The broke girl's guide to slaying on a budget

The pocket money you have is meant for basic needs like buying food, bus fare or paying rent and such. When you’re in campus, there’s so much pressure to look good because of the whole clique mentality and influence. There’s always the wannabe slay queens that slay at school, making you feel like you’re doing the bare minimum to look good. But what many people overlook is that fashion is not about big brand names but what you actually do with what you have. If you’re looking to slay on a budget, we will show you how you can do that.

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1. The first thing would be to develop a sense of personal style so that even when shopping, you know what you’re going for and not buying things haphazardly.

What do you lean towards fashion wise? Minimalism? Vintage styles? Bohemian? A little mix of everything? Identify your personal style.

2. Before you buy, DIY.

Thanks to YouTube channels, now there are so many content creators from whom you can learn loads of DIY from décor to makeup to fashion. Before you buy that wrap top you want, check to see if there’s an easy way you can make yourself one at home.

3. Ditch the labels, and the knock offs and go for stand out statement pieces.

Honestly, if you can’t afford the Gucci bag, it’s really okay. Neither can a majority of us. But instead of running to grab yourself a Moi Avenue couture fake bag, get a cute prop such as a statement bag, think of a bag that’s embellished or one that has writings on it. It will definitely be that one piece that brings the whole look to life.

4. Sell what you don’t need.

You need to make that money to shop right? Nowadays, you can simply open up an Instagram page and actually resell your stylish clothes that you no longer wear, then use that money to shop for what you need.

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5. Be on the look out for sales.

There are always yard sales happening every other weekend, be assertive online to be able to know when those are happening so that you can attend and see what you can buy. Also, on sales, look out for when online stores such as Instagram shops have sales, sometimes you can get things as cheap as a 100/-

6. Make thrift shopping your best friend.

Thrifting is cheaper and you can find really stylish clothes. I’d suggest you follow style influencers and other sources of style inspiration such as Pinterest and fashion online and print magazines to give you an idea of what’s currently trending and how to style it so that when you go thrifting, and find some of those pieces, you can know how to rock them.

7. Ditch the wigs.

Wigs and weaves are expensive. Find a cute cheaper signature hairstyle that looks great on you be it a short haircut, braid style or even natural hairstyle.

8. Learn how to do your own mani-pedis.

You can buy your own nail kit and do your own nails from the comfort of your house, saving yourself a coin or two.

9. Learn how to make cheap look expensive.

You can invest in some high-end basics like a good shoe, belt, jewelry or bag. You can then mix up the low-end and high-end pieces, to make your full outfit look like it’s fresh out of the runway. For instance, you can style thrifted leggings with a thrifted biker jacket and shirt and complete the outfit with an expensive shoe, to look like a fashion aficionado.