How Much Should Your Clothing Budget Be?

I often get asked from client’s how much they should budget for their wardrobe. I usually respond by asking them how much they would spend on a couch. Figuring out how much to spend on clothing is similar to deciding how much you want to spend on home decorating. You just have to break it down piece by piece and decide on how much you are comfortable spending.

So, let’s figure out how much your clothing budget is.

Step 1: What is your total budget?

How much do you want to spend for the year on clothing. Don’t worry about how much you should spend, just come up with a number that feels comfortable for you. Some people choose less than 1% of their total earnings while other choose 10%. There is no right answer here. If you still aren’t sure, skip to Step 2

Step 2: Make your list

Take a quick inventory of your closet. Write a short description. Also , while you aer at it, try to organize the closet with similar items so you can do a quick scan to see what you have. Now, ask yourself the following questions:

What do you have too much of? What don’t you have enough of? What situation are you comfortable getting dressed for and what do you struggle with?

Create a little chart with 4 columns. In the first column, make a list of pieces that you need or pieces that need to be replaced. Make sure they are going to help anchor the closet rather than just go with 1 or 2 other pieces.

Step 3: Prioritize

In the second column write a number to indicate the order of priority.  For example, 1 means that you need it right away and 10 indicates that you can wait for a great sale.

Step 4: Create your budget

Next, decide what you would ideally like to spend on the piece and write that number down in column 3. In the last column jot down the highest amount of money that you would be willing to spend on each of the pieces. This will give you a price range to work within.

Step 5: Compare your yearly budget with the total of your columns. are they similar? If not, what adjustments can you make?

et voila, your clothing budget.