Save Money on Clothes

By Saving Money on clothes I mean buying them, not how to make them last longer. Even those of us who are frugal like a new (and I do mean brand new, not used) outfit occasionally.
Let me start this post with a few things from my life that make saving money on clothing important to me.

1- I can NOT get out a stain to save my life. I just can't. I'm not any good at it. Please no advice on the matter, I've tried it all. It comes down to one thing very simple- I am not organized enough to soak/treat/prewash or whatever needs to be done to get the stain out. By the time I do laundry, the stain is set. This being said, I don't spend alot of money on clothes because you just never know when something will get ruined.

2- In line with #1, my husband works in a restaurant. Aside from the "stuff" he gets on his clothes (that I can't get out), he is prone to bleach stains. He is a manager so he has to dress nice, but I refuse to pay $50 for a pair of slacks that could very well have a bleach spot on them the first day he wears them.

3- I'm cheap. I want to look nice. I want my family to look nice. I refuse to pay alot of money for something as unimportant as a shirt or a pair of pants. There are children in this world that are hungry and have NO clothes and there are people in our country who pay $200 for a shirt. Does that really make sense?

Ok- Glad I got all that out!

Now, because I am cheap (or frugal if you prefer) I am all for shopping at thrift stores. I have read about, and even seen on TV, places that have thrift stores where you can get (good stuff)shirts for .25 or pants for $1.00. We don't have anything like that here. Our thrift store (goodwill) has shirts and pants for about $5 each. It doesn't matter what brand or even how good of shape it's in, it's all the same price- about $5. I think $5 is to much for a used shirt.
I know people who shop this thrift store all the time. They don't have alot of money so they go here to get a good deal. I don't see how $5 for a used shirt is a good deal.
I go to places like Marshalls, TJMaxx, and Ross. This is where I get 90% of our clothes. You can buy a new, name brand shirt like they sell in department stores for about half the price. Even that's to much for me (I told you I was cheap). I shop the sale racks. I can get my husband name brand works shirts- new- for about $5, same as I would spend at goodwill for a used shirt. The people I know who shop goodwill but don't go to these discount stores say they don't like to dig- don't you have to dig at a thrift store? Doesn't make since to me.

As with most anything- there are exceptions to my goodwill rule, because I do shop there too. You can save money on clothes (good clothes) at a thrift store. Goodwill has sale days. About twice a month they have a day where all pants are $2 each. Since my husband is just gonna stain them with grease and bleach, $2 is a GREAT price for pants. But I am picky about what I buy at goodwill. I want it to be as new as possible. Even if he is just going to get stains all over it, I want it to look new before he does :)

So that's my BIG secret on how to save money on clothes. Shop sale racks at discount stores. Not such a secret is it? I am truly surprised at how many people do not go to these stores, but instead will go to a thrift store or a yard sale to get clothes. If you haven't been in one lately, you really need to check it out and save yourself some money next time you need a new outfit!

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