Growing up, sales were THE BEST THING EVER. Heading down to the shops with mum, waiting impatiently in M&S while she tried on half-price cashmere jumpers just so you could drag her along to Topshop to do battle with the other teenage girls for the last pair of ripped denim hotpants that today would struggle to fit over your left nipple? Ah, those were the days.
Today though, sale shopping has become rather a larger affair. Thanks to giant online retail outlets and fast fashion, there are companies with warehouses in suburban towns packed with so much stuff they need to shift that they’ll almost pay* you* to take their endless supply of black strappy tops off their hands. Which works out well for you.
Except, of course, they don’t pay you and every little bit adds up so, come the end of sale season you find yourself with no money and an endless supply of black strappy tops that you almost certainly didn’t need. Here’s how to weather the rest of the sales like a champ.
Go wild on the wishlist
Really, the only way to sort through the mountains of products you’ve got at your fingertips is to run your wishlist stricter than a Victorian workouse. Start big – bring in everything you think looks good, then whittle it down to a deserving few items. Make sure you’re choosing stuff because you like it, and not because you like the model.
There’s one model out there who is personally responsible for me losing over £500 of my own money in my ongoing quest to look like her. Weirdly, because she is 19 and very possibly Swedish, my transformation hasn’t yet come to fruition. Although with the purchase of one more pair of dungarees, I’m always certain it’s not far off.
Give yourself a budget before you get going
And stick to that budget. The reality is that you don’t actually need any of what you’re planning to purchase. Yes, even that basic black polo neck that you’ll wear like ‘all the time’. You’ve lived without it this far and, if necessary, you’ll live without it some more. Once you’ve got your basket at your pre-approved budget, you’re good to go.
Leave it overnight
Really. Truly. Because lots of things seem a good idea when you’re browsing your iPad before bed. Like stalking your ex boyfriend on Facebook, or setting up a blog that you’ll never keep up. The light of day makes things look quite different and, come 8am the next morning, it turns out that yes, that neon pink ball gown was a terrible idea.
Be brutal in your returns
You’ll be tempted to keep things that don’t fit quite right because ah well, they only cost a fiver. However, if you’ll cast your mind back with me to last month, the day before payday when you really wanted to buy a sandwich but didn’t have any money and you realised that five pounds was actually like, a lot of money, you’ll realise how important the returns process is. Do it. Don’t be lazy.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.