Money Matters

Retro: Saving Money, Gaining Cool

What could possibly be better than saving money and  looking cool? We know, there’s just about nothing better than that dynamic duo. With extra cash in your pocket, you’ll be strutting down the street looking mightily hip – and did we also mention, you’ll have picked up a new skill or two along the way? It’s true, because to become this cool flash cat, you’re going to have to use your hands and bring back your old items to life. Basically, you’re going retro, and who doesn’t want to go there?

Fine Patchwork

 

It’s hard to think of a single item of clothing that cannot be improved once its current fashion run has to an end. While a repatched pair of jeans might not be featured on a Parisian runway any time soon, they’ll always be in fashion in the school of vintage, retro clothing. You can do pretty exciting things with old shirts, suits, jeans, and just about anything. It could involve simply adding a few patches, or it might require some cutting up and stitching. So before you throw your old clothes away, have a think about what use you could still get out of it.

 

Saving the Walkman and Everything Else

 

There are millions of electrical items stuffed in cupboards and attics around the world that have ended up there simply because they “stopped working”. But in all likelihood, they do still do work – or rather, have the capacity to work with a little tender loving care. Around 25% of electrical items that end up in landfills do actually still work, and can you imagine how much money all those items would be worth? Whatever you’ve got at home, it’s your duty to try and make it work – you owe it to the environment and to your former self, who worked hard just to be able to buy it. This doesn’t just apply to gadgets, either – there’s a lot of household items and vehicles that are wrongly thought to be toast when they’re still very much alive. Have a look for replacement parts and reclaim that which should never have died!

In 10 Years Time

 

It’s impossible to hoard everything you own, but we don’t need to have a cavalier throwaway culture. For example, who could have thought that record players and walkmans would come back in fashion? There will have been a lot of those thrown out during the eighties and nineties, and now…the same people who threw them away are buying them again! Before you throw anything away, ask yourself: is there a chance I’ll want this again in a few years, even if right now it’s fallen out of favor a little bit?

 

…And for the Rest

 

Not everything will come back in style (though wouldn’t be that interesting? A return of tamagotchi pets would be nice). For those things that you have outgrown, don’t throw them away – package them up and take a walk to one of your nearby charity stores, which will accept them with open arms!

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