This post is written by Kerri, our Rite Aid, WinCo and QFC expert here at Queen Bee Coupons. She lives on Camano Island (Washington) with her husband and their five beautiful children! She is not only awesome at shopping secondhand, but she does cool things like U-Pick apples or taking frugal weekend trips to save creatively – while having fun with the family!
I’ve always loved clothes. I have no trouble sticking to a grocery budget, can easily skip the latte line and often do without. But stick me in a mall near clothing stores and my self-control is a lot harder to muster. It doesn’t help that I have three teenage daughters that now love clothes as much as I do (see ideas on how to save on clothes for teens here). The best way I’ve found to enjoy the fun and creativity of fashion while still sticking to a modest budget is to shop secondhand – especially taking advantage of special sales and discount days.
I wanted to get myself a couple new outfits for this summer so I headed into Value Village for their 50% off Memorial Day sale. I gave myself a $20 budget. While this amount would be laughable at a mall, it’s actually doable when shopping secondhand – especially during a 50% off sale. For just $20 I was able to create three new outfits for myself. Here’s what I got:
- Ann Taylor Loft denim shorts – $4
- J. Crew polka dot sleeveless Shirt – $4
- Halogen (Nordstrom) crewneck sweater – $3.50
- Old Navy red ballet flats – $3
- Banana Republic strapless dress – $3
- H&M floral ballet flats – $2.50
Total = $20 for 3 outfits
The best part is that these are all among my favorite stores so to find clothing from them at a fraction of the cost of new is a bonus.
In addition, I was able to do some shopping for my daughters. The outfit above – Hollister shorts and a Hollister sweatshirt – was just $8 total. We already owned the shoes and they were a perfect match.
I was also able to get three shirts for my daughters. Two are Hollister shirts and they were just $3.50 each after the 50% off sale. The Nike shirt was brand new – tags still on – and was just $3.50. The tag is from Macy’s and is for $35.00 so a savings of 90%.
Shopping secondhand can take more time and perseverance than just hitting the mall requires, but it can also be a lot of fun and is very rewarding once you see how easy it is to save big.
We love hearing about your deals – please leave a comment and let us know what great secondhand deals you’ve scored lately!
Leave a Reply