How to spend money...let me count the ways!

My nephew was visiting last week and we had a great time.  The first day he was here I needed to run to the mall to get my niece a birthday present.  I'm not much of a mall shopper (I know there are those of you that are shocked by this).  I park close to where I need to go which is usually Teavana, Origins, Apple or Nordstrom's.  I do my best not to have to walk around the mall.  But, I just wasn't sure what I wanted to get so we wandered a little bit.

My nephew was a trooper.  We started at Burberry and I ended up in a 15 minute conversation about personal style with one of the sales people.  We went to Louis Vuitton and he got a little in the spirit of the outing.  He saw a tie that he really liked and learned a huge lesson.  Louis Vuitton is not where 16 year olds buy ties!

The longer we were in the mall the more he saw things he wanted.  It occurred to me that everything was so sparkly and beautiful to him because he wasn't used to being in a place like this.  They live in a small town without a mall.  Every store we went into he said, "I would wear that...or I could buy that."  If he had unlimited funds he would have spent thousands in just a few hours.  But, it was an opportunity to teach him how to think about spending money.

First of all, you have to know what really matters to you.  I know that I love my Louis Vuitton.  I also know that I am not going to have an unlimited collection of LV bags.  I buy one (or more appropriately, Mark gifts one to me) every 6-7 years.  I carry it pretty much every day.  So, in reality I probably spend far less on handbags than the average woman.

If you are an average person with an average income, you don't buy endless amounts of luxury items.  You must shop with a plan.  I think that is the most important thing after knowing what is most important to you.  Luxury items need to make you feel fantastic.  If you buy something that is terribly expensive and it sits in your closet for the next year without being worn, it is just a waste of money.  But, if you buy an expensive shirt and you wear it every chance you get, then it isn't that expensive in the end.

I found a beautiful, well cut Valentino shirt early this year.  I bought it for my nephew to wear to my brother's wedding.  He has worn it every time he has needed to dress up.  He loves the feel and the way it looks.  When we were shopping and he saw other beautiful shirts we talked about not needing more than one since he didn't dress up all that much.

I think a lot of people get dissatisfied because they can't have all the beautiful things in all the beautiful stores.  So, a lot of people tend to buy more at discount stores than to make a plan and buy what they really want less often.  The next time that you find yourself needing to buy something, think about two things.  Is it really important to you that you this thing is a luxury item...do you want this particular thing to last for years?  And, do you have a plan?  I promise that you will be happier in the end to be able to occasionally buy what you want in a luxury item and know when it doesn't matter!