The Frugal Prof

Its Not about the Money. Its about taking charge

Designer clothes and living in debt

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debt reitre invest

Financial Freedom

 

Lets talk about designer clothes and living in debt. 

Right now, I’m focused on debt reduction, investing, and retiring early. But that does not mean that I know nothing about luxury clothes, online shopping, and consumerism. 

Unfortunately, I know a lot.  Ive spent a lot on designer clothes and I am paying the price today.

Ralph Lauren is not my friend.  I’ve spent so much money on designer clothes over the years that I don’t even want to think about it.

But I need to think about it to figure out why I spent money the way I did and whether or not I’m going to miss it if I stop.

For me the question came down to this:

What’s really important? Becoming debt free or designer clothes?

Even though I own a lot of Ralph Lauren clothes, I rarely purchased it them at retail stores. I usually bought them at Outlet Stores.  Luxury at a discount.  What could be better?

And I spent a fair amount buying designer clothing online as well.  But, Who hasn’t?

Related post:  Why You Don’t need Lululemon to work out here.

 

 

Luckily, I discovered Ebates a few years ago. I use Ebates and they give me cash back for nearly all of my purchases.  Ebates gets a commission from stores you shop at and they share the commission with you.  Average cash back is about 7%, which is great.  Right now, they’re offering a Free $10 Gift Card when you join and spend $25.  More about Ebates Here.

 

Related Articles:

Use Ebay to Create Fast Cash

Why you dont need Lululemon to work out

Achieve Financial Freedom with these Books

 

Financial regret:  There is nothing I can do about the money I spent on designer clothes.  You live and learn.  Perhaps you can learn from my mistakes.

Right now I choose to focus my energy on debt reduction, investing, and retiring.

  • I was able to create a plan to pay off $17K in debt last year.  More on that here.
  • And that led to me paying off my car.  More on that here.

I can’t go back in time.  But, I can take control of my finances from this point forward.

 

 

Am I never going to buy another luxury item? No.  But, in order for me to shop at an online luxury retailer these days, I need to love it and it has to be worth the inflated price.

 

I’m sick of living in debt.  My job is to make myself wealthy.  Not make Ralph Lauren wealthy.

Every time I bought an expensive watch this happened

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I’ve only bought two really nice expensive watches.  One was a Rolex and the other was a Bulgari.  Each was purchased to celebrate a financial “win.”  

(Don’t tell daveramsey.)

And each time, shortly after my financial “win” came a drought.  The first time I went from a steady job into a new venture.  I went from a steady, reliable income to an unreliable income and lots of financial stress.  

The second time was after a fund that I was managing had a great year of out performance. This would allow me to grow my assets under management and bring in many new clients I thought.  It wasn’t that easy as it turned out.  

Each time, instead of creating a buffer for myself (i.e. an emergency fund or stability fund), I was in need for income shortly after splurging on something I decided I deserved.  

Work hard and reward yourself.  That’s the way it was.

I was doing really well and needed to show it.  I think this is pretty common for men of a certain age, and it probably applies to women too.  Perhaps a certain piece of jewelry or expensive bag or purse.  

The truth is over time we change.  Our tastes change.  Do I love these watches the way I used to?  Not really.  My favorite watch is a bright yellow sport watch I wear on weekends.  It cost $50.  

And the truth about the expensive ones is that you worry about them.  I keep them in a watch winder.  I worry about them when I travel.  They’re expensive and valuable.  Except if I wanted to sell them, I would be disappointed in their real value.  

If my business has another great year, I’m unlikely to get a new Rolex or Breitling.  Am I becoming wiser as I age?  Or have I finally appreciated the value of things?  

We work hard and we want to reward ourselves.  We want to show our successes.  

I’m a big fan of cash right now.  Cash always gives you options.  

What are your thoughts 👍