If you had to guess, what percentage of your wardrobe consists of pieces purchased on sale? And of those items, how many would you have paid full-price for? You can probably see where I’m going with this…

Sales are great, and I’ll often encourage my clients to make bigger purchases when that 15%+ helps skim the top. But sales can also be traps that encourage price-tag shopping and incentivize bulk buying. Price-tag shopping occurs when you buy items simply because they’re on sale, items you’d never pay full-price for. Bulk buying involves purchasing multiples (colors, slight style variations) when you don’t need them. In both instances, your forgoing smart shopping for the dazzle of the discount.

Now, is buying the same top in 3 different colors going to break the bank? No. Are you going to have to re-finance because you have the scarf in stripes and polka-dots? Of course not. Typically, however, if you fall for sale traps once or twice, you fall for them often, and the money really does start adding up, your closet is bloated, and you’re no closer to having what you really need. You can temper these tendencies with the following criteria: if you wouldn’t pay full-price for it, put it back.