Have you heard about the three tier method for saving money? It has to do with stretching out your things so that they will last longer. When your things last longer, you don’t have to replace them as often, and so, you save money!
You can apply the three tier method to many different things, but I have found that it works best when applied to clothing and accessories.
Let’s take sneakers for example. I tend to live in sneakers. They help me keep after my three very active kids. But it seemed as though I was replacing them every few months. I probably could have gotten more wear out of them, but I was embarrassed to wear them out and about once they started getting dingy and worn.
But the three tier method has solved that issue. With this method, I can stretch my sneakers out to last at least a whole year, and I feel comfortable knowing that I always have a nice pair of sneakers to wear.
Here is how it works. You keep a stock of three pairs of sneakers. The best pair, your first tier, is the one that you just purchased. You can wear these sneakers on play dates, when you go out to the store or on summer outings with friends and family.
Your pair of sneakers from last year, the second tier, get worn much more often. You wear them around the house, when you run out to the post office or on short errands, or when you play with the kids in the yard–basically anytime you aren’t worried about someone seeing you in scruffy sneakers.
Your pair of sneakers from two years ago, the third tier, are the work horses. They may be falling apart with holes at the toe or a sole that is peeling up. You wear these sneakers whenever you have a dirty job to do, such as painting, gardening, yard work, cleaning out the garage, etc.
When you are ready to purchase a new pair, the best or first tier, pair gets moved over to second tier, and the second tier ones get moved over to the third tier. Your old third tier ones just get thrown out.
You can try this three tier method on jeans, t-shirts, dress shirts, belts, purses and more.
Mary Ann Romans also writes for the Computing Blog here at Families.com where she shares everything from the latest news on technology to cool downloads and fun websites.
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