The Art of The Thrifty Shopper
by altpferd on Dec 06, 2010
Shopping thriftily has never been made easier. How do I save money shopping?
First, let me tell you why I am a confirmed opportunity shop, garage sale and flea market prowler. Number one reason is, I wear a lot of jeans, and I wear them hard. I do a lot of physical stuff and they get pretty worn pretty quickly. So I go through a lot of them. Now, I can buy them new for between $30 – $80 for the ordinary brands, more if you want to go upmarket. At my local opportunity shop I can obtain nearly new jeans for $3-$5. Often they are brands I could never afford to buy new, such as Jeanswest, Just Jeans and the occasional Levis. My husband loves the Wrangler brand, they go as high as $120 new! I don’t know why people throw them out to the op shops, maybe they grow out of them or something?! Anyway, this way I can get at least 4 pairs of jeans for the price of 1 pair new.
Number 2 reason is, I have children. By the time I have forked over $20 each for the new T-shirts and got them home they’ve grown out of them! So I toddle over to the thrift shop and pick up all these lovely clothes for 50 cents, $1, $2 … also I can buy them all the toys their toybox can handle for less than $5. And all those books going for 5 cents each! Even coloring in books that haven’t been used.
I could go on but I think you’ve got the general idea. Now let me give you a few tips on how to get the best out of your thrift shop experience …
If you make your own clothes, sometimes it’s cheaper to buy a secondhand garment for the buttons, clips and zippers than to buy them new. Be picky – never buy holey or worn clothes unless you can fix them quickly and easily. Make sure the garment fits well and comfortably. Even if it’s cheap, don’t waste your money buying something unsuitable.
Become an official Op Shop Prowler – visit your local ones regularly with a list of sizes and items to look out for. I keep a list in my purse of all the current shoe and garment sizes in our family, and update it every time my children grow out of something. Watch out for 1/2 price and $5 a bag sales, it is amazing what you can stuff into one plastic bag. Remember, volunteer workers often get first pick of all the goods that pass through the shop, so give something back to the community and become a volunteer if you get the chance.
Two items that can really knock a dent in my budget are school uniforms and children’s shoes. So I keep an eye out for good examples of these and snap them up whenever I can; even if they are a bit big, I can always put them away for the children to grow into. The smaller ones and the ones my children grow out of, I can sell through the school newsletter.
About mid-year I start looking out for potential gifts in newish condition for Christmas gifts. Things like toys, vases, bicycles, etc. Wait until closer to Christmas and you’re fighting everyone else for these items! Garage sales are particularly good for these items. It is amazing how many people buy things then never use them.
Happy shopping!
http://gomestic.com/homemaking/crash-saving-for-the-truly-tight-moments/
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