SHOPPING, "SAILING," AND THRIFT STORES

I detest clothes shopping! It makes me tired and discouraged, besides the fact that it
depletes the pocket book very quickly. Because of this hatred for shopping, I’m probably the last person that could give any amazing tips on shopping for clothes, but I do have a few strategies that are helpful to those of you who are shopping fanatics.

First of all, never buy anything full retail price. In her book, “Tightwad Gazette”, Amy
Dacyczyn explains the differences between disposable purchases and investment purchases. Disposable purchases are items we buy for short term use, such as, food, clothing, toiletries, etc... When we pay high prices on disposable purchases we are basically throwing money down the drain. That is what we do when we pay full retail on clothing. Clothing goes out of style, is grown out of, can be irreparably damaged or soiled which makes that purchase a waste of resources. (Read Amy’s article as soon as possible!)

Next, shop the clearance racks. Stores always have racks at the back of the clothing
department with items marked down at great savings. My daughter and I went shopping at an
expensive department store and found a formal dress on the clearance rack marked down from
$129.00 to $19.00 and it was darling on her! Shop for the seasonal clearances. Usually, stores will clear out their winter clothing in January/February and their summer clothing in July/August. This may mean you’ll find a nice coat for the next winter but the savings will be over half the price. If shopping for growing children, buy larger sizes that they can grow into. It also helps to buy “unisex” styles so the article of clothing can be passed down from one child to another.

“Sailing” is what I like to call garage sale hunting. This is one of our family’s favourite things to do together on a summer Saturday. We live in a small town and many times we would just hop on our bikes and ride to the sales that were closest to us. Garage sales are vehicles in which God has seen that many of our needs are met. We’ve had some amazing miracles happen through garage sales. When my husband’s job was transferring him from St. George, Utah, to Southeastern Idaho, we were concerned about the need for winter clothing. We were living in a place that rarely, if ever, got snow to a place where snow was measured in feet during the winter. The
Saturday after we received the news of the transfer we went “sailing” with the sole purpose of
finding winter clothes and boots. At our very first house we found BOXES of coats, sweaters, snow suits, boots, mittens and whatever we needed for the snow in varied sizes! All of these winter clothes in a place that gets so hot that the Devil doesn’t even want to live there! And what was even more incredible was the price...a dollar a box full! There is no one that can convince me that God didn’t watch out for us and fulfill our every need. And this isn’t an isolated experience either. Many times we would make our list of things we would need and find it at garage sales. On several occasions I remember our eldest daughter, when she was little, would decide what special item she really needed for that “saling” day. She was so darling, as a little five year old, darting over to the area, scanning sharply for that item that she wanted and immediately wanting to leave if she didn’t find it. Nothing distracted her and without fail she’d come home that day with new shoes, or a dress, or whatever happened to be what she felt she had need of at the time. As I have said many times before, God wants us to succeed. He will provide us with our needs if we just have faith. Garage sales are a simple way for this to happen.

It is important to make a list out for garage sales, otherwise, purchases can be wasteful and all you end up is having a lot of other people’s junk messing up your house. That isn’t to say
that if you discover a real find that you shouldn’t buy it because it isn’t on the list. Just make
sure it is truly worth buying. Make sure you involve the children. Garage sales are a great way to teach children the difference between needs and wants, how to economise and how to use money. These are ideas that I would use for garage “saling”. You will probably want to add your
own needs to the list. Write them on a 3x5 card and carry it with you.

1- Clothing items and sizes (boy, girl, man, woman, baby)
2- Shoes and sizes (colors)
3- Books
4- Children’s toys (legos, porcelain dolls, stuffed animals)
5- Dishes, Cookware, Tupperware
6- Tools
7- Frugal Elegance (china pieces, crystal glasses and vases, silverware)
8- Craft/Decorating items (silk flowers, baskets, paint, frames, etc...)
9- Special Need Items_______________________________________

Thrift stores are just organized garage sales. Most of the time the prices are a little higher
than what one can pay at a garage sale, but many store’s profits go to helping those who
cannot help themselves, so I don’t mind paying a little more. Be mindful about prices. There
have been times that I have gone into our local thrift store and found a used item higher in
price than a brand new store purchased item.