Forget Retail! Save Hundreds in Clothing Purchases!

Once I discovered alternative ways in finding quality clothing for myself and my family, I often marvel at retail clothing stores and the people who shop there. This is not an attempt to humiliate or depreciate any person who shops or works or owns a retail clothing store. I, too, at one time relied exclusively on retail to buy new clothes.

Then money became more and more scarce. And I stopped buying clothes so my growing family could continue to buy clothes. And then my clothes got holes and faded and ripped from over-use and I realized I HAD to buy some newer clothes.

Now for years, I had known about stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army, but it never occurred to me that I would ever actually have to be a patron of these stores. You see, I was prideful. And I think that's the point. Sure, I rationalized it in my head, saying, Well, you need to be below a certain income level to be allowed to shop in those stores. No. It was pride all along.

So now there I was, pretending to be a professional in a semi-professional work setting with clothes 8, 9, 10 years old, some of them literally falling off my back. So I sucked it up, left my pride at the door and went into my local Goodwill.

I was shocked and amazed! I was expecting some sort of high-end garage sale, but I saw organization and departments and some really good deals. In where I was looking, Men's shirts, I saw brands like Eddie Bauer, Van Heusen, and the like going for $3 a shirt. Originally, I'm sure they were $30 or $40 or more. Do you see what I'm talking about now? And, on more than one occassion, I have found some really nice shirts not only in my size but BRAND NEW! I knew this because some stores put a large size sticker that runs along the length of pants or a shirt, and the garment didn't have that "worn look."

Our local Salvation Army store is about 5 times the size of our Goodwill. The prices are higher, but the selection is obviously bigger and better. Not only are there clothes, but they had shoes, dishes, furniture, toys, dresses, hats, you name it. And if you have clothes and stuff you want to get rid of and don't want to go through the hassle of having a garage sale, give it to Goodwill! They'll take most anything! They give you a receipt for the re-sellable value of the items and you can use that as a charitable write-off on your taxes. This is a win-win, folks!

I could go on and on about the value of these stores. If you have kids, please, for heaven's sake, don't buy new!!! Your kids will outgrow their clothes in 6 months, if not sooner! Why pay hundreds of dollars on expendable clothes? Goodwill and Salvation Army have plenty of kids' clothes too. And infant clothes. And shoes. Need I say more?

So, SUCK IT UP! No one can control where and how much you spend your money but you! Leave your pride at the door and get some great deals at your local second hand shop. Tell me about your best deal from Goodwill.

If You Eat Food, You Must Read This!

Grocery Bill Savings Tip:

Ok. This one is obvious. Do you eat food? Yes, stupid question. Do you like to save money? Even dumber question. Everyone goes shopping for groceries at least once a month. Personally, our family usually went twice a month, with a few trips here and there for things we forgot or extreme consumables like milk, bread, etc. Do you shop at a large chain store like Apples or Giant Eagle? Yes? STOP! You will not save money by going to these stores exclusively.

Sorry for being so abrupt but if you want to save money don't go to these stores. 95% of their prices are very high, compared to budget-conscious stores like Aldis (our favorite), Sav-A-Lot, Marcs, and even K-Mart has some sweet deals every week. Yes, Giant Eagle and such have some good sales on a few things every week, but these sales are temporary, and if you don't go every week, you will miss out on these sales invariably.

Solution? Giant Eagle has their discount gas program, which can be beneficial, but not always (I will do an article on this later on), and they double coupons up to 99 cents, which, if you are organized like I am not, you can get good deals too, if you pay attention and have a memory better than Dumbo's. So do your major shopping at Aldis, Sav-A-Lot, etc. Then get your special deal items that are on sale that week and/or you have a coupon for something, then get those things at Giant Eagle, etc. Please note, discount grocery stores like Aldis will not take coupons and they will not carry everything you may need for that week. They focus on lowest common denominator shopping - they only carry the most popular of items, mind you, it is a few thousand items nonetheless, but this is the reason they can get better prices: they buy a tremendous amount of the same things under their own proprietary labels. Will they carry brand name foods? Actually, yes they will, in a limited quantity for a limited time. Again, these are foods that are very common and they probably got a good deal on them.

Aldis also carries produce, which is quite fresh and delicious, so don't worry about quality there. And they carry a limited assortment of fresh and frozen meats too. But if you need something rare like star fruit or whatever, you're out of luck. Their boneless chicken breasts are top notch and their pork chops are to die for. Yes, they have their quirks and not-so-appealing items as well. I will take comments to let the buyer beware. But overall, Aldis and other discount grocery stores will provide the food you need and you will save money by going there for the bulk of your shopping.

In review:
- Shop at Aldis, Sav-A-Lot, Marc's, etc. for majority of your groceries.
- Shop at Giant Eagle for rare items to take advantage of their gasoline program and their double coupons up to 99 cents deals, and their weekly sales (which may work in your favor in conjunction with coupons).
- Apples and some other stores also offer double coupons, perhaps on certain days of the week, etc.