Budget

[Tat]

Out of curiosity, what is everyone's monthly budget on their wardrobe?

We often read posts that talk about our budget, or having to wait till next month to purchase an item.


I'll start by saying that I usually set my budget around 150$ a month. Which really isn't too high, but that allows me to purchase only necessities. Of course I can always warrant a pricier purchase if I really do need something. And then there are some months I don't even get close to reaching the threshold I've set.

[jason_carreira]

Depends on how things are selling on eBay

[alan]

Prior to a month ago, our clothing budget was $0 (and we actually kept to it). With the new year, my wife and I each have a monthly budget of $50 for clothes. We based that on our recent wardrobe refreshes of about $600 each. We just used that figure to estimate $50 per month across the coming year.


In addition, we each have "personal" budgets of $100 per month (which we can use on clothes, bar tabs, golf, etc). We can use it on whatever we want, but for me that may be more and more on clothes.


Of course, we commonly add clothing store gift cards to our b-day and Christmas wish lists so that helps. She's much better about sticking to budgets than I am (clothing or otherwise), but we're still in the black and we set savings aside each month before we ever spend a dime.


If there are clothing emergencies, exceptions can be made. Case in point - I had ALL of my coats and suit jackets in the truck when it was broken into this past spring and they took EVERYTHING. I had an upcoming MBA interview so I had to go buy another suit, and that was considered more of an emergency expense that a clothing expense.

[hornsup84]

Don't have a set budget for clothes (or anything really), other than trying to keep food/booze costs at a certain amount. I'll not give specifics so people don't get angry at me, but I'm in NYC so things cost a bit more, not to mention with my job it isn't often that I find time to cook. For clothes, I do more of a "feel" thing. Mint tells me I spent approx $300 per month last year on clothes, although I did go overboard last year with casual clothes and dress shirts, and also bought a few pairs of brand new dress shoes, etc.

[nicholascrawford]

For us, her idea of a spending freeze is my idea of a spending spree.


In the last several months, I've spent a lot to get out of the woods from a wardrobe perspective, spending about $2000. I will probably continue at about $200/month for a while longer until I have a solid array of mix and match shirts, pants, and sportcoats plus a suit or two more. Then...we'll see if stay on as a clothes addict or be satisfied with what I've got.


Depends on the income too. We both own our own businesses, and we're doing well these last several years. If that continues, it makes spending money a helluva lot easier. Still, the well could dry up, and I'll be thankful that I've found versatile clothes that will sustain me through a spending austerity cut.

[JAB]

I'm in a nice situation having graduated college last year and found a good job right out of school. That being said, I have been spending more money lately on transitioning my wardrobe from poor college student to young business professional. Not having many other expenses at this point I'd say I've spent around $3,000 in the last year on clothing/footwear/accessories. Once I have an established style I think about $100 dollars a month is reasonable to spend on clothing, at least that's what I plan to do.

[jessy_diamond]

I'm not really sticking to a strict budget. I'm only starting my style upgrade, so right now, about everything I can save is going on clothes. I still need a few shoes, chinos, shirts and jackets. Next step will be saving my money for a few months, then buy suits or watches.


When my wardrobe will be satisfying, I'll probably just stop spending on clothes, with a few splurges from time to time or to replace/repair a worn out item.

[LesserBlackDog]

I don't have a budget per se. I have no income (law student) at the moment but I'm sitting on a bunch of savings that covers all my non-tuition expenses, including clothes. So basically I am just keeping an eye on that total and making sure I'll have enough to keep going until I'm done and HOPEFULLY get a job when I graduate next year. *fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc*

[Zack Malibu]

I don't have a particular budget (and as previously mentioned by others, it also depends on how my ebay sales are doing at any given time). I'm in a somewhat similar situation to nicholascrawford in that I've been (and continue to) purge a lot of my wardrobe, ridding myself of the trendy and unworn spacehoggers in favor of better quality and long lasting purchases. I have a double wide closet in my apartment that was literally wall to wall full, and I've taken easily 50%-60% out of it and am unloading the haul as we speak. I do my best to stick to sales and "necessary" purchases these days, as in the past I was apt to buy things that stood out just for the sake of it (not caring that in another year or two, no one would wear anything like it).

[trash]

I spent a lot last year because it was when I was just getting started revamping my wardrobe, so I spent a lot, but going forward I think $100/month on average is plausible, but I'm not sure it'll even get that high given how much stuff I already have.

[greg_s]

I don't have a lot of life expenses outside of the usual rent, utilities (no wife, no kids, no house, etc). That being said, my income isn't huge and is about to drop dramatically when I enter grad school. I shop on an item-by-item basis rather than a budget. I want a nice portfolio bag, the cost is greater than what I should spend in a month on apparel, so I will set aside the $ as I need to and not buy other things until I buy that. That being said, if I don't have a lot of going out expenses, etc (tends to be a lot at age 25) then may just buy it.

[Zack Malibu]

Re: going out expenses. I'm 31, so the excessive party scene is sort of behind me at this point. I'm more apt to go to a bar/pub than to some random rave. I'm in the same boat (single, no steady g/f or wife, no kids) with a decent middle-class job, but I try to cut back on spending as much as possible just due to the way of the world. Hence why I'm looking to invest in a wardrobe (standards, good quality, with a few things that "pop" thrown in) rather than have a closet full of the latest fad and trend which will vanish in 3 months and require me to start all over.


I don't know about you, but i don't have any roommates, so half the time rather than go out, I'll just throw a theme party/game night/etc. Some type of occasion to enjoy a few drinks and each other's company, and it doesn't cost nearly as much as it would if you had to pick up a tab downtown somewhere.

[LesserBlackDog]

Hmm... maybe that's my justification for spending money on clothes. "Well, I never go out, so I've got all this *extra* money lying around...."

[alan]

Well just today, my wife accepted a job offer where she'll be making 20% less. So we're going to have to re-evaluate a number of budget line items.

[Zack Malibu]

@BenR, that's pretty much exactly my way of thinking.