Saving Money & Wasting Less

Lesson 5: Getting around

Saving on clothes and phones

Clothes can be another huge drain on finances, especially if you try to keep up with the latest fashions. As mentioned elsewhere in this course, style lasts, fashions don't, so always try to select stylish, well made clothes rather than bobbing in the sea of fashion.

Try to find clothes you can mix and match, so you can have a wardrobe that appears to be extensive, with relatively few items. If everything in your wardrobe goes with everything else, you will have endless possibilities. Scarves, belts, and other accessories can also help extend your wardrobe options without buying more clothes.

If you stick to a lot of basic colours such as grey and black, with a few brightly coloured items (blouses, scarves, shirts or ties), also makes your wardrobe more flexible. And flexibility is one of the keys to saving money on clothes.

If you have access to a second-hand, 'pre-loved', 'recycled' clothes shop or charity 'op' shop where you live, it is worth looking there first when you need to buy clothes. Many charity shops receive new clothes from retail stores, particularly when the seasons change and the stores re-stock with the new-season's clothes.

In recent expeditions to my local charity shops I found a brand new pair of Italian leather shoes, a new two-piece suit, and several brand new blouses. These shops also contain a lot of worn-out old junk clothes, but if you make the time to look, you can find real bargains on new, or almost new, good quality clothes.

A sewing machine is a good purchase, and/or some sewing materials such as threads and needles. You don't need anything fancy or expensive, and a good second hand one will do well (as long as it works). Many people throw clothes out for silly reasons: the hem has come undone, the zip is broken, or the buttons have come off. If you have a sewing machine and materials, fixing these things is easy, quick, and can save you a fortune by repairing your clothes instead of replacing them (remember the four Rs of an earlier lesson?).

If you have a sewing machine, you can also make things like curtains (drapes), pillow cases, pyjamas, underwear and so on, even if you have only very basic skills. Not only is it fun to make your own clothes, it gives you a sense of self-reliance and control over the quality of the things you wear. If you enjoy sewing, it may be worth doing some courses or finding a sewing book, because you can save an enormous amount of money if you can make your own clothes (especially if you can make them well enough for the clothes to look professional and not 'home-made').

Saving on phones
Many people waste a fortune on phones and mobile (cell) phones. (I had a next door neighbour who used to phone me to see if I was in instead of walking round to my front door and knocking on it!) If a person you call regularly lives within walking distance, why use the phone? Ask them first if they mind if you just drop by when you want to see them, instead of phoning first. Most people actually prefer a face-to-face chat anyway.

Answering machines cost you money because you have to call people back when they leave you a message. So consider turning the answering machine off, or not having one. If people want to speak to you, they'll call back. (Answering machines are good though, if you're the sort of person who simply has to answer the phone, even when you're busy or in the middle of a meal. In that case, let the answering machine handle it. If you're eating, I would suggest never answering the phone. Let it wait.)

Mobile (cell) phones can a bottomless pit for throwing money into. If you must have one (but do you really need one?), try to get a plan where you pre-pay for the calls, and don't have a contract. That way you can't be surprised by bills. If you're thinking of 'upgrading' just because your phone doesn't make coffee, tap dance, or whatever the latest phones do, just consider your purchase, as I hope you are beginning to consider all purchases, by asking the basic questions:

• Do I really need it?
• What has made me want it?
• If I could live without it before, why can't I live without it now?
• Can I afford it?
• Can I afford to pay for it in cash?

I wouldn't be at all surprised if 90% of the calls made on mobile phones were totally unnecessary, and I'm sure we all regularly overhear inane conversations such as:

"Hi. How are you?.... Yeah, I'm fine....Where are you?... I'm at the checkout... Yeah, I got the cat food... Yeah... No... Yeah... Okay. See you in the car park."

I suppose it's all right if you enjoy throwing money away on this sort of mindless drivel, but then, when you consider the mountains of these phones thrown away each year because people just have to have the latest phone, it brings home the concept of 'Affluenza' (see the website on The Affluenza Project). The cost to the environment is enormous.

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