Tuesday, January 18, 2011

the shopping dilemma

Normally, as soon as I know my tax refund figures, I start planning a shopping spree.  The once-a-year, big-budget, get-everything-you've-been-complaining-about sort of shopping trip.  Normally, February or March.

So... what to do this year?
Do I spend my full budget on clothes that could very well not fit me by the end of the year?
Do I wait, save the money with the promise of a big 'ole spree after I've lost enough to go down a whole size?  I certainly don't have much that will fit me if I lose more than 15lbs.
Do I buy now, always a size smaller, as incentive?  This worked with a special outfit I bought in 2005. But for a dozens of articles?  Will they even look good on me at a smaller size?  And which size will I be?
Do I just spend all my money on things that won't be affected, like shoes, or fabric to make my own clothes later in the year?
Oh, I got it!  I'm sure to have some friend in my intended size out there; maybe they'll have a really bad year and gain a bunch of weight and then we could swap wardrobes.... Wait, that would be so wrong.

I suppose I could just plan to sell good, larger clothing on ebay, though I'm not too comfortable with that process, and I would still be out some money on the deal.  I already plan to donate the more worn items to goodwill.  Any other advice/suggestions?


Have you faced this issue before? How did you handle it?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl


  

4 comments:

  1. Maybe set well-defined goals. i.e Once you lose one size, spend 30% of your refund on clothes. When you lose another size, spend 40%.

    I always think buying clothes you intend to fit into is a dangerous game, you have no way of knowing if it will be cut right for you. And augmenting a wardrobe you hope to be eliminating doesn't make much sense either.

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  2. Save it! You'll need it when you lose it. I would not by the smaller size now, though. I agree with konakat, that's a dangerous game.

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  3. I would wait on the clothes. If you really, really need something now, perhaps you could find gently used or new item(s) on ebay to hold you over.

    Or if you find patterns and fabric to sew clothes that you would be comfortable altering later.

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  4. Oh, don't buy a bunch of too small clothes now... you don't know how they will fit you, and the fun of having a smaller body is getting to try on all the clothes :) Save at least part of it. Though it's ok to splurge on a little something, and having one or two "incentive" pieces won't hurt.

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