Move over Carrie Bradshaw, and say hello to the new shoe shopper in town: The Squirreler! Yes, it’s shoe shopping time and I’m interested in getting some shoes sometime in the next week.
That’s the only similarity, truth be told, between myself and the fictional shoe-obsessed character from Sex in the City. First off, I’m a guy and she’s most certainly not. Second, I actually don’t care for shoe shopping at all, unlike the Bradshaw personality from the show. To the latter point, I view shoe shopping as a step above taking out the garbage:) Basically, to me it’s a necessity that must be taken care of but one that I want to spend as little time as possible doing.
Right now, there are two types of shoes I need to buy:
- Black Shoes. I have a pair of black shoes that I wear to work that are nice shoes, but getting worn down. I don’t have a backup pair of black shoes, and need a really good pair for the professional life, so it’s time to buy ones. I’ve worn these for the last 3 or 4 years.
- Gym Shoes. All of a sudden, I noticed that the ones I have been wearing for a while now have a few holes in them! Didn’t realize they were in need of replacement, but they’ve just broken down so quickly, and are more worn than any gym shoe I have had in the last 20 years. I’ve worn these for the last 3 years.
Of course I have other shoes as well, and they’re in decent shape. But this episode made me realize that it’s been at least 2 years since I bought a pair of shoes of any kind.
So, this got me thinking about how often I actually buy shoes. It really does depend on the year, but I’d say I buy about 2 pairs of shoes each year on average. Again, that could mean 3 this year and 1 next year, or some other combination, but I’d estimate that I’m buying 2 per year in recent years. I could probably cut costs elsewhere and pick up one more each year, but it’s worked out fine so far.
I will say this: I don’t always buy low cost shoes. The black shoes for business will easily set me back $120 I would expect. I find that good professional-looking shoes that last will cost some money, and I think it’s worth the investment. The same could be said for the gym shoes, but I don’t want to spend more than $50 for those. So overall, I might be looking at $170 for the year on shoes.
Now, I realize that men’s shoe needs might be different than women’s. Being simpler creatures, we have simpler societal expectations of us in terms of shoes to match different outfits. My guess has always been that women, on average, absolutely legitimately need to buy a few more pairs than that per year
This all reminds me of a person with whom I worked a few years back, who I mentioned in Squirreling Gone Wild #6. She was one of the people in that story who went nuts over free food in the office, and took advantage to the point that she claimed that she only spent around $100 per month on food due to all the free stuff she took home. As far as I know, this was without any extreme couponing being used!
I had been mostly amused but somewhat impressed by her ability to seize opportunities to save money and to focus on savings. There seemed to be no intent to stop saving. However, that all ended when she once brought up the topic of her shoe shopping. She told me about how she saved a fair amount of money on some shoes she had purchased over one weekend, and I responded by saying that’s great but that’s what I spend on shoes each year. Her good natured laughing response was that I don’t get it. She then told me that she averaged a new pair of shoes every weekend!
Yes, that’s right. She bought a new pair of shoes almost every weekend!
That comes out to 52 shoes per year!
I never realized that I was talking to a kindred spirit of Imelda Marcos J
It was an “a-ha” moment that totally changed my original perception of her as this total frugalista. The reality was that she cut expenses to the bone in one area so she could spend more in another. Simple as that.
She proceeded to tell me that it’s different for women than for men with shoes, since men notice what women wear and that men are more “visual” than women in relationships.
Hmmm…I thought (and might have said). What I wanted to say but didn’t was “trust me. If men are looking at you, they aren’t looking at your shoes and don’t’ care about them nearly as much as other things”
I’m no expert, but I suspect that women might notice the shoes a man is wearing moreso than a man would notice the shoes a woman is wearing. We probably aren’t quick-minded enough to notice such details.
And besides, nobody needs 52 new pairs of shoes per year!
My take is that a “typical” man might need a few new pairs of shoes each year and a “typical” woman might legitimately need few more than that or perhaps twice as many. That makes sense to me, though admittedly it’s based to some degree on life experiences at home, in addition to random conversations and observations.
This is, if there is such a thing as a typical person, anyway 
That gets me to my questions:
- How many pairs of shoes do you buy per year? If you want to share dollar value, that’s cool too!
- How do you think shoe needs of women and men legitimately differ? Am I on the right track with the numbers and ratios?
email
Twitter
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
del.icio.us
Reddit
Tipd
Yahoo! Buzz
Google Buzz
Google Bookmarks
Technorati
Subscribe by email to get my latest posts directly to your inbox!
It all depends on if I have a special event to go to. (Often times, a new dress often requires new shoes.)
If you are talking about everyday wear though, I usually get a new pair of sandals each year, a pair of dressier shoes and a pair of exercise shoes. All told, maybe 5 pairs of shoes I guess. Oh, throw in a pair of casual boots for winter too.
I am not a shoe-hound. I hate shoe and clothes shopping. However, I do like warm feet.
I can’t answer the question about women loving to buy shoes because I am not one of those women.
Everyday Tips recently posted..According to FEMA- My House Is Suddenly In A Flood Zone
Everyday Tips – As I think about it, I suspect many people reading or publishing personal finance blogs are probably not shoe shopaholics – whether male or female! Wonder if that changes if we survey the general population…
I might buy around three pairs of shoes each year. One for work. one for exercise/outdoors, and one pair of flip flops or casual shoes. My running shoes are the most expensive at $50-$100 depending on if I can find them on sale. The others range from $1 (old navy flip flops) to $50 for a good pair of work shoes. Like you, shoe shopping is a chore for me and I delay it as much as possible.
I think women in general certainly do buy more shoes then men, however I am not so sure that they NEED to. My SO and I have a similar number of shoes, but neither of us enjoys shopping.
No Debt MBA recently posted..How we make our 25 grocery budget work
No Debt MBA – I agree that women in general buy more than men, though I might say that they also need a few more shoes. Men’s outfits are much simpler. But, maybe I’m overestimating women’s clothing varieties and needs?
I have an everyday pair of shoes, black and brown dress shoes, sandals, golf shoes and softball cleats. My everyday shoes usually gets replaced every 18 months or so. My dress shoes have lasted for over 10 years. I have had 2 pairs of golf shoes in the past 12 years and get sandals every 3-5 years. I need a new pair of softball cleats but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I might get one or two pairs on average when I do the math.
cashflowmantra recently posted..Is Budget a Dirty Word
Cashflow Mantra – seems like you’re doing a good job with purchasing a reasonable number of shoes…hard to argue with your one or two pairs average.
Wow, 3 – 4 years is a pretty decent shoe-life. I think your calculations are correct for a “typical” person. I hate shoe shopping too. It’s hard to find the time as a working parent, and it doesn’t help that I’m picky. But I find I can get by with 3 – 4 pairs of shoes per season, or 6 – 8 per year. My goal lately has been to invest in higher quality shoes so I can wear them longer and don’t have to shop as much.
I don’t think women need more shoes to impress men – it’s to impress other women.
Lindy Mint recently posted..A New Tune for June
Lindy Mint – I totally agree that it’s hard to find the time as a working parent. Ourt of necessity, as parents we have to sacrifice some of our own interests for the needs of kids, and our shoe shopping interests fit that category….if they were interests in the first place:)
Since I wear athletic shoes to work, I buy one pair every 2 years. My dress or leather shoes last considerably longer. They’re generally conservative in style, high quality and last for years. I have a number of shoes over 20 years old.
krantcents recently posted..KC Awards- Weekly Recognition
krantcents – you have a number of 20 year old shoes! Holy Toledo! Just a year ago I finally got rid of a pair of boots that were 20 years old….they still looked great, but they leaked in moisture, which defeats the main purpose.
I buy 25 pairs of new shoes per year, on average. But- I have nine children.
How many do I buy for MYSELF?
One, maybe. A year and a half ago I spent a small fortune (to me) on some Sanitas because I have bad feet. I’ve worn them every day since. This year I bought a pair of sandals. Again, I have to buy pricier ones (Naturalizer, in this case) because of bad feet. So in 18 months I’ve spent $150 on shoes for myself (plus $5 to fix the Sanitas that I wore out!)
I do buy cheaper shoes for the kids- each one goes through a couple sizes a year. They really will only wear them for a few months, so if they wear out it doesn’t matter as much.
Milehimamma – You’re doing well with 25 pairs for the family! I get the concept of buying cheaper shoes for kids considering they’ll grow out of them soon. Same applies with clothing as well. As for only one per year for you…bravo! Well done, that’s the best I’ve seen yet.
Oops didn’t answer your question. I think legitimately a woman needs more shoes than a man. For example, for a basic office wear wardrobe, a woman would need light, dark, and neutral dress shoes; a pair of fancier heels for nights out; sandals/beach wear; walking/athletic shoes; boots or warmer footwear for winter – at the least. However, whether she needs to buy EACH of these brand new every year is another story. And the shoes should last quite a while, especially since they aren’t being worn every day.
Meanwhile, my husband has 4 pairs of shoes: dress shoes, sandals/casual shoes, and two pairs of work shoes- one a boot and one shoe style (he has to wear steel toes.) The dress shoes he’s had for at least 10 years.
Milehimama – the way you describe the additional shoes needs of women makes sense. Mens wardrobes are simpler or at least more standarized in some cases, thus leading to less shoe needs.
Nobody I know care about what shoes I wear so I just get the most comfortable shoes I can find – running shoes. I usually buy 2 pairs every year or so. If I see a good sale, then I just go ahead and buy two pairs. I have black and brown shoes as well, but rarely wear them so they are lasting forever.
retirebyforty recently posted..Memorial Day Roundup
retirebyforty – two shoes a year is right in line with my average…and yes, comfort does help! Since the post was published, I did manage to get new shoes…and they are really comfortable. Makes me wonder how anyone can put their feet through discomfort just to fit some type of image.
[...] was reading a post over at Squirreler’s about shoes, and the article mentioned how women require more shoes than [...]
I own 4 pairs of shoes. If I exercised I would own 5.
I buy a pair of shoes once every year or two. I spend between $100 and $200 for that pair.
I currently need to replace both my black dress shoes (~6 yrs old) and my black sandals (~5 yrs old). My brown dress casual shoes (2 yrs old) and brown dress casual sandals (4 years old) are still going strong.
Nicole recently posted..Monthly challenge update- old and new
Nicole – seems like you follow a similar philosphy as I do, buying infrequently but getting good quality when you do buy. 4 pairs total has got to be on the tail end of the distribution, in terms of shoes owned per adult person.
I buy about 2 pairs of shoes per year – brown work shoes (I just wear them out). I usually get the same ones, and they run about $40 a pair.
I do have several one time purchases, that I don’t wear very often: dress black shoes, dress brown shoes, tennis shoes, and flip flops. I usually wear my flip flops if not wearing my works shoes.
Robert @ The College Investor recently posted..Carnival of Passive Investing- Do’s and Don’ts Edition
[...] Squirreler’s wants to know how many pairs of shoes we buy each year. My answer: as few as possible. Shoe shopping (and clothes shopping) is just a chore for me and I derive zero satisfaction from it. [...]
I own about 88 pairs of shoes but that includes pumps, sandals, boots, sneakers, and flats. I probably buy about 10 to 12 pairs of shoes annually but I will admit about 2 years ago I came across a great shoe sale at Dillards and bought about 6 pairs of shoes that day, so I ended up purchasing about 17 pairs of shoes that year. I don’t feel like I have an obsessive amount of shoes, to me its a way of expressing myself. I’m a bit surprised to hear how many women own only a few pairs of shoes but it may also depend on age and geographic location. I’m in my mid-twenties and live in a big city so I actually get the opportunity to wear my shoes quite often.
Normally, I’m lucky if I buy a pair a year for myself…but I scored big at a yard sale where a lady was selling some really high end sandals/shoes for dollars each and they were my size, so this year I’ve already bought 5 pairs of shoes/sandals, but they only cost me $24. I keep saying that I will pay more for a quality pair, but I wimped out at the last minute and bought some used ones on ebay instead.
I’ve been in purge mode, so I haven’t been a good gauge lately. I took way too long to buy things I needed like footware and clothes.
First Gen American recently posted..Buying Local- Vacation Recap and Favorites
First Gen – 5 for $24? That’s great.
I wear a size 6. Everytime I go to a thrift store I see several pair of nearly new, high end shoes in my size. I credit it to the fact that even though women gain weight and lose interest in clothing sometimes, if they wear a small shoe size it stays the same. So they lose their ability to feel great about clothing, but hang on to their shoe obsession as long as possible. Then at some point, they weed out their closet and I pick them up for $2. Works out great for me! I bring a few home, try them out, and then pass on the ones that don’t make the cut. I have also found several excellent pairs of leather boots on ebay – probably because there aren’t as many bidders in my size!
Now to tackle my husband’s complete lack of shoes. He picks one pair and then will wear only them until they fall apart. It drives me crazy! I feel the reason he has achey arches and lower back is because his feet are constantly in the exact same position. But I can’t get him to try mixing up his shoes throughout the week.
Kitty – $2 bucks sounds like a pretty good deal! Seems like you have a system down.