MILWAUKEE – When Tonya Buhs shops, it’s with purpose. She knows what looks good on her and hunts with efficiency, working out a plan ahead of time, including which stores she plans to visit depending on where she’ll be making a business call that day.

Buhs is a tasker.

“I like to shop alone,” the pharmaceutical representative said. “I envision things in my head or I write things down, and all summer long I’ll look for them. I’m very much a planner in my life, so I plan when and how I’m going to shop.”

It’s one thing to go out looking around with a couple of girlfriends. But when you’re serious about making a purchase, if you’re going to make a date of it, it’s wise to pair up with someone who has a similar shopping style.

“The key in selecting a shopping partner is finding someone who shares the same general life goals and who communicates well with you,” said Rob Bennett, author of the Financial Freedom blog at PassionSaving.com.

It wouldn’t work to pair Buhs with someone who likes to take her time and look around before making a decision. And sparks would fly if the 39-year-old Milwaukeean tried shopping with someone who can’t make up her mind.

“When you do shop with your friends, do it for fun, not for function,” said Megan Kristel, an image consultant and owner of the Kristel Closets consulting firm in Philadelphia.

To help with the selection process, here are some common shopping types. Where do you fit in?

The truth-teller

If you don’t want to know how you look in that dress, don’t ask, because she’ll tell you.

For the last 15 years or so, Milwaukee client services director Sharon Boeldt and a friend have met annually to shop. They once went to Paris for a week of shopping, but usually they pick a day in June to drive to Chicago.

The trips are successful, Boeldt said, because “we have similar tastes, similar physicalities and the same stamina. We have the same idea of how the day is going to go: shop, lunch, shop, dinner.”

In their years of shopping, Boeldt has learned to appreciate her pal’s ability to be frank.

“She’s brutally honest, like, “That’s not going to work,”‘ Boeldt said. “I only ask when I’m on the fence.”

The flatterer

We’ve all shopped with the person who says “I love it!” to everything you try on.

Deanna Inniss, who owns the Freckle Face children’s boutique in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, recalled a shopping night that a friend hosted at the nearby Lela Boutique in which the wine flowed and everyone loved everything that everyone tried on.

Beware: Shopping with the person who loves everything usually results in a few pieces you know you’ll never wear.

If you’re lucky, such a night might include the type Inniss calls “the do-you-need-it practical friend.” That’s the person who will cut to the chase about the item in question. It may be what you want, but it might not be what you need. Then again, Inniss said, “sometimes you just want to court temptation.”

The can’t-make-up-her-minder

She can’t decide what to buy because everything looks so good. This type is often the most difficult to shop with. She picks through the inventory and usually comes up empty-handed. Worse yet, she puts everything on hold while she scours other stores in a similar way.

Inniss, of Freckle Face, sees all types. But because she owns a children’s boutique, the most common style of Can’t-Make-Up-Her-Minder is the one who decides on a purchase and then stops herself at the last minute because she’s not sure if her offspring will agree with her choice.

The browser

Boston-based author Susan Piver – her newest book is “How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life” – is not a browser, but her husband is.

He loves to look, touch and try on, even if he’s not serious about a purchase. Getting in and getting out is more her style.

“I hate to shop with him,” she said. “He wears me out. He likes to look at everything.”

Piver, who also wrote the bestseller “The Hard Questions: 100 Essential Questions to Ask Before You Say “I Do,”‘ prefers to shop alone but recommends that if you want to shop with someone, pick a buddy who sees you the way you see yourself.

“Shopping is a creative thing,” she said. “It’s utilitarian, but it’s also creative. Go with someone who encourages you to be playful.”

The thrift seeker

Sarah Skinner is one of the owners of Esse Elle Style Studio on the east side, so she’s seen all types troop through her boutique.

“People who spend are solo,” Skinner said.

“The browsers are with friends. Unless it’s a couple, then they’re spending. I think if you’re more serious and you’re on a mission, you tend to go alone.”

She’s found that among the store’s demographic, older people who come in with a husband, boyfriend or alone tend to be more focused and know exactly what they want – although, she warns, shopping with a significant other doesn’t guarantee satisfaction.

Skinner has one customer who regularly shops with her boyfriend.

“They have absolutely separate views,” Skinner said. “She’ll come back in and say, “I’m never going to wear it.”‘

The one with more

Any shopping partner spending more than you can seem to be extravagant. Boeldt said she and her friend “are interested in spending the same amount of money, too,” so they tend to work in tandem when they’re shopping.

One isn’t finished and bored while the other one continues to charge freely.

If your finances are tight, Kristel recommends being honest with friends when they suggest a shopping outing and offering an alternative such as a movie or a gathering at home.