We all love fashion, whether you consider yourself at the forefront of it all or just following your own style. However it can be an expensive hobby to have especially when times are hard as they are now, in our lovely double dip recession! I think everyone is once again feeling the pinch. Here's how I make my pound go a bit further...
Firstly, whenever I'm buying anything online, I not only shop around but I also check for vouchers or discount codes that I can use to weedle a little more out of the shops pocket and back into mine. My favourite sites include
FashionVouchers and
MyVoucherCodes - both sites where you can search for the shop you're buying from and (hopefully) find some money off or free delivery codes. Fantastic when you're on a budget and worth the occasional frustration of only finding expired ones!
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| Not the only voucher website around, but one of the most reliable for sure! |
Secondly, I'm a massive advocate of using the internet to work for you. This is my biggest tip - but it's important to be realistic about it. It's unlikely that anyone will ever make thousands on the internet for doing very little, but there are a lot of websites out there that you can utilise to your advantage. Some of them take a lot of effort (consumer lead review writing websites such as
DooYoo or
Ciao!) but are give you Amazon vouchers and cash of varying amounts; and some (such as survey sites like
Toluna or pay per click sites such as
Swagbucks) take a little less time to get the same results, but can be incredibly boring! None the less, they're invaluable money makers for me; I average around £20 a month in Amazon vouchers on sites like this when I'm not trying properly. A word of warning though - make sure you google and research thoroughly sites like this, as not only will you find opinions of them (good and bad) but also you'll be able to help others out by finding referral links and help about how to use them to the best effect. I love Swagbucks and DooYoo and am desperate to get a referral to
Pinecone Research, a site that gives you surveys to take in return for luncheon vouchers or paypal money. I could probably write a whole blog post on this topic if enough people wanted it; let me know in the comments!
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| Collect swag is fun and easy; it definitely pays off! |
Why spend money you don't have on clothes when you can customise your own for free or very little initial outlay? Revamping old clothes into something that looks completely different is very chic and yields a totally unique result, which is both a talking point and a money saving must! Blogs such as
Recycled Fashion promote the idea that clothing can easily be made into something unique, fun and new with just a few stitches and a little bit of dedication. Unfortunately I have not been blessed with a sewing instinct (unlike my mum and sister, who can sew amazingly well) but not all projects require deft skill with a needle; in fact some of the most effect customization methods require just some scissors and courage to go at your clothes!
If you can't bear to cut up your old clothes, then you can always swap them for something you do want!
Big Wardrobe is a website set up solely for the purpose of swapping things (of course, you can buy and sell on there as well too, but we're aiming for money saving here!) with other fashion lovers. You can also find swap rings on facebook and tumblr; I'm part of one for nail varnish. I have yet to swap anything but I'm always keeping my eyes peeled! It's a wonderful way to make sure that your underloved items see the light of day. One man's muck is another mans treasure!
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| Swap, buy and sell all different types of item, from brand new to vintage! |
I hope this gives you a few ideas as to how to spread your money about a bit more; it's possible to have nice things on a budget if you're wise about it! This post is an entry into
Fashion Vouchers blogger competition; comment and let me know what you think - are you going to enter, do you like my tips, what do you do to save money?
