4% clothing budget - more? less? - YouLookFab Forum

Category

General

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

4% clothing budget - more? less?

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I read this yet again in a magazine recently. They also suggested that cost per wear should get to $2 or you shouldn't buy it! (I'm not so sure on that one - many ladies would be naked at black tie events I think)
I figured out that means I need to take home $500 a week to have a $1000 clothing budget next year. Yes, it said take home pay, after taxes and what not. But then I started to rethink this. I have no car payment. We have no mortgage payment (just condo dues each month). Does the same % apply? And then I got to wondering what other costs they assume us to have. Childcare, college tuition savings? (I'm childless)
Maybe 4% isn't such a magic number, just as $2 cost per wear is not the end all be all for many.

Do you know what your clothing budget % is? If not, do you estimate that it is over 4% or under? Do you think you spend a reasonable amount, or not enough, or way too much?

General

20 replies

Latest reply was from fashionista

Anonymous

Mine is under 4 %.

Isabel

Veteran

Mo, I believe that there is no magic number..excuse the pun, but it is like off-the rack budgeting. Every person's life is so different and unique and has different priorities that a generalization just doesn't work.

Last winter I was probably around 3-4 %...which was A LOT for us. I gained all that weight and nothing fit me. Normally, I wouldn't spend anywhere near that in one year. But I just didn't NEED stuff the way that I did last year. I also have two kids with 529(s), I add to an IRA, my husbands adds to a 401(k), my kids take music lessons....etc. Those are my priorities.

So I totally agree with you on your observations. FWIW, Suze Orman once said that 50% of your discretionary budget is fine to spend on clothes as long as you have no credit card debt.

Lisa

Veteran

I am pretty certain I'm way over 4%. And I like the CPW down to $2, but I don't think that's really do-able. Some items just are not going to last enough washing to get down to $2

rae

(website)

Veteran

Bah... Like you, I have no car payment, mortgage, loan payments, children. I also choose not to pay for cable television, Netflix, air conditioning, pedicures... the list could go on. I like the general idea of budgeting and wearing things a lot, but I'm not batting an eye at the % I spend on clothes, because I've already reconciled my own budget and decided that it is worth it to me.

Raisin

Veteran

I think for sure I'm under 4%. But I do have children, child care, one car payment, a mortgage, etc....so it can't go too high. Is that 4% per person, or per household? If its the household, then were definitely over. The four of us are probably about 8-10% together.....I'm guesstimating.

modgrl

(website)

Veteran

I don't think I could realistically get down to $2 CPW on anything except jeans. Clothes just don't last that long with me. My clothing expenses have been closer to 15% for the last year and a half since I joined YLF. Things are starting to slow down now. I am pretty happy with my wardrobe and just make some purchases here and there and don't feel like I need to constantly shop to replace the things I have purged. I am hoping to be closer to 10% next year.

catgirl

Veteran

Mine has been high the last couple of years, probably 6% or so - I had not been dressing my style or my post-pregnancy body properly, so a lot of experiments and mistakes along the way. My plan is to slow down next year and make more considered purchases a la MaryK's one per month plan. I now have a wardrobe that can be added to judiciously rather than a lot of holes. And we have other costs to cover (kitchen remodel, travel, parents' big anniversary party, saving for college and retirement)...

unfrumped

Veteran

It seems like a meaningless number to me. For one thing, you don't have an ongoing commitment with your clothing budget (like a mortgage) so you can vary it in an instant, if you had to.

And the $2 CPW is what, an average? Plus, it's mixing apples and oranges to talk % on one hand and then hard $ on the other--so, CPW could be higher if you are spending 2% of a higher income.

I have a number of essentials that I'm sure are down to pennies per wear--sure, that may be only some hard-wearing work slacks, shoes, tops & tanks, but still. The total budget per year that's affordable for you and how much satisfaction you have from your wardrobe (not just "fab" looking but meets your needs for all occasions/capsules) is what counts. Meaning, one person may buy a new status bag each year and not get to $2, but if they budgeted for it, who cares? Still, CPW is a good overall concept to keep in mind to compare what items seemed to give you the best value on all counts.
mo, I agree--for dressy events, we'd not be wearing Angie's naked dress, we'd be naked! Dresses, for me, have a relatively high CPW because I don't wear them to work. But, I keep a couple of dresses on hand for occasions where I feel most appropriately dressed that way. I just have to factor That into my whole deal as the cost, for me, of having capsules for most occasions. But, CPW helps me try to think more flexibly about how I might be on the lookout for items that cross over between capsules, and not to overexpand in these high-CPW capsules just because something looks pretty.

Anonymous

I do spend about 50% of my play money - discretionary income - on clothes. That probably is about 5% of my household income, and about 15% of my take home pay on average. I don't have my clothing budget listed as a need, rather it is a want, and I don't see it slowing down either.

I really have no other hobby at the moment. I enjoy the "curating" of my wardrobe and enjoy changing style directions and trying new things. Clothes are my hobby. I also don't have any debt, either on CCs or mortgage, car payments, loans etc, not until next year when my daughter starts college. That gives me some flexibility to be a little more irresponsible. Talk to me next year though.

CPW is something I don't track. I find I cannot commit to any piece of clothing for such a long term. I buy something if I like it and I let it go once I no longer do.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I see we do have a range of %'s as I thought we would. Does anyone think they could/should spend more, or that they should be spending less? I feel I am right at a good rate (probably 1-2% for FL and closer to 5-6% in CA). My BF doesn't seem to think the money is at issue, at any rate, it's the Volume of clothes that's his issue!

cinnamon fern

Veteran

I often feel like I should be spending less, but I think it's irrational. You should spend your money in whatever way makes you happiest! (Once retirement savings and bills are taken care of.) If it makes someone happy to spend three-quarters of their discretionary income on shoes, then good for her.

Gaylene

Veteran

I'm with Umfrumped in thinking that these sort of numbers are totally useless, just like saying that everyone ought to be xxx pounds, regardless of height, bone structure, body shape, etc.

It's probably not bad to think to estimate how much you spend monthly or annually on clothing to avoid overspending and all the issues that go along with that problem. And CPW can be helpful when trying to make a decision about whether or not to make a purchase. But we all have such different attitudes towards what is a "reasonable" amount to allocate to the various areas of our lives, that setting specific values is probably more about trying to find a topic for a magazine article than it is about real life.

Aida

Veteran

I do spent the bulk of my play money on clothes, primarily because I don't play with much else these days. I think if you don't have other areas where that money _needs_ to be, then spending more is fine IF you're ok with it.

Stargirl

(website)

I maintain a $1/wear cost on my clothing, with the exception of formal wear. I have a $100/month budget for clothing and makeup. I tend to thrift a lot, so these rules work for me. And I really need to have these rules for my spending or I'll be broke pretty quickly! I'll often break my budget by about $100 over the course of the year, but if I didn't have the budget, I'd probably be spending several hundred more than I'd like.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

Imo people who are okay with money make guidelines to suit their circumstances. They will work things out for themselves & are responsible. People who aren't responsible probably aren't going to follow guidelines anyway.

Thistle

Veteran

I spent nothing for close to 2 years on clothes. There seemed little point when we trying to get pregnant. I got a lot of hand me downs from my SILs for maternity wear, and it took me close to a year to fit back into my pre pregnancy clothes. Even then, my body is different ( I am talking to you, mommy pouch!)

That said, I am spending more now because of it. We do have a mortgage, no car payments, and no credit card debt. We both put aside to our 401ks, but with daycare expenses, we have not ut aside as much for our Roths or DDs 529 as we would like. Still, we need to live in the here and now as well as the future.

$2 per wear. Hmm. A $75 pair of pantsnwould have to be worn 37 times to get there. $75 is not unreasonable for pant, I don't think. Over three years,myo would have to wear them 12-13 times a year - every other week for half a year for three years. Maybe wardrobe workhorses, but I think you would be hard pressed to find too many items that can meet that unless you are get most items on deep sale.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Yes, I agree the CPW seemed a bit unsubstantiated and just sort of picked out of thin air. FWIW, I like things to get to $5 or less, but won't freak out if they don't
And I think I am totally comfortable spending 5% of take home pay on clothing. It's more that I share expenses with the BF, and half the time he is the only one working, and so it's not just MY money.

Echo

Veteran

As long as your other committments are covered (paying bills, doing one's best to stay out of or pay down debt, saving for a rainy day and retirement, etc.), then discretionary income is just that - at YOUR discretion. Clothing might matter more to some, while hobbies, collections, sporting goods, travel or other things might matter more to someone else.

cloud9

Veteran

I think a % of income/pay seems quite odd. So for someone who makes $50k would spend $2000 on clothes? That seems too much...and every year?? I think the amount would be more relative. I like the idea of a % of discretionary/play money.

As for CPW, I think it's a good rule of thumb for general dressing, not special needs or special occasion. I think it's reasonable for me to think that before buying a jacket for work. My math goes like this.. Probably wear it once a week for 4 months, then i'll get tired of it, down to once every 2 weeks, for a couple more months, then season change. So about 20 times, then for next year and on, say another 20 times. So about 40times, am I willing to pay the $100 price tag? My expectation of CPW is usually lower, but doesn't always work out that way..

fashionista

Veteran

Mine is way too much, sometimes 100%....lol after taxes, loan payment, savings and other inevitable expenses. In total more than 4% I must say.