Will A Clothes-Buying Ban Really Save You Money?

Clothes-buying bans seem to be all the rage in the personal finance blogosphere these days. There are people going for years without purchasing a single stitch of clothing and raving about the financial and emotional benefits. With all the buzz, you’re likely sitting there wondering why the heck you haven’t started your own clothes-buying ban yet. If that’s true, check out the 5 questions you need to ask yourself before embarking on such a frugal venture. Here we go!

It’s been quite some time since I wrote an update on my own clothes-buying ban. And there’s a reason for that. But, we’ll get to that later. For now, let’s recap.

You see, I implemented my shopping ban over 2 years ago after following other bloggers deep in the throws of their bans. Everyone was bragging about all the benefits so I figured I couldn’t possibly go wrong. One of the biggest reasons I was drawn to the idea was the fact I had a closet full of clothes. In fact, I had so many clothes that I was convinced I could probably go a decade without buying another shirt or pair of jeans.

At first, I thought it was one of the greatest frugal things I had ever done. I was even going strong after a full year and decided to extend my penny-pinching ways another year when I reached my anniversary date. But then something happened. The clothes-buying ban started to not be fun anymore.

I grew increasingly irritated that I was wearing the same 2 pairs of boots every day and using super glue to fix them every few months. When it rained my socks would get wet. On top of that, my good pair of sneakers had holes in the mesh and my socks would poke through. I had to intentionally wear colored socks to match my sneakers so it wasn’t as noticeable. I mean, c’mon.

I’m not saying it wasn’t fun in the beginning or that I didn’t save any money during my nearly 2-year-long stint of not buying any clothes; what I am saying is that it might not be the frugal bang you’re hoping for. So, before you embark on your own shopping ban, ask yourself these 5 questions first!

5 Questions To Ask Before Starting A Clothes-Buying Ban

The Joys Of Selective Frugality

I’m all for frugality, but these days I tend to embrace selective frugality over extreme frugality. Life is too short to walk around in wet socks. After all, I have worked hard in my life. I earn a decent living at my day job and from this blog…so why was I forbidding myself from spending money on new shoes when I actually NEEDED them?

I didn’t have a good answer to that question. And because I didn’t have a good answer, I knew what I had to do. It was time for my clothes-buying ban to end. So end it did…with a not-so-frugal bang.

Other articles you might enjoy:

• Give Up Clothes And Save Cash
• The Empress Has No Clothes: Year Two Of My Clothes-Buying Ban
• What To Do When You Realize Frugality Won’t Make You Rich
• 11 Easy Money Lessons You Need To Learn To Be Rich
• 5 Reasons You Need To Track Your Net Worth To Build Wealth

Why I Ended My Clothes-Buying Ban With A Shopping Spree

Remember when I said I had so many clothes that I could probably go a decade without buying anything else? Well, during the course of my ban, I realized that a big chunk of the clothes filling up my closet either didn’t fit, were outdated, or weren’t the right style for the image I wanted to portray.

Because I’m still working in a professional office for my day job, I want to look a certain way and be perceived a certain way. Like many of you know, the way you dress carries a lot of weight in a professional career.

I’m sorry, but walking around the office in boots that were super-glued together and a dress that I bought at a thrift store in college was not the image I wanted to be known for. I wanted to look nice at work. It has been proven that dressing well affects your entire attitude. When I ended my ban, I finally got to experience that first hand.

I waited for the outlets near my house to start marking down their inventory for the change of season before I rushed out to update my wardrobe and buy boots without holes. When the prices dropped I hit the outlets running.

And when I walked back into work the following Monday morning, I felt fabulous. I knew I was carrying myself differently and I even experienced an uptick in productivity.

I couldn’t believe how much a few new outfits could affect my outlook and mental wellbeing. There was a literal spring in my step…and I felt better about myself, too. It was amazing.

Will A Clothes-Buying Ban Really Save You Money?

Here’s the million dollar question. Will a shopping ban save you money?  Well, I think the answer is…maybe. If you’re the type of person who loves shopping for the sake of shopping, then I think a clothes-buying ban will do wonders for your budget and long-term financial health.

However, if you’re the type of person who is naturally frugal and thinks long and hard before spending money on anything, including clothes, then a clothes-buying ban probably isn’t necessary and won’t yield significant financial results.

Bottom line: If you’re already responsible with your purchases, there is no need to walk around in wet socks when it rains. The only thing you’ll be doing with a ban is delaying the inevitable.

Now, you might be wondering if it saved me money. To be honest, I’m not sure it saved me a bunch. Because I had already embraced frugality, I wasn’t buying new clothes every weekend or going on shopping sprees with the girls anyway. I was being thoughtful about my purchases.

In the end, if my clothes-buying ban saved me money, it was minimal and certainly not the Big Frugal Win I had hoped for. I’m not saying I’ll never do another clothes-buying ban, but next time around I’ll have more reasonable expectations.

Have you ever tried a clothes-buying ban? If so, was it worth it in the end?