{Shopping On A Student Budget}

The downside to being a fashion-conscious student is rarely being able to afford to practice what you preach. If your outfits scream strapped-for-cash student instead of fabulous fashionista, you need to keep reading as I spill my tried and true tips for shopping smarter and looking stylish on a student budget.

Don't be seduced by sales
I used to go completely sales crazy, often buying a stack of items just because they were going at low prices. It didn't matter that the top I picked up was baby-vomit green and wouldn't go with one thing in my wardrobe because it was designer, and 70% off the recommended retail price! Can't argue with that, right? Wrong. That top, among many others, would sit untouched in my wardrobe for months. Untouched because it was hideous, but kept its place because I just couldn't bring myself to throw out something I hadn't even worn once. Add the cost of all those awful sale items together and I could have bought myself a handful of great quality, timeless basic pieces that go with everything.

I'm not telling you to stay away from sales completely - I've also picked up a lot of worthwhile finds - but question all your choices and ensure they make the cut before you buy. Is the piece my style? Can I think of at least three items in my wardrobe that this piece will go with? Would I still consider this piece if it was full price? If you answered yes to all three, it's a pretty safe purchase. If not, put those disastrous threads down, girl!

Quality over quantity
I started to touch on this idea in the first shopping tip; rather than buying ten cheap items for a particular season, buy one good quality, timeless piece that could be the staple for a number of outfits. Typical wardrobe essentials include black pants, a pair of jeans, a white shirt, a neutral coloured coat, a little black dress and a blazer. These basics can be worn with anything, through any trend in any season. Once you've accumulated a bunch of great staples, you can get away with buying a couple of chain store items each season to incorporate the current trend into your timeless look. If  you get the foundations right, you'll add style and class to any outfit.

Sell your old wardrobe to fund your new one
So you've scanned your wardrobe after reading my first two shopping tips and realised you have more unwanted items than your local rubbish dump: countless mid-year sale monstrosities, skirts that were so two seasons ago and jeans you kept as a memento of when you were two sizes smaller. Now you want to clear out and start fresh, and can make some moolah while you're at it! Contact your local markets and find out the cost of holding your own stall for a day. It's normally only a small fee, but you could reduce the cost even further by getting your friends in on the action and encouraging them to do the same. Take all your unwanted clothes, shoes, bags and accessories and price them between $2-$15 dollars (depending on the item) for a quick sale.

If the items are unworn or designer, it might be better to sell them online to really get what they're worth; eBay is great for this, or you can even put some stuff up on your Facebook and Instagram account. Alternatively, hold a garage sale and attract buyers by making road signs or flyers on the noticeboard at your local supermarket. This way you won't need to outlay any costs on setting up a stall, but can still attract a large number of buyers. Depending on how much things you're selling, you should be able to get enough to fund the first piece of your smarter wardrobe. Of course, you should donate anything that doesn't sell to your local second hand store. You can continue to do this once or twice every year with your season-specific chain store purchases to keep your wardrobe current and uncluttered.

Hopefully these tips will help all you ladies on a budget to shop smarter and look more stylish than you ever have. Do you have any advice on getting more out of your hard earned cash? Let me know in the comment section!

XO Dani