Today, Karen has some beautiful thoughts of wisdom to share. Read on, friends….you will be glad you did. She will take it from here….

HOW TO MAKE A CLOTHING BUDGET

(Photo of Karen’s clothing rack…her husband handmade this pretty clothing rack.)

I love budgets. I find them fascinating. I love financial goals and maps. My husband and I listen to personal finance guru Dave Ramsey almost daily, and are just a tad jealous of our neighbors who have paid off their home and are in their early 30s! But I also have an affinity for clothing. A wardrobe of well-made pieces I can wear often and aren’t too trendy is my aim. I’ve had to learn how to balance my desire to handle money wisely and my eye for clothing, and I have found it’s an uncomplicated task.

 My interest in budgets came when I graduated from college, and was uncomfortable having a college loan to repay. It made me so uneasy that I sat down with my friend’s dad who is a financial counselor and made a strict budget. It took me one year to watch the debt disappear by strictly monitoring each dollar spent.  For the next seven years, I abided by my own budget. But then I married, and I no longer had my money, but our money. One of our pre-marriage counseling sessions involved sitting down with my friend’s dad to make a new budget together. Perhaps silly to admit, my biggest fear was having to cut my clothing budget. When we reached the clothing portion, Kyle had no idea someone would spend as much money on clothing a month as I did. He went shopping two times a year for only the apparel he needed. (What!?). Much to my surprise, my friend’s counselor was on my side.  Thankfully, Kyle left the meeting with the same philosophy he has today when it involves his wife with her clothing budget: it is a way he shows her love. He finds joy watching me find joy. And if that means making sure I have money each month to buy new shoes or a new t shirt, so be it.

But the question is, how do you know how much money to spend on clothing? Where does the money come from when it seems like there are so many other more important things to buy? How do I have money for my clothing when I need to buy my kids clothing? I’m a broke college student, where do I get my clothing money? My insurance costs went through the roof; I don’t see how a clothing budget will be a priority? And on and on the reasons could go. But here are some simple clothing budgeting rules that have worked well for our family.

1.
First and foremost—have a budget! You can’t have a clothing budget if you don’t have a budget for every other area of your financial life. To set up a budget, try using this helpful calculator.

2.
For a clothing budget, the suggestion from Dave Ramsey is 5-15% of your net income (after taxes). That’s a big range. If you are in an excellent financial spot in life, then by all means, go ahead and spend 15% of your income on clothing. My husband and I are trying to pay off our mortgage early, so I spend 4% of our net income a month on clothing. I’d rather spend less now so that later in life, I will be able to see the clothing category increase. If you have two children, maybe you want to spend 4% on yourself and 8% on them. Moms, don’t combine your budget with your kids’. Have separate categories or you will end up spending most of the money on your children. I have a category for our daughter, and I have a category for my husband and me.

 3.
Always use cash or a debit card for clothing purchases. DON’T EVER GO INTO DEBT TO BUY CLOTHING. That type of credit is bondage and doesn’t let you live freely. There will always be a bit of guilt associated with spending because you know you don’t have the money. Regardless of how many American consumers think, if you can’t pay with cash, you can’t afford it. I have stopped signing up for store credit cards that reward me points or discounts for using their card. I tend to spend too freely in those scenarios, but when I use debit and cash, I think about my purchases. (For those of you who may have racked up credit card debt, I encourage you to follow Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball plan, put all your energy toward paying off any cards, and then build a clothing fund.)

 4.
The money has to come from somewhere so be willing to sacrifice in other areas. I don’t have a smart phone or a gym membership. Those are things I forgo so we have some money to put into the clothing fund. Also, I cook for us a lot. I can count on my hand how many times we have eaten out since January.  We drive older, paid for cars, so no car payments that would eat away at my clothing fund. Some people can go to the gym, have a smart phone, own a nice car and still have a healthy clothing budget, but Kyle and I aren’t at that point in our financial journey so we make sacrifices.

5.
Make sure you aren’t skipping other important areas to fill your clothing fund. Health insurance, retirement (10-15% of your income before taxes), tithing, etc.

6.
Build up your clothing fund. I like to have a minimum of $300 in the account. That way, whenever I go shopping, we travel to a new area, or I see a great jacket online, I know I can purchase something nice. It also makes me not spend as hastily.

7.
Try to think of creative ways to add money to your clothing fund. Money can be really tight, especially for growing families or students paying for college. If you can’t seem to find money in your budget to allow yourself a clothing fund, try having a yard sale, sell something on eBay or Craig’s List, get paid for doing a hobby you enjoy, or take your old clothes to a consignment shop.

I’d like to take just moment to address the married couples. Budgets can truly help your marriage. My husband and I have never had one argument about money. We’ve agreed to a budget. I don’t overspend in any area; Kyle doesn’t overspend in any area. One time a woman was lamenting to me, “Guys, they are all the same. They just want to spend money on themselves.” Thankfully, that statement has no truth to me. I grew up in a very traditional home where my mom, a homemaker, was rather frugal and didn’t demand much for herself, but I would observe my dad giving her money and saying, “Why don’t you go buy yourself a new outfit?” He delighted in seeing her have something lovely and something new. Thankfully, I have a husband who has the same heart. Kyle watches every penny we spend (literally! he has spreadsheets on his computer dating back to 2010 showing where every dollar has been allocated since we married and combined finances), but there are times when he will surprise me by putting extra money in the clothing budget or buying a shirt online for me that I thought was too expensive when we saw it in the store.  On the flip side, I don’t go on crazy shopping sprees and surprise Kyle with bills. His heart trusts me with money. Husbands and wives, the way you handle finances is a way you can show your spouse love and a way you can build trust.

One last note on budgets. I think some people steer clear of them because they seem too constricting and binding. There is no freedom to do what you want with your money. But I encourage you to look at it from the opposite angle. I have found too much freedom in having a budget to ever want to live without one. Sometimes, bondage can be freedom and freedom can be bondage. Author Roberston McQuilkin, a man who resigned from his job as a college president to be the full time caretaker of his wife with early Alzheimer’s said, “Sometimes bondage can be a delightful liberation.” That is how I see budgets: a delightful liberation. Life without a budget is bondage. It’s life lived with twinges of guilt when clicking “Pay Now” or swiping a card. A budget is freedom because you control your money; your money isn’t controlling you. Being disciplined always reaps rewards, and what we need in our country are individuals, couples, and families, who have taken responsibility for their finances, aren’t enslaved to debt, live within their financial means, and look confidently at the future.

 For further reading or financial inspiration, I suggest Total Money Makeover and Financial Peace University.