The other day, one of my coworkers complimented me on my shoes. This surprised me since they are a pair of Via Spiga I bought about 8 years ago. I bought them on discount for about $60. They are a classic leather, timeless style with a low 1 inch heel. I took good care of them, and only wear them to work (I had different shoes for dancing ‘til I dropped). I realized the one apparel that managed to stay in my closet no matter what my dress size is my shoes.

Finding a good quality pair of shoe is important. Cheap shoes may look cute, but become unbearably uncomfortable at the end of the day. I had a really cute pair of $15 sandals once that never failed to give me blisters.  I spend more on high quality brands now, but never pay retail prices (I buy them at discount outlets. More on that later). I try on a lot of them before I buy (Comparison Shopping).

Since my shoes tend to stick around for a while, and are seemingly impervious to ‘the bulge’, they seem to be my best bang for the buck clothing item. Those $60 Via Spiga have cost me an average of $7.50 per year.

I follow the one in-one out rule to avoid amassing an Imelda Marcos collection. If I buy a new pair of shoes, I donate an old pair. This keeps me accountable to avoid buying shoes when I don’t really need them. When I look at a really cute pair of shoes, I think about which shoe at home I would have to let go. I don’t go for sales pitches like, "If you don’t buy it now, someone else will". If the shoes are sold, then I get to keep my money for a little while longer. It’s a shoe for crying out loud. If I don’t buy the shoe now, what will be the consequence? There will be other, CUTER, BETTER shoes than the last!

Or I’ll try to find it on Endless.com or Zappos.com.

What other clothing items do you get good utility out of? Quality leather handbags are also timeless and are resistant to the fashion ebb and flow.  As long as they don’t have fringes, ala 1987 Bon Jovi.

How do you know when something is a deal?  When you know what you want, and you know how much you’re willing to pay for it.  Then don’t accept anything less.  Shop around until you find what you want, at the best price possible.

It should not be easy for a salesperson or company to get your money.  They should have to work for it, and I don’t mean just by being knowledgeable about the product (which is a given).  When buying something, your first reaction to the first price should always be no.  If the salesperson is really good, you should feel really excited about it, and ready to buy!  Then say no.  Say thanks and leave.  Go shop somewhere else.  Don’t feel bad.  It’s YOUR money the salesperson wants.  YOUR money you slaved over with impossible deadlines and TPS reports.

This doesn’t mean you need to be a jerk.  Don’t call the other person names.  Don’t insult their intelligence.  Treat them with respect.  Say thank you.  Be nice.  Just be disappointed at the price they give you, no matter what it is.  Be indignant at the price, not the person.  If your salesperson starts insulting or abusing you, leave.

When shopping, always know what it is that you want before you go.  I don’t mean name brand; I mean features.  I don’t buy brand names; I buy what I like.

I recently went shopping for a new pair of sunglasses.  I wanted polarized lenses, nose clips, and a basic rectangular shape that works the best with my face.  Those were must haves.  Nice to haves were photochromatic lens that would adjust to different light levels, and possibly extended side lenses which would be better for bike/sport use.

I shopped at a big name sunglasses dealer and found a pair that I liked, but they were $300.  I’m sure I could have talked myself into it, “Well, I am paying for quality. If you want quality, you have to pay a lot for it”.  Right? 

I walked out and went to Costco the next day.  I found the exact same pair for $105!  I found a pair I liked even better with everything I wanted, even the nice to haves, for $90 after tax. I searched online and the retail price for the sunglasses I bought is $180.

Back when I had a negative net worth in the thousands, I would have paid $15 for a pair from Walgreens.  $15 was what I could afford to pay.  This year, my favorite $30 pair broke, and I had the money set aside in my “free spending” cash account.  I got the best deal for what I wanted, with money left over for the next time.

Do you comparison shop?  Did you get a good deal?

The Sephora Arch Brow kit comes in a leather case with 3 stencils (natural, sophisticate, and glamour), clear mascara, tweezers, and eyebrow powder. I use a dark eyebrow pencil in addition to this. I hold the stencil to my eyebrow, then fill it in with the eyebrow pencil. Tweezing then becomes as simple as plucking outside the eyebrow pencil line.

I’m probably not doing it right – I have no idea what the clear mascara is for. I just read on the Amazon review that it’s supposed to hold your hairs down. I’ve never done this – I just use the eyebrow pencil and fill in the stencil. It works fine for me.

Does it give me the highly stylized brows the eyebrow artiste at the salon used to give me? Definitely not. But it is actually very good, and keeps my brows well maintained and groomed. I’ve been using this for about a year now, and am happy enough with the results. No one has ever commented on my eyebrows looking odd – they don’t seem to notice. I no longer run into panicked accidents that lead to filling in with the eyebrow pencil.

My savings:

$35 eyebrow kit used monthly for a year = $2.91 per month

$28 including tip with salon stylist every other month for a year = $14 per month

In addition to the money savings, my eyebrows are better maintained because I do it monthly with stencils, instead of every other month with the stylist.