hold forever..haha. I mean, yeah it will be good to have some money until my next pay day and there were days that I had to loan money from friends and relatives in order to survive until my next pay day and that is sad but I had no other choice.
This month, I've got a pay raise, a mid year bonus which actually isn't that much at 0.3% but you know me, I'm thankful for any money that goes my way..ha! To cap it off, on 1st of August, the government will be giving people like me whose valuations is less than $24k in a year a sum of money which equates to $250. It's called GST voucher. But to me it is called 'free money'..heh.
I didn't expect to get because during the budget announcement, they were mentioning about helping the lower income people like really lower income people who are barely surviving and yet have to work so hard to earn their keeps such as cleaners and contract workers. I mean I'm fine with that because even with my pay I'm struggling and I don't know those people earning even lesser and have bigger family to support. There are even those with smaller children and then only one of them is working, usually the husband because the wife will be busy taking care of the children because they can't afford childcare services.
This time round, I have lesser to spend after I've paid my dues but luckily, I don't have mere dollars left after deductions. After giving my mum some money, and paying off my loans, I still have about half less and while I used to be so calculative in how much money I have left, now I concentrate on limiting myself to a certain budget and trying my best to stick to it. Reason being, no point I always keep tabs of how much I have because somehow, somebody will chase me for money down the road or there are simply things that I just have to buy. Sigh, always happen.
Then I also learn to be thankful in a way that I MUST tell myself that I have more than enough money. I must learn to practise gratitude. I know I can get over this hiccup of credit card bills, I know I will. I just have to learn to be mindful of the things I buy.
I think one of the things I can share in regards to ensuring you spend only on those things that you need is to make a list of what you need. It's really easy to just buy buy and buy because everything looks so nice. It is also useful to have a budget and I don't mean a big one and just work it out from there and stick to it as far as possible.
For example for me, I will say that I have a budget of between $10 and $15 if I were to buy craft items for my cardmaking. I definitely will try my best to stick to it which trust me, it isn't easy because everything is so pretty!!! So at times, I will make use of my brain cells to seriously see what I need and what I don't need. It's a painful process but someone gotta do it, haha. I always manage to stick to it. Usually, I would get it within $10++ only. And oh yes, the best thing to do is to...wait for the sales where they will give you discounts and I love it! Why? These craft items are not cheap. Actually if you can replicate some of the items, it's best you can. They make it more unique as well coz it's so YOU.
Actually more useful if you can join forums or if you know anyone who is into similar hobbies as yours and are pretty 'hardcore' about them because chances are, they know their sources. Watching youtube videos by locals and also reading local blogs, can help you get in touch with obscure sources that only those in the inner circle will know and are kind enough to share with you.
And most of them are really nice. It's like a mini family due to the similar interests shown.
This is the same for both my groups for make up and crafts. If lucky, we can get RAK or random act of kindness from someone who simply have too many in their stash and would just like to clear them and not make money out of it. There are such people you know! Of course not everybody gets a chance at this RAK. I got mine today when I posted on the facebook group saying I need buttons for my cardmaking and someone showed me her collection and she would give some of hers.
So nice right?!
For those makeup lovers like me, it's not wrong to get our hands on the latest make up range by the higher end brand. But! But! We must be careful with our choice. One tip is to see what you already have such as the shades. I realized that many girls usually buy and buy and then realize they have duplicates.
Same as clothes too. When we accumulate, we don't realize we have similar ones or even the same exact thing. Even if you try to sell them away, unlikely we will sell it at full price if our aim is to get rid of the extras so in a way we still lose some money.
For higher end brands, my logic is that you should get them when you are a true make up lover, make up artist and you will really really use them. Oh, and then once you get them, you should cut down on buying the drug store brands. Why? While many drugstore brands are putting in more research into their brands making their range just as good or comparable to the higher ends one, but at a lesser price, the price and quality of one high end brand may match a group of drugstore products of similar kind. It's also a way to save on cost while trying to justify that you need that high end product because you can get more mileage out of it and also have better product quality.
The concept is similar to buying one designer bag and you don't need to buy these other bags selling way way lesser than the bag and usually this designer bag can be used for more number of years. Plus if you get one that is easily matched and can be used through the various seasons, even better. For make up, try to get shades especially that of a higher brand, try to get the shade that will ensure you use frequently and can be matched with other shades easily. Or get a shade that is pretty, neutral and can be used without that 'shocking' effect like perhaps a shocking pink which may not be suitable for every outfit and occasion.
I know of some women as well who have no qualms in buying a pair of shoes on sale from those shops that seem to be everywhere like Charles and Keith but is willing to splurge a bit more handbags. There are others who will do the vice versa. It's a matter of preference. You don't have to splurge on everything.
The best tip I can give is that you can wear in non designer clothes or accessorize with a non designer bags but if you don't know how to rock it, the brand doesn't matter. You must learn to love what you wear even it's quirky and not in season. With this thought, you can choose well cut clothes that suit you and can be easily mixed and matched.
Make up wise, try as much as possible to not pay in full retail price. Every now and then, they will have some kind of sales such as those one week deals. There also available sources online which you can get at even better price. For the high end brands, this will take a longer time but I think the best time to buy them is to buy during the Christmas seasons. Often they have limited edition palettes or those set pieces that cost lesser than if you were to buy them individually. If you also know of 'inside people' they can help buy for you things during closed door sales of past season items for less! Seriously if they're on you, nobody will care which season it's from unless it's those irritating punks who like to play guess what season is this.
You also can be very selective in the shades that you are buying. Don't get those OTT shades that you will only hardly wear like seriously what's the point. This applies for both drugstore and high end brand. Get neutral or pretty shades that you will definitely use. Normally I get only one or two shades from a range.
Whatever it is, don't be like this woman..
While we don't have to keep track and eyeball every single cent because it can be SOOOO stressful, we can ensure we are careful with out spending and to stick to a budget as far as possible. Over time it will get easier and you will truly know the meaning of you having more than enough money :)
I make cards..help support me! http://www.facebook.com/mylittlecardshop
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