I can’t help smiling as I start writing this post. I’m thinking of my youngest sister Wanda who taught me some years back that I don’t have to break the bank to look good. She is one of the most elegant women I’ve ever met. I’ll give you some tricks she taught me on how to look good on a tight budget.
Looking good means being clean, smart, trendy, stylish, or fashionable from head to toe. In other words, you become a woman of elegance. When you look good, you feel good about yourself. You feel confident and happy and are ready to take on the world.
How To Look Good On A Tight Budget
With the ongoing financial crisis worldwide, sometimes you may wonder whether you can afford to look good – from head to toe. The good news is that you don’t have to spend loads of cash to look good. You can still look good on a tight budget.
Here are 10 tips on how to look good on a tight budget.
1. Look Out For Online Deals to Look Good On A Tight Budget
One of the best ways to look good on a tight budget is to look out for online deals. Stores all over the world are always competing for ever-elusive customers by having online deals. The deals are even better during annual sales events such as:
- Black Friday – in November
- New Year’s sales
- Christmas sales
- Cyber Monday
The stores where you can get exclusive online deals depend on where you live. Here are some places where you can look out for online deals:
- Amazon
- Jumia
- Ebay
- Kilimall
- Walmart
You can get great deals on various items to help you look good on a tight budget. Below are some items you can buy through these online sellers to help you look good on a tight budget:
- Clothing
- Shoes
- Accessories
- Hair products
- Facial products
- Makeup
- Beauty products
2. Shop in Thrift Stores To Look Good On A Tight Budget
Another great way you can look good on a tight budget is by buying items from thrift stores. Thrift stores sell slightly used goods and the prices are therefore much lower than in stores that sell new goods.
Today, many people all over the world shop in thrift stores. The owners of thrift stores now organize their goods like in ordinary department stores. This gives you an amazing shopping experience.
You can get a wide range of goods to help you look good on a tight budget. Some of the items you can purchase from thrift stores in your area include the following:
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Accessories – belts, purses, jewelry
The benefits you get from shopping in thrift stores to look good on a tight budget include the following:
- You save money as the items are cheaper – they’re slightly used.
- You get unique items; you are unlikely to see someone wearing the same item on the streets.
- You can get high-quality, used goods from renowned and trusted brands.
So, don’t hesitate to visit the thrift shops in your area. You’ll definitely get something that fits your budget and style.
3. Invest In Basic Wardrobe Items To Look Good On A Tight Budget
When shopping for new or used items, it’s good to invest in basic wardrobe items. These are essential and timeless items – they don’t go out of style. So, when you buy these wardrobe items once, you’ll not buy them again for a while and that saves you money.
Some of the must-have basic wardrobe items for any woman who wants to look elegant include the following:
- A simple black dress
- A mid dress
- A white T-shirt
- A pencil skirt
- An A-line skirt
- A pair of black trousers
- A button-down shirt
- A neutral sweater
- A cardigan
- A blazer
- A trench coat
- A pair of straight-leg jeans
The other benefit of investing in basic wardrobe items is that you can mix and match them to create different looks. So, when you have basic wardrobe items, you’ll most likely not complain about “having nothing to wear”.
4. Rock Natural Hair To Look Good On A Tight Budget
As I mentioned earlier, looking good on a tight budget means looking great from head to toe. It therefore starts with your hair. If your hair doesn’t look good it affects your overall look. You see, the most beautiful clothes can’t make up for dirty, unhealthy, or messy hair.
When it comes to hair, one of the best and easiest ways to look good on a tight budget is to rock natural hair. Natural hair is just that – it’s not relaxed or chemically treated.
Nowadays, many women all over the world are rocking natural hair because they have discovered the benefits of doing so.
Here are some benefits you can reap from rocking your natural hair:
Natural hair is low-maintenance: You can wash and treat your hair at home. You therefore don’t need to visit a hair salon often, thus saving loads of cash.
Natural hair is easy to maintain: This mainly depends on the texture of your hair and the hairstyle you prefer. Many a time, you just wash and go.
Natural hair is versatile: When your hair is natural, you can experiment with different hairstyles. You can therefore have a different look for every occasion – amazing.
Before you decide to rock a natural hairstyle, decide what kind of natural hair you’d like to have. For instance, do you like short or long natural hair?
After you’ve made your decision, here’s what you can do.
Short hair
If you like short hair, you could get a cut that suits your face. After getting a cut, all you need is to keep your hair clean, healthy, and shiny. You can do this at home by washing your hair once or twice a week.
Long hair
If you prefer to rock long, natural hair, you can keep it clean, healthy, and shiny by washing it once or twice a week. You can do it at home to save on costs.
For your natural hair to look good on a tight budget it’s important to invest in some basic items. You can get many of these items from online sales.
The items you require for your natural hair include the following:
- A hair shampoo
- A conditioner
- Live-in treatment
- Good quality hair oil
- Styling gel
- A comb
- A hair brush
- A hair-dryer
5. Ensure Your Skin is Healthy and Radiant
Another tip on how to look good on a tight budget is to ensure your skin is healthy and glowing. You see, if your facial skin is not healthy and radiant, you may look dull and unhealthy. Remember that wearing stylish clothes and rocking a great hairstyle can’t cover up unhealthy and dull facial skin.
Some signs that your skin is unhealthy include the following things:
- Patches all over your face – the patches have different tones.
- Excessive darkening around your eyes.
- Dry, itchy, or flaky skin especially around the eyes or lips.
- Bumpy, rough skin – could be due to whiteheads, blackheads, acne, or pimples.
How To Make Your Skin Look Good On A Tight Budget
Oh yes. You can make your skin look good on a tight budget. Here are some things you can do to keep your facial skin healthy and glowing.
- Eat a nutritious diet – avoid junk food and sugary things as they can harm your skin.
- Drink plenty of water to keep your skin moisturized.
- Use a mild cleanser – avoid strong soaps as they strip oil from the skin.
- Moisturize your skin after cleaning – use a moisturizer for your skin type.
- Use sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful sun rays.
- Avoid sleeping with makeup on your face as the makeup damages the skin as you sleep.
When you take good care of your skin, it’ll become healthy and radiant. You’ll look good, without breaking the bank.
6. Do Your Own Makeup To Look Good On A Tight Budget
I know that not every woman likes to wear makeup. My take is that wearing some makeup enhances your beauty. You don’t have to wear a lot of makeup but there are some basic things you can use to enhance your appearance.
The best news is that you can do your own simple makeup.
The beauty of doing your own makeup is that it can help you look good on a tight budget – you don’t have to pay a makeup artist.
Here are some basic items you need to do your own makeup on a tight budget:
- Lip gloss: It makes your lips pop, is easy to apply and one piece lasts for months.
- Lip balm: You can use lip balm instead of lip gloss if you don’t like your lips to shin a lot.
- Lash curler: This budget-friendly item enhances your eyes – it makes you look wide awake instead of tired.
- Mascara: This item gives your eyes a more youthful look.
- Eyebrow pencil: Your eyebrows are your face’s picture frame. You can use an eyebrow pencil to slightly enhance your eyebrows.
- Eyeliner pencil: You apply the eyeliner at the bottom of your upper and lower eyelids. It enhances your eyes’ beauty.
- Concealer: A good concealer is a great makeup item as it hides blemishes and dark circles on your face.
If you invest in these basic makeup items, you can use them to do your own simple makeup. That’s part of looking good on a tight budget.
As you apply your makeup, remember that the best makeup is the one that looks natural. So, keep it simple but tasteful.
7. Take Care Of Your Nails To Look Good On A Tight Budget
Don’t forget that looking good on a budget involves looking good from head to toe. Many times, we neglect our nails. The excuse is that we don’t get time to do our nails due to the many house chores. In addition, the nail polish chips off almost immediately because of the house tasks we have to do, right?
Suppose you wear a stylish outfit, awesome shoes, a great hairstyle, and beautiful makeup but your hand and toe nails are unkempt. In that case, your look may backfire because your unkempt nails stand out like a sore thumb.
You don’t have to spend loads of cash to take care of your nails. You can take care of your nails on a tight budget and still look good. You can achieve this by doing it yourself.
If you’re worried that the chores you do will chip off your nail polish, it’s better to do your nails just before going out for a function.
Here are items you need to keep your toenails and fingernails looking good on a tight budget:
- Nail polish remover: To remove old polish from your nails.
- Cotton balls: To dip in the nail polish remover to remove the old nail polish.
- A nail cutter: To cut your nails to the size you desire.
- A nail file: To file your nails to the shape you want.
- A nail buffer: It makes your nails smooth enough in readiness for the nail polish.
- A cuticle remover: To remove any dead skin around your nails.
- All-in-one nail polish: This polish is easy and quick to apply as it acts as a base-coat and a topcoat. You can choose a colorless nail polish or nude nail polish such as cream or beige.
- Quick Dry Drops: This item helps to speed up the nail polish’s drying time. It’s ideal for busy moms.
When you invest in these simple items, you can easily make your nails look good whenever the need arises. In other words, your nails can look good on a tight budget.
8. Invest in Good Shoes To Look Good On A Tight Budget
The shoes you wear can make or break your outfit. They also tell a lot about your sense of style. Your shoes can also affect your mood and self-confidence positively or negatively.
For instance, if you wear a fabulous outfit with hideous shoes, you’ll ruin your entire look. When you wear a fabulous outfit with a great pair of shoes, you feel awesome, happy, and confident.
A good pair of shoes doesn’t come cheap and you could be wondering how you can look good on a tight budget when it comes to shoes. The good news is that you can look good on a tight budget if you shop for shoes in the right places.
Here are ways you can shop for shoes to look good on a tight budget:
Look For Online Shoe Bargains To Look Good On A Tight Budget
There are numerous places where you can buy shoes at discounted prices online. You can shop for all types of shoes from these online shoe dealers.
Some of the places where you can shop for good shoes on a tight budget include the following:
- Amazon
- Jumia
- Zulily
- Jiji
- Kilimall
Buy Shoes From Thrift Stores To Look Good On a Tight Budget
Other places you can buy shoes to look good on a tight budget are thrift stores. These stores sell slightly used shoes at a pocket-friendly price. The beauty of buying shoes from thrift stores is that you can get good quality shoes from reputable brands at a fraction of the price.
Here are thrift stores where you can buy shoes to look good on a budget.
- ThredUp
- Poshmark
- DSW
- Depop
- Thriftify
You can also visit your local thrift stores to shop for shoes. You’ll definitely find shoes to suit your style and budget.
Shoes To Buy To Look Good On a Tight Budget
When buying shoes on a tight budget, it’s important to go for timeless pieces. These are shoes that will not go out of fashion regardless of the season. That way, you don’t have to worry about changing shoe trends. That’s what part of looking good on a tight budget is about.
Here are the shoes that every woman should have in her collection.
- A pair of flats
- A pair of open-toed heels
- A pair of sandals
- A pair of comfortable heels
- A pair of sneakers
- A pair of ankle boots
- A pair of rain boots
Tips For Buying New Or Used Shoes On A Tight Budget
When buying new or used shoes on a tight budget, it’s good to ensure that the shoes you buy are worth your time, effort, and money.
Here are some tips for buying new or used shoes on a tight budget:
Buy good quality shoes
Look out for discounted prices from reputable brands. You can also get them from thrift stores. You see, if you buy cheap shoes, you save cash but you may have to replace them sooner rather than later.
A good quality shoe is durable and thus saves you money in the long run.
Go for neutral colors
Neutral-colored shoes such as black or nude are easy to match with different outfits in your wardrobe. Neutral colors are also timeless – you can wear them for a long time. You end up saving money in the long run.
Buy well-fitting shoes
When you buy shoes to look good on a tight budget, it’s best to buy well-fitting shoes. Well-fitting shoes are comfortable and they flatter your feet and legs. If you have any doubts about the way the shoes fit you, it’s better to return them.
Suppose you buy ill-fitting shoes. In that case, they’ll not serve you well and you could discard them sooner than later. That is not good for a person who wants to look good on a tight budget.
9. Use Accessories Wisely To Look Good On A Tight Budget
The other thing you can do to look good on a tight budget is to use accessories wisely. You see, accessories spruce up your look – they help to add style and color to your look. Using accessories wisely means experimenting to see what works for you.
Some accessories you can experiment with include the following:
- Jewellery – necklaces, bracelets, earrings
- Belts
- Glasses
- Hats
- Scarves
- Purses
Where To Buy Accessories To Look Good On a Tight Budget
You can shop for accessories without breaking the bank from the following places:
Online discount stores
Online discount stores usually sell all types of good quality accessories at highly discounted prices.
Below are some online discount stores where you can buy new accessories to look good on a tight budget:
- Lulus
- Amazon
- Jumia
- Icing
- Kilimall
Thrift stores
Interestingly, you can also buy good quality, used accessories from thrift stores. Some thrift stores have antique or vintage accessories that you can use for years.
Below are thrift stores where you can buy good quality, used accessories to look good on a tight budget:
- Etsy
- Ebay
- Trove
- Vinted
10. Be Confident To Look Good On A Tight Budget
Last but not least, it’s important to wear your confidence to look good on a tight budget. For instance, don’t concentrate on the price of the items you’re wearing or the fact that you did your own makeup, hair, and nails. Try to think instead of how good you look as you step out.
You see, the amount of money you spend doesn’t determine how good you look. How you carry yourself and how you embrace your style determine how good you look.
So, rock your look with confidence and boldness and you’ll feel great and look good even on a tight budget.
Final Thoughts
There you have it ladies. You can become a woman of elegance on a tight budget. I hope the tips I’ve given you will be helpful to you. Cheers.
What do think about looking good on a tight budget? Do you have any tips that have worked for you? Kindly share them with others at the end of this article.
Also read: Dress to impress yourself – not others
