When to splurge on luxury
We’ve all fallen victim to wish listing before, lusting over a designer handbag or a special pair of shoes that you just can’t stop thinking about. There are some key considerations to make sure that what you invest your money in offers long term returns that make a splurge less of a risk.
Splurge levels
The first thing to identify is what do you classify as a “splurge” when comparing it to your usual shopping budget. A splurge is subjective, because it means that it’s a stretch beyond what you’d normally spend. Though a lot of products I feature on here are designer, to others a splurge could be boutique high street stores, premium brands and all the way to luxury.
Splurging on an item does not mean that you need to spend more overall. The key strategy is to think longer term with your budget and stagger your purchases into a flow that saves in the months leading up to a splurge.
In the below example, you can spend the same amount of money overall, but achieve very different outcomes. It could be buying fewer things but spending more money on them, or splurging on specific categories then saving in others to balance out your budget. You need to identify the best spending curve for your shopping behaviour and then work around it.
Consistent vs. save & splurge spending
There are some key behavioural differences that might make it easier to adopt one spending curve or the other…
Do you window shop or bookmark items for later?
How long do you typically wait to purchase something?
Would you consider your shopping behaviour impulsive or random?
Would you consider your shopping behaviour considered and calculated?
Adopting a curved budget requires dedication and structure, or you are bound to overspend, so it is critical to be honest with yourself about how you wish list or make shopping decisions. For instance, if you tend to browse regularly and wish list, but do not actually make purchases that frequently, a save & splurge model would be relatively simply to adopt as your already mirror that pattern of behaviour naturally. If however you tend to pop into a shop when you have some spare time and purchase unplanned items, it will be difficult to adhere to a savings budget or plan a splurge further down the line. What you want to avoid is purchasing without intention, which can result in overspending and realistically, indulging beyond your means.
Sound investments
This is where it gets cloudy. What makes a splurge worthwhile? What items should you spend more money on? There are countless books written by industry professionals that would suggest you should invest in your basics. A classic trench coat, a black cashmere sweater, a pair of nude pumps… and I’m going to disagree with all of them.
To me, your basics get the most wear. So although they may have the lowest cost per wear, they will also need to be replaced the most often. Nothing in your wardrobe is going to last forever - and you can stretch their lifespan with proper care - but they aren’t what I would spend a little bit more on. The high street do some amazing quality pieces nowadays and I think that basics can more or less be covered by your favourite shop.
A sound investment is something that makes you feel special and you will find many opportunities to enjoy and wear. It can certainly be tricky to know where to start, but I made the conscious decision to take my time and buy things I could see myself wearing for years. By firstly remembering how much of my life is spent at work, I outlined that my splurges needed to be office appropriate. My work to weekend wardrobe doesn’t vary that much, so that automatically makes each item that much more versatile. That gave me the freedom to spend more on specific pieces like a fresh pop of colour in a cashmere sweater, a pleated skirt or a printed dress. It may seem like an indulgence because they are not necessarily neutral, but after years of considered purchases and consistency in my style, I’ve built a wardrobe I’m excited to dig into every day.
Determining what those investments might be for you should really focus around the foundation of your wardrobe. Selecting special pieces for the building blocks of your wardrobe that you wear most often and can easily incorporate into multiple outfits are what I would consider a sound investment for a splurge.