Secrets to the Designer Life on a Pauper's Salary

...Ok, maybe not quite a pauper's salary... but an average salary. It is possible, without any coupon clipping involved - I promise!

My husband, Scott, and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this past weekend. We dug out and watched our wedding video after many years and I was reminded of how much effort we put into having a fancy and expensive looking wedding within our very average budget. We did things like designed and made our own invitations which resembled a high end, custom version. My mom made my dress after I hired a friend to design it to look like one I saw in a magazine. We hired a local music student to play piano in our ceremony and cocktail hour. You get the idea... (Maybe I should write an article about creating a high end wedding on a budget - stay tuned for that in a future month!)

Since I opened my financial planning firm helping young professionals here in Boston, I have spoken to many clients who are living a fairly comfortable life. They earn an average salary and are not interested in (nor do they need to be) living a "bare bones" existence, cutting out every little extra dollar spent, but they do admit that they could benefit from obtaining the luxuries that they do enjoy without breaking the bank. If they could continue to live the "designer" life at a lower cost, they could start putting away more of their discretionary income and more easily reach their important long-term goals.

I have pulled together my top tips to help you do just that - live the designer life for less. If you enjoy your luxuries, or if you simply enjoy impressing your friends and family with your lavishness, but would rather keep a few extra dollars of your hard earned cash in your pocket each month, this list is for you! Please respond and add your own tips when you get to the end. Enjoy!

Fancy Cars

If you find yourself yearning to drive every shiny new car you see on the road, these tips are for you. Here in Boston, our public transportation system is pretty good. Unless you live way out of town or you job requires you to drive every day, you don't need to own your own car.

I can highly recommend joining Zipcar, or a similar car-sharing service in your own city, for those situations in which you do need to drive. Zipcar offers you the opportunity to try out all kinds of nice, shiny new cars, and the rental fee is a small amount charged by the hour - you can choose a different car, from a Prius to a Mini Cooper, every time you drive! The hourly fee includes gas, insurance, parking, and maintenance, and the cars are parked all over the city, so there are sure to be cars near you. Now, I can hear you already... you are wondering how I can suggest you will feel luxurious with that big Zipcar sticker on the side of the car. I have two answers to that question: 1) Green Living is so chic right now. By joining a car sharing service, you are showing your friends and family how environmentally friendly you are! and 2) for a slightly higher hourly fee, you can choose BMWs from Zipcar, which don't have the big sticker on the side - they only have a small understated Zipcar URL on the back of the car.

If you can't give up your car ownership and are considering buying a luxury new car, consider a "certified pre-owned" version of the car you desire. These cars are thoroughly inspected, repaired and warranteed, and likely not very old. In many cases, the price for a certified pre-owned luxury vehicle will be more than a new non-luxury vehicle (and certainly more than a used non-luxury vehicle) but the cost is usually significantly less than the price for the new version of the model you are considering.

Designer Handbags, Shoes & Jewelry

This concept has been around for a while, but anyone who saw the new Sex and the City movie earlier this year knows that you can rent designer handbags! Do you want to always look trendy? Or how about vintage? How about looking like you have the kind of money to be able to carry a new designer bag every week? As Jennifer Hudson's character explained in the movie, "It's like Netflix for purses!" Through Bag, Borrow or Steal(TM) for example, you pay a low monthly membership fee (less than $10 per month), and then you are charged a reasonable rental fee for each item you borrow - you are free to keep it for as long or as short as you would like. Of course, it will cost significantly more than going out and buying a no-name handbag at Target or Payless, and carrying it for a year until it falls apart, but it's a huge savings over the $1,000+ per purse price-tag that these designer handbags often cost! Bag, Borrow or Steal offers the same opportunity for designer jewelry and sunglasses. In addition to purses, another company, Rent Me a Handbag, offers designer shoes and clothing for rent, plus an outlet section!

If renting purses is not for you, and you feel you must own your designer handbags and shoes, there are ways to find deals. The quickest, easiest starting point would be to type your favorite designer's name into ebay. However, be aware that there are MANY counterfeit purses and shoes available for sale through ebay. Before pursuing this route, read this informative article by an ebay power seller so that you understand the risks.

Especially if you are interested in vintage designer handbags, you might try checking out some estate auctions or visit thrift stores in rich neighborhoods near your home. In Boston, check out Poor Little Rich Girl in Davis Square. It’s hit or miss, but you have a decent chance of finding a nice vintage purse if you stop in regularly.

You should try your luck at thrift stores and estate sales in wealthy neighborhoods for designer purses, shoes and jewelry – you may have a good chance of finding a cool vintage item!

I would also recommend learning to make your own jewelry. With a little practice, it is not too difficult. It becomes easy to flip through your favorite magazine, tear out photos of designer jewelry that you love, and copy the creation yourself. You can buy beads and supplies at your local bead store (in Boston, try Beadworks in Harvard Square or on Newbury Street) or shop online at Art Beads or a similar site. You can even buy brilliant Sworofski crystals in bulk online for a discount.

Brand-Name Clothes

If you love designer clothes, but want to get them for less, I have a couple of suggestions for you.

First, I would say that right now, you are in luck. With the popularity of the hit Bravo TV show Project Runway, everyone is excited about finding the next new designer. As Heidi Klum says, "As you know in fashion, one day you're in and the next day you're out." If you feel that you always have to have a piece from the next new trendy clothing designer, why not jump ahead of the crowd and start finding the new trends yourself? Look around the Boston area (or your own city) and find some great up-and-coming designers. You will likely be able to find someone willing to create a wonderful, trendy piece for you, for less than you would pay an established, famous designer to do the same. Plus, all of your friends will be jealous that you found the cool new designer before they did! Some examples in the Boston area are:

Fashions by Christine – Middleboro, MA

Design & Thread – Newtonville, MA

Julienne Dang – Boston, MA

To find your own great new designer, spend some time at the upcoming Boston Fashion Week(September 12-19). It promises to be a great time and you will get a chance to see some wonderful local fashion. I would recommend not only looking at the designers on display, but talking to your fellow Fashion Week patrons. You might find a great designer hidden among them!

Alternatively, if you can’t manage to abandon your favorite famous luxury fashion designers, join an exclusive online club for free so that you can be notified when there are “secret” sales on your favorite designer items. Most of these websites are so exclusive that they are able to offer sample sale prices to their members on great designer items. The only catch is that for many of these sites, you can only join if you know someone who is already a member. If you are interested, I have good news for you – you know me! I can invite you to join ideeli.com, gilt.com, and/or ruelala.com. E-mail me at lisa@lantern-financial.com and I will be happy to invite you!

Pampering: Massage, Acupuncture, Manicures and Pedicures

If you love the way your fingers and toes look after a professional polish, here are some ideas for getting that high-end look for less. First of all, you can certainly create a soothing environment at home and give yourself a manicure or pedicure. Aside from the fact that it may be difficult for you to do a manicure (and especially a pedicure!) on yourself, a common complaint is that the type of nail polish you can buy at your local CVS produces a less professional look than the polish at the nail salons. I recently discovered that you can buy OPI nail polish (the brand from the salons with the cute names like “I’m Indi-a Mood for Love” and “Keys to my Karma”) online with a little planning, or as I did, at your local Target Greatland! It will cost a bit more than the cheaper polish at the drugstore, but if it’s all about the great color for you, an $8.50 bottle of polish will pay for itself within a couple of months! Pick up a massaging foot bath, some oils, salts, and a manicure/pedicure set including toe separators and a nail file, and you are in business!

If you have trouble getting past the idea of giving yourself a manicure or pedicure (and you can’t find a willing friend or spouse to help you!), reasonable professional options do exist. Avoid the typical options such as the spas on Newbury Street and the other higher-end big name spas around town. Look to the neighborhood where you live. Many small nail salon businesses are less expensive and you might even be able to find a mani/pedi combo deal for less than $25!

You might not realize that you also have the opportunity to help out a student in the field of massage, beauty or acupuncture and save significant cash in the process. Check out the Elizabeth Grady School of Esthetics in Medford or the New England School of Acupuncture in Newton for some great deals on beauty and pampering services. Keep an eye out in the coming year for the massive Academy for Hair and Skin by Elan Sassoon, which is scheduled to break ground near Boston University this month. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that there will be great opportunities to be had for inexpensive beauty treatments by the students in the future!