How to Look Fly on a Budget: Tips on Shopping for Gold Jewelry & Clothing

Having a dope sense of style doesn’t have to break the bank. Even though we look to our favorite hip hop artists and celebrities for inspiration and think, “Damn, if I had that kind of money, I could look that good too,” you can achieve the same level of dope style without breaking the bank. 

Creating a budget for yourself is a good idea to keep track of your finances and ensure that you’re spending your money responsibly, but it’s important to carve out some room in your budget for clothing and accessories. If you want to rock gold chains like you’re Jay-Z, but you’re not sure how to get started, here are some tips on looking fly, feeling good, and spending wisely.

How to Stick to a Budget

• Create a Budget Plan for Yourself 

It’s definitely important to treat yourself from time to time, but you also need to have a system in place to make sure that you’re financially secure. So many people try to use their money without creating a well-thought-out budget for themselves only to feel like they’re burning through cash. If you have the funds and you want some more in-depth reviews of your finances, you can find an affordable financial advisor, but, with the internet at our fingertips, there are dozens of other ways to track your spending and determine your budget for free.

Use a budget spreadsheet to calculate how much you need to spend on essentials like rent or mortgage payments, utilities, and food and groceries each month. Then, you can budget in room for other activities like going out to eat or shopping. This will help you to understand how much money you need to spend every month and how much you have to use on extra items or activities. These spreadsheets can also help you to feel more financially stable, as they provide the option to budget for savings or money to invest in the stock market. This is the first step to creating a sound financial foundation and determining a budget for your shopping needs. 

• Assess Your Wants and Needs
  

There are plenty of products and accessories that we may want but we don’t necessarily need. Clothes can be considered essential because we have to wear them everyday, and we need items that make us feel comfortable, confident, and, in the workplace, professional. However, if you’re shopping on a budget, you can’t buy everything you may want, which means you need to spend carefully. 

Decide what types of pieces are absolutely crucial for your wardrobe. Gold chains are an important accessory for fly fellas like yourself, but these are not technically a “need.” It’s okay to invest in products that are simply items you want, but be careful not to impulsively buy everything you come across. Investing in a few really good-quality gold chains is a great way to get your wardrobe up to par without breaking the bank buying new chains with every paycheck. 

• Quality over Quantity
  

When shopping on a budget, you might be tempted to buy a lot of cheaply made clothing because, well, it’s cheap. However, in the long run, if you shop this way, you’ll likely end up spending more money than if you had invested in more expensive high-quality products. Cheaply made clothing becomes damaged easily, and this type of fast fashion usually follows trends that don’t last, meaning you’ll end up tossing your clothes as soon as they go out of style and start looking for new, trendy pieces to take their place. 

Instead of focusing on the quantity of clothing you have, start buying quality pieces that may cost more but which will last much longer. Better-quality clothing and jewelry often looks better, too, elevating your sense of fashion. 

• Shop Online
  

In the last ten years, the eCommerce industry has grown massively, allowing everyday shoppers to have access to a greater range of products and styles. When you shop online, you also tend to find cheaper prices, as many eCommerce stores are able to lower their costs because they’re not dishing out cash to rent a brick-and-mortar building. Do your research if you’re looking for a new piece to add your wardrobe and find styles that fit your swagger.

The only risk with buying online is the potential to receive products that are not made as advertised or to purchase from fraudulent companies that never end up sending your products. But, these days, it’s easy to avoid this mistake because there is so much available information from other shoppers. 

As you’re researching, be sure to look for company reviews on third-party websites to get unbiased information on the quality and fit of the clothing or jewelry from a specific website. Reviews posted directly on a company’s site can be fake or filtered so that no bad reviews show up. 

Another way to identify a potentially sketchy online company is by looking for return and exchange policies. Any company that does not include explicit information on returns and exchanges could be suspect because they may realize that their products are of bad quality or even fake, and they don’t want people being able to return their items once they’ve paid up. Overall, online shopping is a great way to find cheap, quality clothing—just be sure you trust the company you’re buying from. 

• Look for Sales
  

Shopping during sales is one of the best ways to stick to your budget and save a little extra cash. There are specific times of the year that you can always expect sales, such as back-to-school shopping or Black Friday weekend. But, most companies host sales throughout the year. Many businesses will run a promotion at the end of their fiscal quarter as they try to clear out inventory and make way for new products. Check your favorite stores during these times to take advantage of sales. 

If you have a brand that you love to buy from, sign up for their email list, so that you will get notified when a sale is coming up. Companies tend to offer loyalty programs, special discounts, or early sale access to customers signed up on their mailing list as an incentive to become a returning customer.

• Invest in Staple Piece
  

Purchasing staple pieces that can be mixed and matched with many other outfits goes hand-in-hand with looking for quality over quantity. High-quality pieces made by reputable companies from good-quality materials will last much longer, but if you’re going to dish out a little more money for something nicer, you’ll want to find a few basic pieces that you can wear all the time. 

Finding a great jacket or a couple pairs of jeans is the perfect foundation for building an entire outfit. You can use these staple pieces to create many new outfits with other more flashy accessories and clothing that you own. Find a few nice-quality shirts in relatively neutral shades or colors that you can build an outfit around.

This same principle works when shopping for gold jewelry for men. Gold chains can be pricey because they are made from expensive materials, and they’re a desirable product. Instead of buying every single chain you like, purchase a few staple chains in styles that are easy to mix and match like the Cuban link or the Franco. Once you have a solid start to your collection, you can invest in different pendants that can be swapped out on different chains. Or, you can simply rock your chains solo for a slightly more subtle look.

Bring Old Clothes and Jewelry to Consignment Shop

Usually, when we’re trying to revamp our closet, we go through our old wardrobe and toss some of the items that no longer fit or suit our style. This is a great opportunity to earn a little extra cash. Consignment stores can be picky about the types of clothing that they accept, but, if you have quality brand clothing or jewelry that you don’t want to hang on to anymore, bring it to your local thrift or consignment shop first and see if they are able to pay you for any of your hand-me-downs. 

If you get some extra cash back, you can put this toward your new wardrobe and accessories. Bring any items that the store didn’t accept to a local charity as a donation. You’ll be able to write this off on your taxes and spread a little good in the world.

• Shop Thrifty
  

While you’re at the consignment shop bringing in your old clothes, don’t be afraid to look around. Thrift stores can be gold mines for vintage pieces that still look trendy and help you to stand out from the rest of the homies without breaking the bank. The key with thrift store shopping is to only invest in pieces that you really love. Because the prices are so low, it’s easy to convince yourself to buy items that you’re a little on the fence about. Don’t waste time or money buying pieces that you’re unsure about. Just go for the good stuff. 

For any eco-conscious consumers out there, thrift store shopping is also good for the environment because you’re helping to recycle old clothing, which prevents new clothing from being created, using up resources and pumping out pollutants from manufacturing facilities.

• Buy Seasonally
  

This may sound counterintuitive, but, if you shop for opposite seasons, you’ll notice yourself saving a lot of cash. Buy summer pieces in the winter and winter pieces in the summer because the current season’s styles are what is in most demand, leading companies to drop prices on other seasonal clothing as they try to get rid of their stock and make room for new pieces. 

• Invest in Quality Jewelry
  

As with clothing, jewelry is all about quality over quantity. It’s very obvious when a piece of jewelry is fake or poorly made, which diminishes your sense of style if people can tell you’re rocking fake-ass Jesus pieces. Look to companies like Frost NYC that are known for high-quality accessories and invest in chains that you can mix and match with what you already have. Over time, you can slowly grow your pendant collection and swap them out on different chains to switch up your look. 

• Clean and Care for Your Jewelry
  

If you’re shopping on a tight budget, you definitely want items that are going to last for a while. Even if you invest in good quality clothing and jewelry, if you’re not taking proper care of your pieces, then they will become damaged and need to be replaced more quickly than usual. Pay close attention to the washing instructions on your clothing and stick to these instructions to keep your clothing in good condition. 

When it comes to jewelry, proper care is even more important. You should get into the habit of washing any jewelry that you wear regularly on a weekly basis. Then, implement a monthly cleaning for all of your jewelry to help maintain luster and shine. Grease, dirt, and dust can very quickly build up on jewelry, causing damage to the metal. Store your jewelry in a safe place where it won’t collect dust even when you’re not wearing it.

Shop Thrifty, Look Fly

You don’t need Dr. Dre kind of money just to look fresh to death. There are plenty of tactics for budget shoppers that will help you maintain a dope sense of style without going over budget. 

When it comes to jewelry, invest in a few high-quality gold chains in the Frost NYC collection and swap out different pendants to create a new look every time. Shop smart by exchanging clothes at thrift stores and shopping online for lower prices. Plus, don’t forget to keep your eye out for sales to save a little extra dough. If you’re careful about your spending and you invest in your wardrobe wisely, you’ll be the flyest fellow on the block with some extra cash in your pocket.

Start Building That Gold Chain Collection