(February 23, 2009) – Get off the stylish clothing bandwagon.  Buy clothes that are more conservative.  Since they are not stylish, you can wear them for more years before they look really outdated.  Look over the old Dress for Success books for some ideas.

When an article of clothing is damaged, repair it.  Patch a hole in pants and wear them around the house or when gardening.  Sew a new button on your shirt.

I find some shirts so poorly made that the buttons fall off during the first washing.  You can buy new buttons, but there’s a better way to save.  When that old shirt is completely worn out and really ready for the trash, cut off the buttons and save them.  Use these buttons to replace lost ones.

I had one multi-millionaire client years ago.  He stayed a millionaire by refusing to spend money needlessly.  He’d put patches on his sweaters, save buttons, and never buy anything that wasn’t on sale.  He was a true tightwad.