A couple of weeks ago, Zimmermann had a warehouse sale in South Yarra. I have two weddings within 3 weeks of each other and decided none of my dresses at home would do; I definitely needed a couple of new silk dresses.
I went on the first day of the sale after work, but due to peak hour traffic, I arrived 20 minutes to closing time. I grabbed anything that was my size and style. 15 minutes later, I took 8 different dresses into the changing room. Usually at these sales I either like everything or walk out with nothing. In this case it was the former. As I queued up to pay for my 5 dresses and a bikini I quickly calculated what I was about to spend... 650 dollars!!!
Fortunately for my wallet, I was unable to rationalise spending $650 on more silk dresses than I had weddings. It was obvious what I was doing - buying things for the sake of it being on sale. I began to cull items; items that cost more than what I could justify spending on it; items that I had no intention of wearing to the wedding; and items that would be difficult to clean. After reluctantly putting back two dresses, I was left with three dresses, a bikini and a poncho, reducing my total to $400. I was much happier - and decided that was an appropriate amount to spend on six Zimmermann items.
However, as I was getting closer to the check out, I could hear and see what other people were buying in front of me. One woman bought a dress and only spent $80. Another woman bought a bikini and a dress and spent $150. Why were all these people spending so much less than me? As I drove home something occurred to me. They would have set themselves a budget. Cleo and Cosmopolitan often have articles on how not to overspend and stay out of debt.
Lesson for shopaholics: look at how much you earn, take away all necessary expenses such as food, petrol and bills. With what is left, decide how much you want to put into savings and what is a reasonable amount for you to spend on shopping. When at these sales, make sure you stick to the amount you've allocated to yourself - do not get carried away and buy things for the sake of it being on sale and at a bargain price.
What I bought:
Vanishing Range Strapless Maxi $150
Chatter Lace Drape Dress $60
Trivial Basket Poncho $40
Femme U Wire Bikini $50 (not pictured)
The dress with the rose print which had no tags $80
