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Taming
The Closet Monster
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by:
Cheryl Johnson
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Reducing
the clothing budget was a serious challenge for me. Two pre-teen girls
and a teenage girl certainly didn’t make life any easier. My son wasn’t
much of a challenge. Thank goodness, he’s not “fashion conscious”.
The girls on the other hand were greatly disappointed in the new
methods of clothing acquisition. Freebies, thrift stores, yard sales,
consignment shops, and clearance items weren't exactly their style.
I found that changing the way I approached them on the subject made
things a little easier. For instance we don’t buy “used” clothing. We
buy “previously owned, unwanted, or gently worn” clothing.
I strongly believe that knowledge is power. And, if you want to save
money on anything, you must do your research!
Informed consumer = More Savings, that's my motto. It took some
shopping around for me to locate the best clothing value for my money.
I did eventually find the one place where I consistently find excellent
values with a great variety of choices.
I find most of my clothing “treasures” at a thrift store about 15 miles
from my home. It’s well worth the drive considering the great values I
come away with! My cost per item averages about $3. I rarely spend more
than $5 and once in a great while I’ll splurge on a $6.95 item (usually
new with tags still intact and a super value compared to the original
price)
The thrift store where I shop is owned and operated by the National
Children’s Center , a local organization that provides educational
services, early intervention preschool, and child care to infants and
young children with and without developmental delays.
You will find that many of your local thrift stores are non-profit and
support worthy charities.
I get a terrific value on name brand clothes popular with my girls
peers, (Old Navy, Zana di, Paris Blues, Angel, Lei, Guess, Levi,
Bubblegum, Mudd, limited Too, Adidas). Well there’s not much I haven’t
been lucky enough to find at this store.
As a bonus my purchase also supports a worthy cause. And let’s not
forget that recycling these “unwanted” clothes is environmentally
friendly. Everybody wins with these kinds of
purchases. These are important benefits that ease the embarrassment
children sometimes experience when they shop at thrift stores.
If your children are informed of all these benefits, they have the
power to explain why they shop at thrift stores, if
it ever comes up, and it doesn‘t have be for financial reasons.
The wonderful part is, it will probably never come
up in a conversation with their peers. My children have never
had to explain themselves. Most items are of good quality and only
gently used.
You would never know we are enjoying a frugal
lifestyle with a wardrobe like this!
In fact, with their closest friends the girls freely brag about the
terrific deals we get on clothing. Some of their friends are even
envious because of the wide selection of popular brand name jeans the
girls are fortunate to own.
They have come to the realization that five pairs of name brand jeans
at the thrift store is a whole lot better than one at the department
store price.
I have found many brand new
items with tags still intact. No way for friends to know where these
great clothes came from. They probably assume they shop at some
expensive department store or specialty shop.
We actually have fun shopping at the thrift store now. I have even
caught a hint of excitement in them from time to time. Maybe my
excitement for saving money is rubbing off.
Not! I think it’s just the fabulous clothes we find! I know the saving
thing will kick in later. That’s what counts, teaching them how to be
financially independent in life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Besides visiting your local thrift stores you should check out these
other great resources for low cost clothing.
Clothing needs change so often for children. When you consider they
grow so rapidly at certain stages in life, it just makes good sense to
reduce cost on clothing.
Spending $30-$50 on one pair of jeans is just
wasteful. They will only get a few months of wear before they
grow out of them or decide they don’t like them anymore!
Yard sales are great resource for anything you might need. It may be a
little more time consuming to go this route, but the rewards can be
great.
If you plan your yard sale trips correctly you can save a lot of time.
As you become an experienced yard sale consumer, you will learn where
yard sales are frequent in your area.
Combine this information with advertised yard sales in the local paper
and on roadside signs and organize your trip to minimize your travel
time.
You will sometimes find bags of clothes for a great "take all" price.
Even if everything isn’t usable you will usually get enough useful
clothing to make the purchase a good value.
Make sure the clothes are in the right size range or are something they
will grow into within a reasonable amount of time. If you have the time
and purchasing items individually is an option, go through the bag.
Purchase only what you know will be useful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Consignment shops are rapidly becoming popular. Not only can you find
some bargain purchases here they may be a valuable resource for you to
turn your unwanted items into money. You let them do all the storing,
selling, and paperwork, all you have to do is collect your money!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have a friend who sells all of her unwanted “designer” clothing on
the E-Bay auction site. I have not ventured to purchase clothing on
ebay myself as of yet, but have purchased many other items such as
books, movies, and gifts.
Ebay is a great resource for new and pre-owned items, including
clothing. Especially if you are geographically limited as far as
shopping goes.
Of course there are other auction sites where you might find clothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In conclusion your best defense against overspending is information.
In the end the best value for you is what works best for you.
And, what's available to you in your area. Investigate all your options
and determine where the best value is based on your own needs. Yes, I'm
going to say it again! Sorry.
Informed Consumer = More Savings
Happy Savings!
Live Debt Free to Be Free. You Deserve It!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cheryl Johnson is a mother of four helping herself and others become
and stay debt free. Publisher of Simple Debt Free
Living- A self-help plan, ideas, and resources for debt
reduction, personal budgeting, frugal living, and extra
income opportunities
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