By Carly Shearman
Are bills taking over your life? Slow down, save the planet and save some money. No, we aren't dreaming we're here to explain how you can actually have it all.
1. Adopt a ‘slow fashion’ – use this mentality to invest in high-quality, timeless clothing pieces. You can discover what fast fashion is here.
2. Evaluate your clothing purchases on a Cost Per Wear, not a Cost Upfront basis - yes, a H&M blazer may be cheaper upfront, but if you can only wear it for one season before it falls apart it works out more expensive than a high-quality blazer you can wear for 10 seasons.
3. Implement a 24/48/72 hour rule to avoid impulse purchases. The rule is all about delaying gratification and ensuring that the purchase I am about to make is because I need it, and not because I am acting on impulse. Depending on the product and price range, I will implement a 24hr, 48hr of 72hr waiting period on myself from when I first see the product to when I make the purchase.
4. Use your reusable bags when grocery shopping - not only will you avoid the 15c per bag charge, but Woolworth is rewarding customers with bonus points (see Banish's own tote bags). As a rewards junky, this is great news for me. You can read more about their reusable bag bonus points here.
5. Fill it up – buy a metal water bottle exclusively for your handbag - the amount of money I have saved on impulse plastic water bottle purchases is astounding. We're a big fan of these pretty S'Well bottles.
6. Reduce meat intake - I promise it won’t kill you to each more vegetables. I have made the switch and look at me, I am still alive.
7. Eat your damn food - 30% of the food Australian’s purchase ends up in waste. That is a very expensive habit that I intend to break.
8. Simplify your life - a scary question to ask yourself is ‘how much money am I wasting on mindless consumption habits?’ Last year, I asked myself that question and was so terrified by the answer I put myself on a six-month fashion-detox but that’s a story for another day.
Carly is a 20-something gal living in Brisbane, Australia. She started The Chronicles of Carly in late 2017 with the intention of sharing her experiences as a go-getting gal with the other go-getters out there. You can find Carly at www.thechroniclesofcarly.com or go to her Instagram & Facebook.