I usually charge them and then budget the payments into my next 1-4 paychecks. I'm not good at saving for short-term things like that. If there is money just sitting in my checking account, I will end up nickel-and-diming it away on smaller things. If I charge it, I know that I have to pay it back.
I'm not good at saving money so when I want to buy something expensive, I put it on my credit card. Then I can pay it off in a few months. I need to get a better job so I can just pay cash for these kinds of things.
I usually save up and put it on the cc (to get points) then pay in full before the end of the cycle (so I dont have to pay interest). Although for my Kooba I put in on the cc without saving up first- I was kind of late deciding I wanted it and was afraid it would sell out if I waited too long.
I charge but pay in full each month. However, I guess it would be the same as saving- since I make sure i've "saved" enough in my checking to be able to afford it when my bill comes.
Well, when I got my LV, I charged it because I couldn't afford to have that much money taken out of my checking account at the time. However, my CC debt is well on it's way now (not just from the bag), so I don't feel bad about it.
When I buy my Gucci at the end of the year, I will be using my checking account (or putting it on Visa and then turning right around and making a payment). I guess you could call this one that I'm saving for it, since I'm not buying it until I'm comfortable with that amount leaving my account...
I sometimes do both, depending on my monetary situation. I have a savings account specifically for 'fun money' (shopping, travel, ect). Sometimes I'll use that to save b/c it's an ING account and it earns interest (3.3%!) while it sits in there (I try to keep track of how much interest it's earned and not spend the interest). I also have two credit cards with low limits (less than $500) that I can use for such purchases.
I tend to buy more expensive shoes than I do bags. I get tired of bags so quickly that it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense for me to spend tons of money. It really wouldn't be an invested for me at all. I usually spend between $50 and $100 (maybe up to $200, but only if it's really, really special) on bags. Shoes, I'll spend more, if I really, really love them.