My most asked questions have always been “how do I afford luxury designer items?” and “how can they afford luxury designer items as well?”  I actually don’t have the biggest or best collection of designer or luxury items, but I sure do know how to save without noticing a change in my quality of life and how to shop smarter, so I get the most for my money. 

 

This post may contain affiliate links.  This means that if I recommend something to you and you choose to purchase, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

 

Now, I’m not deluded, at 17 years old and being able to afford 2-3 new designer items each year since does raise some suspicions.  So just to clarify, I have NEVER put any of my designer purchases on credit (mainly because I don’t have a credit card), and I am not involved in anything dodgy!

 

First of all and before I get to the good bit, rent, bills, loans, food etc all need to be purchased first before spending money on any designer or luxury items.  I also do not condone purchasing designer items with the mindset of “I’ll pay it back later” because girl,  Later.  Will.  Not.  Come. 

 

With that out of the way, if you would like to know how to afford a designer handbag, please read on (of course this can be applied to designer shoes or anything else on your wish list).

 

 

1.  TOP CASH BACK

 

Top cash back (TCB) is one my favourite ways to afford designer items on a budget. You simply go to the retailer’s website via the TopCashBack website and shop / check out as you normally would.  Then for each qualifying purchase made through the website, TCB will give you a % of your total back. 

 

There’s so many different retailers including John Lewis, Net-a-Porter and Harvey Nichols so there’s definitely a shop where you’ll find your coveted item.  

 

What’s even better is that you can use TCB on pretty much every online purchase from Amazon to Just-Eat to booking.com. So you can definitely rack up some extra savings just from your normal shopping habits.  For every purchase I make online, I go via the TCB website to really maximise the amount of money I can get back.

 

Then, when you’re ready to make a withdrawal, check out the  suggested retailers, as in some cases if you choose to have a voucher / credit note instead of a BACS or PayPal payment, you can be given a higher amount back to spend. 

 

I really could write a whole blog post just on TCB just because I love it so much!  If you want to check them out just click here.  Or if you would like to know more about TCB and receive even more tips, just leave me a comment below and I will certainly go into more detail.

 

2.  SHOP DURING THE SALES

 

Now, I know this seems a little obvious, but with the amount of sales that happen month after month from retailers, it’s not even worth paying full price for anything anymore! 

 

Of course, the most obvious sales are at the end of summer, Black Friday / around Thanksgiving and after Christmas through to January.  

 

But these days you don’t even have to wait until a completely new season before a sale will go live as so many retailers now have mini sales or at least a ‘pay day discount’. 

 

If you haven’t seen a certain brand or retailer host some sort of sale in a while, it probably means there’s one coming so it may be worth waiting a few weeks (if you can). 

 

 

3.  SHOP SMARTER

 

Essentially, the best way to afford luxury and designer items is to shop smarter and make your money go further.  

 

Now this isn’t always that obvious and for some purchases like shoes, this doesn’t really apply, but for handbags, this can really be gold mine!  Even now, I will still consider how I can shop smarter to make my money stretch further before purchasing a handbag. 

 

The best way to shop smarter is to think of the different ways in which you can make the handbag work for you.   

 

The most obvious and common example is the Louis Vuitton Neverfull tote bag.  There’s so many similar bags from different designers, so if you prefer the Saint Laurent Shopping Bag, this will also apply here. 

 

I’ve seen this bag transform from a work tote bag to a diaper bag, to a beach bag and everything in between.  When you separate the pouch that comes with the bag, you open up a whole new range of options to a passport / travel document holder, evening clutch bag and god knows what else!  The sky really is your limit.  

 

The reason why the Louis Vuitton Neverfull is a smart purchase is because it serves so many different purposes.  If you can only afford one handbag, my recommendation 100 times over would be this handbag, as you essentially have a day and an evening bag all from one purchase. 

 

 

4.  SHOP PRE-LOVED

 

You should know me by now, I seriously cannot talk about how to afford luxury designer handbags without mentioning the pre-loved market. 

 

I understand it’s not for everyone, but I really do believe the market has evolved so much in these last few years and if you look hard enough, there’s pieces which are decades old but are barely used! 

 

If buying pre-loved is something you would be interested in to save some extra few coins, this blog post is the perfect read for you. 

 

 

5.  SEPARATE YOUR MONEY

 

The best tip for saving? Don’t see it, don’t think about it, don’t even go there!  There’s like a zillion saving accounts out there, so why are you trying to save your money in your current account?! 

 

If you’re anything like me, if you see the money, you’ll spend the money. So having a designated savings account will help you out massively here.  I have so many savings accounts all for different purposes and I don’t dip into one unless it’s specifically for that purchase – Yes, I am that crazy. 

 

 

Having different accounts for my larger purchases and where I don’t have easy access to the money, helps me so much in building up a decent amount of savings each month without really noticing how much is in there.   Besides, logging into those accounts every few months is always a nice feeling to see how my account has grown without even realising it. 

 

 

So, I really hope this will help you on your journey to being able to actually afford luxury and designer items as well.  After all, if I was able to start my designer collection whilst working 12-16 hours a week on minimum wage, so can you!