“Not Really Advice” Advice
February 21, 2011 § Leave a comment
Yesterday, I was reading an article on savvysugar.com, and with the title “Update Your Life Without Emptying Your Wallet,” I had somewhat high expectations regarding the content, considering that same day I spent a multi-hour internet quest to find advice on how to be both budget savvy and fashionable (see Finding the Impossible). However, even though it had the makings of a great source of information, the article fell more than a little flat. Offering tips on how to revamp your apartment, morning cup of coffee, nightly noshes, beauty routine, social life, and (most-importantly) wardrobe, the article provided very basic suggestions, including do-it-yourself curtains and visits to a local farmers market for unusual ingredients.
The wardrobe tips were equally dismal and disappointing. Rather than sending you to lesser-known stores for great wardrobe finds or showing you how to choose inexpensive key pieces of clothing that will add extra pizazz to your current wardrobe, the article suggested having the soles of your current shoes replaced to get more wear out of them. In my personal experience, though, shoe repair can be just as, if not more expensive as buying a new pair of black ballet flats.
It’s not enough to provide ideas. Every one can come up with a few good ideas. But a fraction of the individuals who come up with good ideas also posses the capabilities to make their ideas come to fruition. I would have preferred the article not skimp on word count in favor of more thoroughly detailed explanations and links to websites outside of the sugar.com realm (Popsugar, Savvysugar, and Bellasugar to name a few.) Teach me how to make living on the cheap look expensive, do not just provide a basic roadmap and expect me to figure out and fill in all of the details. I’d rather start from scratch than at 30% of the way, if starting at 30% leaves me even more confused as to how to proceed than when I initially started.
Stylishly Smart 
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