Money Spent on Clothing Per Month 4 Person Family

This postal service may contain affiliate links

When it comes to spending money on clothes I'm all over the map: a sometime shopping addict who now favors more thoughtful (read: more than expensive) items that volition terminal a lifetime. Since I used to have pretty bad spending habits, but am now earning more I'm always hyper enlightened of how much I should spend on clothing. Because of my history, I always worry I'1000 spending as well much.

Then, what's the baseline? What'southward the advisable amount to spend on shopping if y'all make okay money but want to exist budget conscious? What'southward the hard and fast rule for spending limits when it comes to habiliment – for both piece of work and play? How do families handle clothing costs?

I did a little inquiry and digging to try and answer this question.

How Much Should You Spend on Clothing?

Most financial experts say around five% of your budget.

So, take whatever your monthly pay is and multiply it past .05.

For example, Suzie takes home $3500 per calendar month after taxes. She should (in theory) spend no more than $175 each calendar month on clothes, or $2100 a year (For those who like to shop just 2-3 times each yr, like Black Friday or offseason for the best deals, break your amount downwards by quarter or every other month.)

What does the research say is the average clothing cost per calendar month for most people?

There's a difference betwixt what people should be budgeting for clothes and shopping, and what actually gets spent. Depending on where you look, the answer to how much people spend on clothing (on average) varies.

From Credit Donkey:

The average person spends around $161 per month on dress – women spend nearly 76% more than men exercise on wear in a twelvemonth.
The average family of four spends effectually $1800 per year on clothes, with $388 of this on shoes

From Prisoners of Class:

Women spend (on average) betwixt $150-$400 per calendar month on clothing.
Information technology is estimated a woman volition spend effectually $125k on clothes in her entire lifetime.

Why I Similar the 5% Clothing Upkeep Rule

Who What Wear has a great article on how to stretch 5% of your monthly income broken downwards by income. What I really like about the 5% number is that it scales depending on your income. Of course, 5% for a unmarried woman on a 90k salary means dissimilar purchases than 5% of 80k for a family of iv, but I like having a baseline and and so adjusting from there.

If y'all have a job where you are on the road a lot and giving professional person presentations, perhaps y'all spend more.
Maybe you're a manner blogger, possibly you spend more (or less depending on if you receive items as gifts or for you to review).
Say you're a minimalist, you may max out your budget, but just come home with a handful of items each yr that will terminal a lifetime.

The point is – don't let the number define y'all. Notwithstanding, if you are on a tight budget, low salary, or are contributing to other fiscal goals ….like debt payoff, for example…don't spend more 5%.

Unless you're doing a specific no spend challenge or trying to shop less, it's okay to spend some money. Fashion may exist a luxury, but clothing itself is a necessity. Stick to the tips below to assess how to make your monthly clothing spend stretch further.

How to Only Spend 5% of Your Income on Wearing apparel Each Yr

#1 – Bank check Your Budget

If you don't have a budget already – what are you waiting for? A budget should ever exist your first step in finding out how much "play coin" you have to shop, dine out, or do whatsoever other fun stuff. The 50-30-20 method is my favorite manner to start.

The important role about creating a upkeep is that it will requite you lot a hard limit for your spending. You shouldn't exist sacrificing meals to buy a new dress, and if you're sticking to your upkeep you won't have to.

The per month number is merely a guideline. Maybe y'all only shop 1-2x per twelvemonth. Just brand sure your numbers are lining up on an annual basis.
Many times I get to the holiday flavour, need a new outfit for a party or something, and realize I'g out of money for the year – so I don't shop.
It's good practice for your overall, larger budget, but information technology also helps go on fast fashion crap out of your wardrobe.

If make $100k per yr, five% is 5k.

That'southward $1500 per quarter, or $500 in a calendar month.

This is A LOT of coin, only if yous're in a family, may not go far at all. Besides, information technology feels like clothing only seems to get more expensive.

#ii – Invest in Quality, Not Quantity

I Beloved this slice that talks about making fashion sustainable. And let'due south face up information technology: fast fashion is bad for the environment.

Even though clothes tin run into exorbitantly expensive, investing in lifelong pieces (specially once yous hit your mid-20's) can actually be the smarter money move. In that location's an old British saying, "Too poor to wear cheap clothes."

Instead of looking at the ticket price, call up in terms of "price per wear." If a T-Shirt costs $100, but you article of clothing it twice each week, so the item will "pay" for itself past the terminate of the year.

A study in the UK found items of clothing are worn an average of seven times. If yous're someone who likes to update fashions often, it may exist better for you lot to spend on cheaper items and only really splurge on items you'll know yous tin wearable year afterwards year: bags, shoes, and coats.

#3 – Purchase Secondhand

This is a biggie for me. To save money and be more eco-conscious, I ofttimes buy second manus when I tin — well-nigh of it BRAND NEW with the tags on. Yous wouldn't believe how much clothing gets donated or consigned with the tags still fastened (and I'thousand willing to bet y'all've given away an item or ii with the tags attached.)

I primarily search for second-hand luxury goods on Ebay, Poshmark, and The Real Real.

Honestly, I've gotten so many expert deals from The RealReal and now information technology's the principal place where I shop. I recently bought a pair of Diane Von Furstenberg pants that anybody compliments for $75. They came unworn, with the tags and normally retail over $300. FBL Readers tin get twenty% with my link.

Here are the other places I look when I'thou trying to score clothes at a good cost

TJ Maxx & Nordstrom Rack- Now that TJ and Nordstrom Rack have online shopping platforms information technology's easier than ever to store for the higher-end designer brands, like shoes that I love that rarely continue sale.
J. Coiffure & J.Crew Factory – While the quality of J. Coiffure has diminished somewhat in recent years, I can pick up a lot of "trendy" stuff for not a lot of money by shopping their auction section.
LOFT – I buy all my basics there – the tees and tanks that serve to footing my wardrobe that I commonly only get i season of wear out of. Just hey, they're inexpensive, and the price per wear (given how much I wear them) is really pretty low. They've also got neat basics.
Lord & Taylor – Another department store where I love getting designer numberless, shoes and boots at deep discounts during their off-season sales. They have some cheap, crappy brands in there, but when they discount the higher end brands they do deep percentages (like l-75% off.)

#four – Consign and then use the cash

Each flavor, I'll take what I no longer want to wear and put it into a cleanup handbag with Thredup. Then, I can either utilise that money for store credit to get something new, or I have the Paypal cashout and add together information technology to my clothing budget.

I'm all the time doing this – trying to make my spend a "Net Zero", especially when it comes to those lovely little extras like clothing and Sephora purchases.

Another tip I similar to give is entrusting my handy automatic savings apps to salve up money FOR me in a split account. Then when I desire to do some shopping, it's already "paid" for in a sense, and I can keep the coin off my credit card.

I saved $thousand in 45 days in this challenge using savings apps, although it was for an emergency fund and not clothing. Notwithstanding, whatever the goal, it'south fun to save up get-go and and so shop without whatsoever guilt. (P.S. here are ten other automated savings apps I similar and use besides Qapital.)

#5 – Keep a running listing

I also always effort and keep a running list of clothing items (I keep this in Trello, like I do with all my business organisation stuff) and it's those items that I truly need.

For example, when a pair of my favorite yoga pants ripped, or when I wear out a pair of boots, I add in replacements on the list. Afterwards doing a closet inventory, I'll add things to list also, some applied (similar a pair of snow boots) and others more tendency driven, like a great pair of white jeans for Spring.

I e'er keep a clothing list for three big reasons:

Keeping a list serves to go on me from overspending and too keeps the items I need peak-of-mind. This fashion when I practice spot a proficient sale I can human activity (guilt-free.)
This helps me ensure I'm non buying multiples of items I already own, which I am SUPER decumbent to practise.
After I've taken inventory of what I "need" to become for the flavor, I take the number of items and split up by my total clothing budget for the month or quarter past that number.

If I need 10 items…1500/ten=150.00 per item. So that'southward what I'g looking to spend per item (give or have.)

#6 – Get Creative

In that location's more than one mode to get stylish clothes on the cheap. I've done many of the following in order to get cute, new clothes for not a lot of money:

I've participated in article of clothing swaps
I've shopped on Ebay
…And fifty-fifty tried a capsule wardrobe or ii. (It was fun, merely also not for me…)
I'll also mention ….again…. how like shooting fish in a barrel it is to get second-paw items of skilful quality from places like Poshmark, (where people can sell directly via the mobile app), Thredup, and The RealReal.

#7 – Try a No Spend/No Shopping Challenge

I'grand a large fan of experimenting with new routines to whip our finances into shape and learn more almost ourselves and our spending habits.

Having a no-spend claiming for a month or even a year-long shopping ban, (read Michelle'due south post on that here , or follow Cait's TWO YEAR LONG shopping ban here ) can be a slap-up mode to take the focus off of your cupboard, and onto your finances and furthering your fiscal goals.

#8 – Optimize Cashback

When I was doing my $1000 in 45-day claiming, I got hooked on using Ebates for myself. Substantially, by using the extension, I saved money every time I shopped online (even when reordering contacts, or sending someone a bouquet of flowers!).

You get paid with Ebates four times a yr. Every time I get paid, I deposit the coin into my f*ck off fund, only you could use the cash for whatsoever y'all want: clothes, shoes, travel.

Same goes if yous get cash dorsum on your credit card purchases. Many people just use this as a statement credit, but if y'all save it upwards all year long, y'all could have a nice portion of your 5% habiliment budget taken care of by the end of the twelvemonth. The main thing is to try and optimize your spend at sure retailers, on double signal days, or using only 1 platform/service.

In addition to Ebates, Here are some other sites we similar for cashback rewards.

#8 – Shop Your Closet

It might sound goofy, but sometimes you lot don't really know what you already have. It's been proven that people simply wear about 20% of their closets (unless y'all're a sworn minimalist!). Data from a Credit Ass survey states over half of women don't utilise 25% of their closet (FYI – this is the equivalent of wasting, similar, $600 on boilerplate per year.)

Doing a deep closet shop can exist great for a number of reasons like saving coin or living a more minimalist lifestyle . I love to practice information technology for three principal reasons:

It cuts down on the clutter in my cupboard , so I can actually run across and make apply of my outfits.
Information technology gives my clothes a overnice, fifty-fifty wear.
Everything feels new again considering I haven't seen it or worn it in six months !

I "cupboard shop" a niggling bit different than most people and what yous'll run into beneath varies from traditional "how to shop your closet" advice.

With that said, I'm super addicted of my method considering it works well for me.

My cupboard shop method takes place on a bi-annual basis – just twice a year. Nigh of it is around packing and unpacking the items. This sounds crazy. Just it really works and rotating your clothes means you'll never tire of them.

#1- Start Past Taking an Inventory of Your Cupboard

You're familiar with the #Kondo method for clothes? You lot know, everyone takes everything out of the closet and puts it in a large pile so decides what should go dorsum in based on whether it sparks joy or not?

This is fine, merely when I say take inventory, I mean await at it from an outfits perspective. What are you missing that would aid you wear items you already own (and dearest – that'southward important) in a new and exciting mode?

#ii – Pack Abroad Seasonal Items

Without. Fail. I pack away my winter wardrobe and then the next year when I swap my closet over over again, I see things I completely forgot I had.

"Out of sight, out of mind" really, really rings true when it comes to items in your closet.

I practise a bi-seasonal rotation. I have a Spring/Summer wardrobe and a Fall/Winter one, and also shoes for both. It goes a little something like this:

At the end of every season, I ceremoniously pack away the out-of-season clothes and really don't remember them until I unpack them once again the next flavor. It feels like I got a brand new wardrobe when really I didn't.
I put them in boxes and stash them out of sight either in my cupboard or in another part of the house entirely.
Sometimes if I have the box it came in or some pretty tissue paper, I wrap information technology up every bit if it'southward new (or nearly new) and it feels like a dainty treat in a year when I unwrap the items again.
Storing them properly is also an excellent manner to ensure your clothes stay in good condition during the offseason.

If you don't have a spare closet, that okay. Make it work. When I lived in NYC I got i of those under bed storage boxes and put my apparel in there – just so you're keeping everything separated out from the items you wear daily.

#3 – Tag "Borderline" items and pack those away, likewise.

I tag a few "borderline" items that I know didn't go much wear earlier I pack them abroad. Commonly, I merely put a post-it on it.

If something that I've tagged from terminal winter doesn't go worn over again during the post-obit 1, or I make up one's mind I'm really "over it" the next fourth dimension I switch out the clothes in my closet, I donate it or try to resell it.

Every bit a bonus, packing and unpacking for each season too allows me to inspect my clothes more carefully than I would if I but left them in the closet all year long. When was the last time yous really looked at your dress, like, really inspected them for holes and ripped seams?

Sometimes if I have a "borderline" piece, i.eastward. something I oasis't worn in six months that I still love or feel an attachment to, I'll have it out for a spin with something I've never worn it with before, merely to see if I feel the same way about it. Or come across if I tin can arrive "work" with my current cupboard items.

Frequently, it feels like I'm wearing something new, fifty-fifty when information technology isn't. If the outfit rocks, I'll keep the piece and wear it again. If it doesn't, I'll donate it.

#four – Purge Without Question or Regret

Rips, tears, and stains? Throw away those items (no matter how much you love them) or donate them to goodwill.

And I'm serious – be RUTHLESS. Things similar this really carp me when I spot them on my clothes. If you observe something like this, either make plans to repair it or become rid of it.

I love how Marie Kondo positions this. Instead of "What practise yous want to keep?" she asks, "What practice you want for your futurity?"

Do you really want a sweater with holes in information technology for your future?" No. Yous don't.

Past having clothes that are in cracking status – no thing if it'south old, second mitt, or whatsoever – yous'll always expect slap-up and tidy, which is half the battle of looking pulled together anyway.

#5 – Get a procedure for your clothing rotation

Are you bad nearly wearing the aforementioned things over and over again? Me besides. And so, I intentionally hang things I've worn in the back of my cupboard and keep the unworn items at the front.

When planning my outfits, I try to make them out of items so everything gets worn. It doesn't really matter how yous set upward the rotation, (here'southward some other smashing tutorial) just that you find something that works for you.

#6 – Know where you can go high-quality basics for a big discount

Sometimes designer clothes are expensive for absolutely no reason. Other times, the increase in cost ways the clothes are made of improve quality materials and thus will concluding longer (if taken intendance of properly.)

Over fourth dimension, you'll find designers you tin count on for quality and ones that vibe with your style and body type. The trick is to find these items at a discount and never pay full price. These are my favorite places to store new wearing apparel at a discount.

T.J. Maxx
The Existent Real
Rue La La
Ebay

Wrapping Upwards

Really, I wrote this article about how much to spend on clothing because I'yard fascinated past the way people spend their money. I held this fascination long before I started blogging about personal finance. Of well-nigh interest to me is how real women spend their money on things that are almost mandated for u.s. to consume: clothes and dazzler products.

I'm tired of feeling guilty over what I spend on clothes in a month. Simply, I figure every bit long as I stay inside of my budget…I'thousand doing alright. After all, as my friend Stefanie O'Connell would say, "It'due south non frivolous if it serves y'all."

It's piece of cake to stay on budget AND get the dress you lot want if yous're willing to get a little creative. Endeavour my favorite retailer, TheRealReal for designer brands (with the tags) at up to xc% off. Utilize lawmaking Real at checkout for 20% off.

hughesthavent.blogspot.com

Source: https://financialbestlife.com/how-much-should-i-spend-on-clothing/#:~:text=The%20average%20person%20spends%20around,%24388%20of%20this%20on%20shoes