Helpful Hints for a Broke Shopaholic!

so because I wanted to update my blog, and I didn't really have anything to write about that wouldn't be so obnoxiously, "I'm so happy blah blah" or "I'm so stressed blah blah" and I don't want to complain about my problems, I decided to write about something that I'm good at, and give a few pointers!

I'm a shopaholic. I have been for quite some time now, and one must know that since we shopaholics don't always have the most money - it's important to know how to make the most of your buck! I just wanted to write a blog that points out some of my favorite ways to get cute clothes for a much more reasonable price! So here are some helpful pointers!

Helpful Hints for a Broke Shopaholic!

1. Decide how much money you want to spend BEFORE you leave! This seems like an easy enough tip, but I wish I followed it more often! If you want to go shopping and get a little retail therapy in, don't go overboard should be the number one rule, obviously! Decide before you leave for your shopping excursion how much dough you're willing to shell out on unnecessary items, and take a trip to the ATM. This may seem over extravagant to some of you who don't have the same bad shopping habits as me - but the best thing I've ever learned to do is to go to the ATM and take ou the twenty or fourty dollars I decide I can afford to spend and leave my debit card at home! This eliminates the temptation to overspend and will help you not to buy extraneous items past your price range!

2. Learn to associate yourself with the clearance rack. I KNOW that it's impossible to ignore the beautiful displays in store windows - or to resist the urge to buy everything on the mannequins! But the sales and clearance racks of stores are probably still selling weather appropriate clothing for a better price than it was a month or two ago! My advice about the clearance rack though? Don't buy anything TOO trendy on clearance. It may go out of style, and you might feel like your fifteen dollars was wasted. Be sure that you buy some classic peices, such as this really cute GAP wrap sweater my sister got a few weeks ago for a mere twelve dollars:

As you can see, the clearance rack is a great place to pick up cute items for a mere fraction of the price. And remember - stores always change seasons a month or two early to be ahead of the game, so it's not as if you will only find sweaters on clearance during the summer!

3. Try a "bargain" store. I KNOW, generally, buying your clothes from Wal-mart was unnacceptable in middle and high school. But let's face it - if the clothes fit well and look good, who has to know what the tag is? While I don't personally recomend Wal-mart for all your style needs. I absolutely love Target for great cooky items and accessories. I once bought four pairs of opaque tights (really trendy lately!) for two dollars a pair there. Wonderous! Also, they tend to bring in "designer" lines, and frequently these lines are really cute and stylish at a FRACTION of the cost of say, an Abercrombie top. Another great place I'd recomend to shop at is TJ Maxx - but I warn you, you'll have to dig through a whole lot of ugly before you find a gem! I've found a lot of cute and unique looking items at TJ Maxx, and they usually have an AWESOME collection of handbags and shoes. Also, TJ Maxx carries cosmetics, and I once purchased a Stila eyeshadow pallette there for five dollars. Other stores much like TJ Maxx (though TJ is my favorite!) include Ross: Dress for Less and Marshall's. Bargain stores are great places to pick up cooky new items to add to your wardrobe, like accessories and little jackets.

4. Pear down your wardrobe. If you are as bad as me, you probably don't even touch more than half of your clothes. GET RID OF THEM. If they are old, have holes, just don't look good anymore or for any reason are just no longer functioning as an active part of your wardrobe - GET RID OF IT. Keeping old clothes only takes up space and makes your wardrobe unmanagable. Personally, I like to go through my clothes, pick out what I don't want anymore, then separate out what is "designer" or "brand name" and in good condition and take those to Plato's Closet (see below) and then donate the rest of the clothes (if they are still in decent shape) to a place like Goodwill or Salvation Army.

5. Find a great second hand store! As I mentioned above, I really like to sell my "gently used teen brand name clothes" to my local Plato's Closet. If you've never heard of Plato's Closet, or you're too good to wear other people's clothes, then BOY are you missing out! Plato's is a place where you can take your extranneous clothing, sell it (though they won't pay you face value, your stuff IS used you know!), and get straight up cash for clothes you don't wear anymore! How sweet is that? Not only that, but all of the clothes they have are gently used and for the most part, are as good as if you'd only owned them for a month or so. Thumbing through their clothing can prove very fruitful - you'll find items that are not on the racks at stores anymore for literally under ten dollars. Jeans tend to run from ten to twenty five dollars, and that includes some of the more popular brands like GAP, Express, A&F, Hollister, American Eagle, and Seven7. Incredible deals!

6. Develop Your Own Sense of Style. This seems like a given to me - but maybe it's because I tend to dress fairly cooky. Figure out what you like and what you don't like in fashion! If you always look like the latest Abercrombie mannequin, you are probably paying as much as those items cost at face value! Also, you probably haven't put much thought into your look. I'm not dissing the preppy Abercrombie look, I'm just saying that there are other ways to acheive it! There is a great article on CollegeFashion.Net called "Fashion Beyond Abercrombie and Fitch (or How To Develop Your Own Style)" that basically sums this up. You waste money being the "latest" when you really are just mimicking what you THINK is what's in right now. (I also seriously recomend you read the rest of her blog, it's great!)

7. Realize which items are worth the splurge. This is a biggie! You need to realize which items are worth spending a little extra cash on instead of waiting for them to go on sale. In general, basic items such as suits (for job interviews), dresses, and anything you would want to wear to a special occasion can be bought for full price. A lot of the time finding any of these items that fits perfectly is near to impossible, so when you find the perfect item it's always wise to go ahead and purchase it.

8. AVOID RETAIL. Biggest tip ever - if you are truly broke, which a lot of the time I am, AVOID AVOID AVOID all situations which may tempt you to spend any sort of money. Don't even go out to eat. Just stay at home, eat your own groceries, and find ways to entertain yourself for free. It's difficult but sometimes the only way I get from week to week!

Stores where I tend to find cheap and cute things: Charlotte Russe, Forever 21, Rue 21, Ross, Marshall's, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, Plato's Closet, Claire's, The Icing.

Stores that have GREAT clearance racks: the GAP, Express, Journey's, New York and Company, Anne Taylor Loft, Macy's

My SPLURGE places: Banana Republic (<3),>

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I know this blog was random, but I enjoyed writing it [= oh, and for the record - yes, I am ridiculous happy. and yes, I am ridiculously stressed.

somewhere inbetween. but I'm glad you make me smile so much. I was so tired of crying all the time. [=