I'll tell you all my secrets: Part 5

Thank you to everyone who has been following my short post series on saving money! When it comes to cutting money corners, I tend to know where to look. But I should also let you in on a few things I've learned in my years of shopping smart. My mother used to tell me "You get what you pay for." This is completely true. But what does this mean? Although I love Forever21, if I spend $10 on a pair of jeans, they will have been made as if they cost $10. A few weeks down the road, I may have to mend some holes, re-thread a seam, or even throw them out altogether. Don't get me wrong, I own probably 4 pairs of Forever21 jeans, but if I would have taken that $40 and put it towards a more expensive pair, I would be able to get more ware out of them and not have to toss them so soon.

You may wonder why I'm telling you this, after weeks of teaching you how NOT to spend money. The truth is, if you buy inexpensive clothes that are poorly made, you will end up spending more money anyway. My suggestion is to shop smart, buy good quality items, but NEVER pay full price. Here are my steps.

1. Check your Websites
Every major clothing company or designer has a website. Believe it or not, most of them also have mailing lists that you can be apart of. If you're like me, a majority of them I remove myself right away because of all the spam mail. However, for a few stores, I will keep getting e-mail notifications of major sales going on! Sign up for these notifications and be ready to pounce whenever a great sale hits!

2. Do Your Homework Before You Shop
In my experience most stores update their online items before they reach the stores. Urban Outfitters for example has pages and pages of Sale items online, but unless they JUST did markdowns, their Sale section is usually picked clean. This doesn't add up right? Well, Urban Outfitters does this wonderful thing. They will match any in-store price to the online price if you ask. For example: If you find an adorable dress in the store that is $59, but is marked as on sale online for $39.99, they will override the in store price and sell it to you for the sale price. I wouldn't walk around checking every single item to see if it's on sale, but it may be worth asking before you decide to pay full price!

3. Used Doesn't Mean Abused
Although some of you may have a phobia of buying second hand clothes, remember this one little thing, EVERYTHING CAN BE WASHED! I've have been able to find the most amazing items that are practically unworn, but sorting through rows and rows of clothing at Goodwill, Value Village, the ScholarShop and NCJW Thrift Shop. It may be dirty, smelly, crowded and unpleasant for awhile, but once you've scored your soon-to-be favorite dress for $2.99, you'll be happy you suffered through it!

Take your time in places like these. Keep an eye out for when they bring new racks of clothing and shoes out, so you can be the first to pick through it and not the 10th. And, make sure you check behind the cash register! Places like these tend to keep their nicer and more expensive items behind the counter.

I hope these little secrets of mine have helped! What are some of the tips and tricks you have learned to save money and still look great?

Syd/O, Human Holiday!