GIRL ABOUT LIFE BLOG: 2016

LOOK POST: ALL BLACK + a little rant

SPACES// JOHANNESBURG ART GALLERY

Physical Address	Cnr Klein and King George Streets, Joubert Park, Johannesburg, Gauteng
Email	jag@joburg.org.za
Phone Number	+27 (0)11 725 3130
Website	friendsofjag.org

Student life is synonymous with broke life, can't-afford-that, ain't-got enough-cash-for-that, I'll-buy-it next-month (well atleast for some us). I have spent most of my varsity years trying to stay withing my allocated allowance (which isn't much). My mother is a single mum and has raised all three of us with the little money she gets every month and I am grateful for that. When I actually found out how much she earned monthly I knew she was a real superhero because none of us, my sister and I, found ourselves with no food, clothes, shelter or education.
Coming back to the saving and shopping smart I have had to survive all my varsity years with the allowance I got and God knows most of the things that happen in this place need money. So over the years I picked up quite a few tricks on how to shop and save. HERE WE GO:

1. SALES!

I looove SALES. As a students SALES should be your friend. That's where you get the best for less. In first year I would dedicate quite a generous amount of my time going to the mall looking around for sale items, digging through the pile to get the best fit for me. I was never afraid of a little hard work just as long as I get what I want. I bought a lot of my things on sale in first and second year which I still have and still wear. Best way to be on the know about these is to subscribe to newsletters from relevant shops. SALE notifications will pop up and you'll always be on the loop. (ALSO subscribe for loyalty cards)

2. THRIFT, THRIFT, THRIFT

My mother has been thrifting for years now and I learnt the art of thrifting from her. For a while back home there was only one shop that sold second hand items (so glad this has changed). When I came to JOHO and realised that in the CBD there is a whole street where you can get nice quality things for a little as R3 I was so excited! My friends and I only started going in my 2nd year I think. The thing about that place is you must be mentally ready for the struggle and the digging but it is all worth it. You walk away with so much. What I enjoy about this is that you get quality clothes which are unique. There are also people who buy from there and sell the clothes at a much higher price, I respect that hustle too but it I know where the source is I'd rather go there myself.

3.COMPARE

Comparing prices is also time consuming and may sound a little tedious but I highly recommend it. I do this all the time with grocery shopping. I open all the catalogues and look for the cheapest. Even if I save R5. That goes a long way for a student. My heart breaks a little if I buy something and find out I could have gotten it for less at a different shop. So to avoid such I do a little bit of research and then make a decision (generally I think this should apply to almost everything we buy).

4.BUY IN BULK

Ofcourse it would be futile to buy clothing items in bulk but when it comes to food and toiletries this is quite a useful idea. Buying in bulk especially when certain things are on SALE or on special is major capitalizing. Other places would even give you a discount for buying in bulk. Dischem and Clicks normally have the "buy 2 and get 1 free" special or the "buy 3 and get the cheapest one FREE"special. Who would say no to that?

5. BUY WHAT YOU NEED

AND THEN WHAT YOU WANT

LOL I know I struggle a lot with this because most of the, actually all the time I just want to treat myself and spend my money on nice things. In the past I have struggled with accumulating a bunch of clothing items that I did not wear. I would buy an item because I liked how it looked in the shop and when I bring it home I'd have nothing to wear it with. I stopped doing that (thank Heavens). When I went out shopping I would only buy an item that I could imagine wearing with at least 2 items that I already owned. This helped me so much. Saved me from leaving my clothes to gather dust in my closet and save money.

6.last but not least GO BACK TO BASICS

This is an extension of #5 really. Whenever I go shopping whether for clothes or food I always buy basics. Milk, eggs, bread, meat when it comes to food. Basic tops in neutral colours and jeans whne it comes to clothing. You can never go wrong when you go for basics. After this you can get whatever treat you want or spoil yourself. Buying something because it's on trend is also a great way to waste money so rather don't! Invest in na piece that will last.

Just by the way whenever I go out eating with friends I always look up the restaurant to see the price range LOL. This helps me gauge how much I need to bring, how much I am willing to spend and if the place has anything I'd like. LOL talk about balling on a budget.

Hope this helps!
Thanks for reading