How to get your wish-list for 'free'

For many years I was guilty of spending my money on lots of cheap 'fast-fashion' items as opposed to investing in pieces that would last for years to come. However over the last year or so I have been making an effort to reduce the quantity of pieces that I buy and rather invest in a few key pieces each season.

Here are some of my top tips:

1. Adopt a 'One in-One out' policy
Every time I purchase an item I now make sure that I get rid of at least one item from my closet. To me this is a win-win situation - I get more space in my closet so that I can actually see what I have in there (!) and my local Tenovus charity shop gets a donation. One of the unexpected benefits of this is that rediscovering pieces at the back of my closet can feel a bit like getting new clothes. 'New' clothes for free - what's not to love?!

2. Take a look at your closet
No, I am not suggesting that you study the construction and fixtures and fittings of your wardrobe, but rather take a long hard look at the items that you already own. Are there any 'gaps' in your wardrobe, i.e. do you have an excess of casual skirts, but are missing a high-quality smart winter coat? This works on two levels. Identify which missing pieces would really help to 'pull together' your closet. Equally, if you find that you have an excess amount of a particular item *, consider donating some of them to your local charity shop or selling them via one of the designer resale sites like Style Sequel.

* In my book numerous breton stripe tops don't count. They are a classic, and perhaps more importantly really versatile piece. If they were good enough for Coco Chanel...

Cue superfluous image of a breton top!

Image: Damsel in Dior
3. Use cashback sites where possible
Once you have identified the pieces that your wardrobe needs then why not use a cashback site such as Quidco to purchase your items. For those that don't know, Quidco is a site which gives you a percentage of your spend back. The website does this by getting an affiliate commission from the retailer. If you are going to buy an item anyway then to me it is a no-brainer to go via a site like this and get cashback on your purchase. Sometimes the sites also offer exclusive voucher codes which can help you save on your purchases.


4. Save to spend
OK I realise that if I was very sensible then the above headline would read 'Save to save', but hey ho! I currently have my eye on a few investment pieces which are out of my budget. Therefore in my version of being frugal I am going to make sure that any earnings from putting points 2 and 3 into action are put directly into a dedicated savings account. Only once I have saved enough via this means will I invest in the pieces I want and which more importantly will last for years to come. Below is one of the items which is top of my wish-list.

Mansur Gavriel tote

Of course the ultimate wish-list item item for me would have to be this beauty - a girl can dream!

Image: Pinterest
I would love to know what your approach to purchasing the higher-priced items on your wish-list is. Are you a 'buy now, worry later' kind of girl or a 'save to spend' lady?