To Spend or to Save?!

I must admit, one thing I find pretty difficult as a student is that you’re always juggling money… money money money , I’m constantly thinking about what and where I’m spending. The problem really is that I do really love my clothes (as we know 😉 .) I mean I am a fashion and lifestyle blogger! So of course I’m naturally inclined to shop hahaha 😀 . So I thought it would be a good idea to give you a little insight on how I deal with my love for fashion without burning a whole in my pocket and to answer whether I’m a saver or a spender. This is just the start of what I’ve got planned for my blog and youtube channel ! I’ve decided to do a whole series on enhancing your student experience and how to do EVERYTHING on a budget while still enjoying your life! So if you aren’t already following me on youtube and are interested click here! 😀

First thing is first, and that is that fashion seems to be “an art” that is constantly moving forward, with new trends every year it’s almost impossible to have a wardrobe that always works with the current trends. So with that in mind, I made a vow not to be a trend follower. There are some trends that I love, such as statement sleeves, bold earrings and gingham, but I’m not one who would do a shop every season to buy the newest trends. With that vow made, I’ve already saved a ton of money on what would be new products. I don’t just “unfollow” this “trend” thing with fashion, I do it with everything else too; such as food and furniture. (Okay maybe not food, but I have a whole youtube video coming up about how to save money on food as a student coming, so be ready for that 😉 .) But making sure that you aren’t always a trend follower does save you a lot of money! So keep that in mind when you’re shopping 😀 .

I honestly find it so hard sometimes to figure out whether I want to spend or whether I want to save. I’m so indecisive! So I’ve come up with a solution, to spend money but in small amounts and only on all the things I love. This satisfies my love for shopping, but also allows me to save all at the same time! Every month, I tell myself that I want to save at least £50 of my monthly budget. If I save more, well then, that’s just fab ! If I miss my target, I make next months target larger and I make sure that I meet it. This method seems to work for me, so maybe it’s worth giving a go? This does allows me to have some freedom and go shopping if I want to and spend some extra cash on meals out and all the fun stuff. When I spend, I tend to be a bit of a cheap skate I must admit, a fun fact is that most of my clothes are second hand, that includes shoes and bags too ! Reasons why? One, it’s 100% cheaper to buy things on eBay, depop or in charity shops and two, you often find clothes are much more special and unique !

If you’ve been following me for a while then you’ll know exactly how much I love unique pieces and how I’m always on the look out for something new and exciting ! The jacket and shoes featured in this outfit were all recently bought in a clothing store out here in Fiji. You’re probably thinking, well isn’t it expensive? Well, nope! Everything here is shipped from Australia and New Zealand and the shops are just like the vintage stores we get back in the UK! The perk being that everything is priced for the locals not for tourists which means that it seems super cheap for me! 😉

This jacket was only £1 and the shoes were £4!! Isn’t that just amazing?!!!??!! The jacket such a special piece, a delicate gingham cropped blazer with a peplum sleeves. Every feminine, and sweet, it works well with a more edgy masculine outfit.

Uni has taught me a lot about saving, but it also taught me that you can save on a lot on more than you think. I of course save on the obvious things such as food, drinks, and entertainment. But you can also save on the tiny things, such as meals out, stationary and homeware. The first thing is to buy in bulk! It works out so much cheaper over time to buy things in bulk, I often team up with friends if I’m buying in bulk because it’s often just too much for one person with one order. I usually buy stationary off amazon because they’re cheaper and come in bulk! You just have to be a little sneaky with some of these things 😉 .

With homeware stuff , I usually buy it off eBay or Poundland… honestly, you’ll be so surprised with the things you can buy from Poundland hahaha 😉 . Ebay?! Well eBay is my favourite place to buy everything and anything !! 😀 If you don’t already use eBay, well then… you need to get on to that 😉 . As I said, most of my clothes are second hand and I buy most of it off eBay !! The final place that I love to buy things are in charity shops, you can buy everything in charity shops… If you’re into vintage clothes, well charity shops are the best place to find budget vintage clothing heheh 😀 .

Now that I’ve given you my cheeky little hints on saving money I can now talk about this outfit a little bit more ! As I said earlier, I’m absolutely in love with this jacket , it was a such a good bargain !! It’s so feminine and chic, it’s just every girly girls dream hehehe 😉 . I paired this jacket with a kick ass denim dress from Zara. It’s full of 60’s vibes, such a great wardrobe staple as you can wear it all year round, whether it’s just on it’s own in the summer months or with a cute striped jumper in winter. I love the big white statement buttons too, they’re so eye catching and add a little bit of a statement to the simple dress. Since it’s fitted, it really brings out those feminine curves which works really nicely with the “chanelesque” jacket. Although the dress is very “girly,” the darkness of the denim dress adds that masculine touch which does tone down “ultra” feminine touch of the outfit.

As for shoes, I’m wearing these platform white trainers, which as I said earlier I bought out here for £4! The added height of these shoes is perfect for my petite frame, and adds an edgy touch and a masculine hint to the outfit which I loveeeee!! Every outfit needs to have a little bit of edginess, got to make it eye catching 😉 . The final touch of this outfit are these gorgeous metal twirl earrings which I picked up on my way to Fiji in Korea. I absolutely love statement earrings and I think they’re the best way to jazz up any outfit !

You’re probably all thinking, why is her outfit so blueeeee?! Where’s all the colour that she loves so much?! Well, sometimes it is nice to have an outfit that has an underlying colour theme, and for this outfit I decided to go for the blues! Blue and white are just perfect classic colours, they’re good colours if you want to experiment with style rather than colour ! So if you’re a little scared about trying out new styles, maybe try going for colours that you’re comfortable with and then experiment with different styles. Thennnn, you can plunge into the deep end with brighter colours !

So… the real question, so am I saver or am I spender?! Well, I’m both! I do spend, but I’m super strict with what I spend my money on and I also save as much money as possible per month ! Of course, saving money is important, you want to save money for your future and for uni etc and the main reason… you don’t want to be begging your parents for money do you?! But you also have to enjoy your life, in the western world, you have to spend a little money to enjoy your hobbies and just to enjoy life ! So spend a little ! Spend on the things you love, but SPEND WITH CARE!

I hope you liked this blog post, it’s a little different and I thought it would be fun to tie together an outfit post with something a little more important. What are your thoughts on spending and saving?! I’d love to hear what you all have to say 😀 . I’ll see you in my next post ! I can’t wait to share all the things I have lined up for the blog and youtube! 😀

Lots of love, Izzy xxx