Stretching the Dollar

If you‘re a teen, you’ll probably know how precious every single penny is. Tasha Teong provides you with ten tips to help you stretch that dollar!

  1. Be yourself! – Being a fashion sheep will make you question your sense of originality and envy the trend-setter but remember that trends are expensive and transient, so buy something that you like, and will wear for a lot more than two weeks.
  2. Use a list – Don’t go window shopping unless you have the cash to spare! A list will keep you focused on your items and not make you stray to other things.
  3. Use cash, not credit – It’s definitely more painful to watch the cash leave your fingers. But the upside is that you can keep track of how much money you’re spending and that will compel you to control the urge to spend more.
  4. Think before you buy – That fluorescent pink pair of tights suddenly don’t seem like such a good idea now, does it? No impulse buys, please. It’s such a waste.
  5. Be choosy – Do you really like it? Will you wear it more than once? Ask yourself these questions and more when you purchase clothes and other applicable items.
  6. Be resourceful – Not everything in life is free, but the things that are free are pretty good. Take hanging out with your family, borrowing books and movies from friends or the library, personalising old clothes and cloud-spotting with your friends – they are all free.
  7. Be patient – You don’t really need some things the very second you see them. Wait until prices go down, or when there’s a sale and you can get some seriously good discounts.
  8. Try more than one store – You’ll end up kicking your behind when you find out that the over-priced book you bought at that major retail store is being sold at half-price down at the second-hand bookshop.
  9. Stay strong – Have the courage to say NO to some things. You can also tell it those pushy shop assistants who push their items on unsuspecting customers who usually have no need for those products.
  10. Haggle and bargain – And if you must get that [whatever it is], haggle for all it’s worth. You won’t know until you try, right? It doesn’t hurt to ask for a small discount, especially if you’re purchasing expensive items with cash. It’s not shameful to ask for a lower price, chances are you will get it if you ask, so go wild!