What’s a fashion conscious, financially mindful, debt paying guy to do?

I used to be a huge fan of fashion – keeping up with all of the newest trends and devouring new GQ issues with a fervor. I’d regularly drop $100 on a single shirt or a few hundred dollars on some fancy new jeans. If an item had a high price, it must be high quality, right? It was an “investment.” My vast and ever changing wardrobe brought me pride, and I wanted to be the best dressed in any room I entered.

I was also an idiot, because I spent way too much money on clothing for way too many years of my life.

Now I don’t mean to say that dressing well is idiotic. It makes sense to spend some money on quality clothing that you know is going to last for a while. A solid pair of dress shoes or a nice suit for example.

So What Are You Trying To Say?

What I’m saying is that amassing a closet full of expensive pieces of cotton/linen/cashmere is foolhardy when you think of the opportunity cost of that investment. This is especially true if you are in debt. You may think you are able to “afford” the items that you purchase, but in reality if you are in debt you absolutely cannot.

You need a plan to look good on a tight budget.

I developed this plan when I returned from overseas travel in early 2015. After spending a year living out of a backpack, I realized how little I actually needed to live comfortably. I adopted a type of minimalism, and began to sell many of my possessions.

While I was loving the feeling of decluttering and paring down my possessions, I realized that I needed to refresh my wardrobe as I re-entered the business world. Unfortunately, tank tops and shorts don’t tend to fly as a work outfit in most business environments.

Instead of shopping at all the bespoke places as I had before, I started shopping at discount retailers. For example, I shop regularly at TJ Maxx which provides good quality, fashionable apparel for great prices.

If you read my last post, you’ll know about my other savings hack. Check out the link below to help you save money at TJ Maxx using Raise:

Shop T.J. Maxx (Online Only) gift cards at Raise.com!

Especially since I now get most of my clothes from there for free!

More accurately, I should say that I get most of my clothes for free, minus about an hour of my time.

So how do I do it?

The Hack: 

In short, I buy discounted items from TJ Maxx and sell them on eBay in order to subsidize my purchases. Check out the steps below:

Step 1: Identify what you need/want before you go

I may need a pair of jeans, or a new white dress shirt because I got a gnarly stain on the only one I have (#minimalism). Whatever it is, I try to know what I’m going into the store for so that I don’t just browse around unnecessarily.

Step 2: Shop around and find what you want

Spend some time trying things on, investigating the quality of the piece, etc. Make sure it looks like a sturdy, well made item. There’s no point in “saving money” on a fast fashion shirt that’s going to disintegrate in the washer in a year. Make sure to try everything on, make sure it fits well, and check the materials to see if it will shrink in the dryer.

Step 3: Calculate the cost of your purchases

Step 4: Browse the store to find items that might resale well online using Amazon/Ebay apps on your phone

I frequently hit up the “Runway” section* of TJ Maxx, which offers higher end clothing such as Versace, Hugo Boss, True Religion, etc. I also make sure to check the clearance section and look for items like Express, American Eagle, Under Armor, and Nike.

*The Runway section is not available at all TJ Maxx stores

Try to find a piece that either appeals to a mass audience, or that is extremely niche. Those are your best bets to sell online.

Look at the difference between what it is selling for in the store, and what it is selling for online. If you find an item that has a decent margin, then go for it!

You must be careful here, because the retail price online can be misleading. You usually can’t sell an item for the retail price, or else it wouldn’t be at TJ Maxx.

Make sure you are checking what the item actually sold for on eBay so that you know you can still make a profit. For instance, if an item retails for $100, many times people on eBay won’t spend more than $50-70 on it, even if it has the original tags.

I usually stay away from anything that won’t at least net me $10-$20 after all of my costs (shipping fees, eBay fees, and purchasing fees). Any less than that and it’s not really worth your time.

It may sound confusing, but really it’s quite simple once you get the hang of it.

Step 5: Sell the items on eBay

Set up an account, list your item, and sell it. eBay takes a small percentage fee for its service, but you can still make great profits.

Once you get used to the process, you can do all of this in about an hour at most. Spend 15-20 minutes buying your inventory, 15 minutes taking quality pictures and listing your item, and then 30 minutes managing the post and shipping the item when it sells. That’s it.

Now I know you may be curious about what if the item doesn’t sell? Well you have two options. First, you can return the item to TJ Maxx within 30 days and get your money back. It’s like having risk free inventory.

Second, if you happen to miss the 30 day window, or if you just want to try to sell something else, you can still take the item back, but you can only exchange it for store credit. AKA – something that might sell better.

Step 6: Enjoy your clothes!

My Real Life Example:

If it sounds simple, that’s because it is. I’ll give you a real life example as I bring this post to a close.

As I mentioned before, in 2015 I really needed to update my wardrobe after traveling overseas. Specifically, I needed a new pair of jeans, a couple of business shirts, and a pair of business slacks.

I went to TJ Maxx and found a great pair of Lucky brand jeans on clearance for $29 (they retailed for $150), a Michael Kors dress shirt for $40 (retailed for $90), two Polo dress shirts for $30 a piece (retailed at $85), and two pairs of Hugo Boss slacks for $35 a piece (retailed at $70.) Overall, I was going to be spending about $200.

Shifting gears from shopping for me to shopping in order to flip pieces, I began browsing the TJ Maxx clearance area. I found a pair of Versace men’s dress pants priced at $80. They were great pants, but they were a size that isn’t very common. I checked online and found that these pants retailed for $500! Ebay showed that similar pants had sold recently for around $300.

As you might assume, I bought the pants, sold them online for $300, and made about $200 after the purchase costs, shipping fees, and eBay fees. I used that $200 to reimburse myself for all of the clothes that I bought for my wardrobe that day.

Ultimately, I was able to snag $550 worth of retail purchases for $0!

In full disclosure, this example is a particularly good one. This was one of my best flip results thus far, as usually it takes a few items to flip in order to cover the costs of the items you want to buy. However, I hope it illustrates that with a little bit of work and a little bit of savvy, you can be a well dressed, financially conscious, debt fighting individual.

I’ve used this hack for around three years now, and I rarely have had to pay out of pocket for every day wear clothing. I hope you have just as much success with it as I have!

What about you? Do you think you will use this hack? What ways do you utilize hacks to make sure you look great while getting out of debt at the same time?