How to stay fashionable when you're broke

Let's face it, most (well except for the fortunate few) millennials are swimming in debt, overworked and underpaid, so staying up with the latest trends or going on shopping sprees isn't our foremost thought. I'm about to share with you some of my "secretos" on how to stay fashionable when you're pretty much broke!One of my girls always asks me how can I afford to go shopping with my student loans, bills and other financial responsibilities, and to that I always reply, girlll you gotta finesse this retail business. Which leads me to my first tip, shop. sale. always!Tip 1: I know, I know you're probably thinking, but what if there's something I absolutely love that isn't on sale? Well, you can definitely cheat here and there if you like, but I make it my upmost priority to not buy anything unless it's heavily (40% or more) discounted! And being that I was raised by the bargain queen (my mother) it hasn't been hard to stick to.Shopping the sale not only allows you to get more for your money, but it also builds a discipline to not buy everything that you see and think it cute. Great sales don't happen everyday, so if you stick to just shopping when you find something you LOVE that's on sale, you'll ultimately be saving some money, money that will most likely need to go towards your bills!Now, when it comes to sales, you have to pay attention. I don't shop any sale, I shop ridiculous, never gonna come by again type sales. My two go-to shops for amazing sales is Boohoo and JcPenney, yep I said J-C-PENNY!In order to be able to shop when you don't have much in your pocket to spend you can't discriminate, it's about finding something cute, that's of good quality and affordable who cares where you bought it! Shoot,  still shop at Rainbow from time to time, if I find something cute, I'll buy it. But what I lovee about Boohoo and JcPenney is their perfect sales and their items!Boohoo often has a sale that is 60% off, including SALE items! I once spent $45 and purchased 10 items! What i also love about Boohoo is that it's a trendy site, so often I'm buying things that are seen in Forever21 and H&M for much less!If you haven't received JcPenney coupons before, then you need to figure out how to get them, like now. They literally give you coupons to purchase items for free! My favorite one is the $10 off anything that is $10 or more! Stormy (my mother) always forces me to use this coupon even if it's for something as simple as socks or underwear, because the more you use it, the more they send! And trust me, I know some people may be skeptical about JcPenney's style, but a few of my hottest items are from that store and you'd never know! Plus we could all use staple items and they definitely have those!My last point about shopping the sale, is to shop off season! At the end of every fashion season, items from that season get heavily marked down. No better time to buy them! And I know, for some people it doesn't make sense to buy sandals going into FALL, but unless you're certain that you won't be around next year, you can definitely use them when the season returns!Tip 2:Mix and match. One of the biggest ways to feel as if you constantly have new and cute outfits to show off is to mix and match them. Personally, I love mix and matching super inexpensive items, with regular-smegular priced ones. It changes up the look and brings in that "quality" feel.This trick will have people fooled. No one will be able to guess that your outfit is no more than $30 when you style it in a way that makes it look high fashion!Tip 3: If you still have access to your parents closet, RAID IT. I've taken items from my mom, dad, brothers time and time again. I'm particularly fond of my parents' closet. Why? Because as the saying goes, fashion really does repeat itself every 10 years. So why choose to buy that $100 houndstooth blazer from wherever, when you can simply take your dad's jacket FO FREE! This not only saves you money, but it also keeps that vintage aspect that is very much apart of the DNA of Fashion. WE love VINTAGE!Tip 4: My last and final tip is to BUDGET! Whether you budget out your money weekly or monthly, create a budget! After that budget is created calculate what you'll need for your bills/responsibilities and based on what's left over take a small portion (and I mean small) for yourself with the rest going into savings (even if it's $20, it'll add up). I've found that I'm not recklessly spending my money on things that I don't need and can't afford when I budget a small amount that's just for me. It'll help you feel as if you are "treating" yourself even if it's not a grand amount!I hope that you got new tips or at least a few laughs on how to stay fashionable when your bank account is on E!xoxo,