Affordable Luxury; Living Opulence Your Own Way!
I know that some of you might doubt the title of this article when you read it. The words ‘affordable’ and ‘luxury’ are never used at the same time… or are they? Well, if some product or service is luxurious, it’s hardly affordable in the world we live in, right? Affordable luxury is an oxymoron as we know. But what if I tell you each one of us; average persons can achieve the lifestyle we’ve dreamed of?
A ‘Luxury Lifestyle’ can be described as living a life which is seen as a state of great comfort, elegance, and pleasure without any feeling of “being poor.” The label, ‘luxury’ is traditionally associated with the word ‘expensive.’ But luxury is a very relative term, which depends on the way we look at it. Sometimes all you need is a glass of water, but a glass of beer can be a luxury at that particular moment. Or think of an instant when you just bought an expensive pair of sneakers but saw most of the people who passed by wear similar pairs. This is where the concept of ‘affordable luxury’ comes into play.
Affordable luxury is based on how do we live our life, enjoy our life, and manage our life to feel comfortable and luxurious without ‘breaking the bank’. We have to accept that with time we have evolved, with globalization and new technology we are able to enjoy more luxurious than the lives of the people who lived in the 20th century. But this has made our needs and wants wider and more complex. We tend to buy so many unnecessary stuff and store them in our houses, spend so much money on stuff we just like but do not love. What if we manage all our expenditure in a proper way? What if we work towards a good annual saving?
As an example, think of the useless handicrafts or clothes you buy and regret after a few days or months after buying. You were swept up by the emotion at the time of purchase, those sparkling lights they have in the stores that makes everything look absolutely fabulous then you realize that you don’t actually want or at times even like the item after some time. Has that happened to you? We call that – buyer’s remorse.
What if you can cut down all those unnecessary goods and save all that money to buy some extravagant items you were dreamt of buying all your life? Another big mistake we do is comparing our life with others without any hint of affordability. When your friend is purchasing something that’s out of your spending range some persons may want the same. But a person who follows the affordable luxury concepts should focus on their own exact wants and needs, without blindly following trends and influences of others.
As of today, there are so many businesses that offer a wide variety of luxury products and services for affordable prices. Fast fashion brands like Zara, Fashion Nova, H&M which are very popular among millennials with their luxury clothing products and they democratize the high fashion by knocking off designer brands at scale. This gives the rare opportunity of affording high fashion for middle-class people. So, when you are shopping around, you should remember that there are products which are luxurious, sometimes even priced a bit higher but not unaffordable…
Do you remember these lines by Cardi B song ‘I like it’?
“I like those Balenciagas, the ones that look like socks”
Here, she talks about a pair of luxury sneakers named “Balenciaga” which are priced around $800. Does that make you want to afford a pair? Well then save for it… If you are like me and aren’t influenced by that then keep focused on whatever brand it is that you really want, the brand that months after you smile st and feel absolutely great with your purchase.
Do you want a BMW, a Benz – who says you can’t aspire? You may not afford it now, but I say if you want it, then think smart, what are some of the other things you purchase and don’t need? Have you considered saving that money, putting it into a high-yield account, negotiating up the interest earned and negotiating down the interest paid (if you choose to take a loan for purchase).
In an age where immediate satisfaction or instant gratification is the name of the game, where we have become blind to the impact of our lives – I say ‘Don’t give up what you want most, for what you want now…’
Share your thoughts with me… what are the things you consider a ‘luxury’ in your life?
tjeesf
The next time I read a blog, Hopefully it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. After all, I know it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I really believed you would probably have something interesting to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of moaning about something that you could fix if you werent too busy seeking attention.
Love this blog. Your ideas are very refreshing
Aww Thankyou 🙂 Keep Coming
I agree. Many people try to buy brand names to impress others and go broke rather than just focussing on what they love.
Please write more of these blogs
Will keep such level of motivation in mind 🙂 Thanks 🙂
You have some unusual and innovative ways of looking at things. Please write more of these type of articles. Everyone wants to figure out how to live a luxury life. Very insightful article
Your content is really good. Keep them coming
Hi – I think this blog was quite informative. Too often peapole go into debt trying to impress others. I like you ‘Affordable Luxury’ concept