A bit of retail shopping certainly goes a long way when you’re in the mood to buy something new. Not only is it great for filling up your closet but it’s also great for giving yourself a bit of self-care.

Everyone should treat themselves as and when they can. After all, you work hard in this life for what you earn, so why shouldn’t you spend it on what you want?

However, frivolous spending can cause financial trouble, so it’s good to take control of your shopping habits. A good way of doing this is by questioning your purchases before you go tapping your card on the card reader or checking out online. Here are four questions to ask yourself before buying a new handbag.

1.   What purpose will the bag serve me?

What’s the purpose of the bag itself? Will it be used for your morning commute for work or do you not really have a purpose for it currently? While not all bags have to have a specific purpose, it’s good to justify a purchase when you’ve got a reason for buying it in the first place.

For example, your current work bag might be attracting a few side eyes from your fellow peers and therefore a new work bag is an absolute must. It’s good to be mindful of what the purpose is for the bag before you checkout with it.

2.   Will it still be something I love a year down the line?

While you may be obsessed with it now, will it be something you love a year down the line? The reason to ask this question, in particular, is that there are a lot of trends when it comes to fashion. That means you can run into the issue of bags that were trendy at one point but have lost their charm or relevance even so soon as a year down the line.

It could be a popular bag that was very unique and therefore very limited to what you could pair up with or when you could wear it out. That might not be worth doing, especially when you’re spending a lot of money on it.

3.   Can I justify the price of the bag?

Is the cost of the bag something you can justify? Designer bags for example are very costly and some people can justify the price, especially if it’s a special birthday present or they have the disposable income to spend on the bag.

However, if you’re struggling to find a justification for the price, then it might not be the best one for you to buy.

4.   Do I have something like this in my closet already?

When it comes to certain bags, they are timeless whereas others are completely unique to anything else you have in your closet. With that being said, ask yourself if it’s something that you already own or have something similar to in your closet.

Bags like https://paisleygraceboutique.com/collections/handbags are totally unique and therefore may be something you justify buying because you currently own nothing like it.

If you’ve managed to ask all these questions and passed them with flying colors, check out that bag right now!