 |
«A website where you can find the lowest interest rates on home loans with absolutely free quotes from multiple lenders» |
| • Home Equity Loan • Home Refinance Loan • Home Purchase Loan • Second Mortgage Loan • Debt Consolidation Loan | ||
|
 | |
| |
| Home Equity Loan Store :: Personal Finance | |
|
|
|
Save Money on your Clothing Budget. Tame the Closet Monster!
Reducing the clothing budget was a serious challenge for me. Two pre-teen girls and a teenage girl certainly didn't make life any easier. My son wasn't much of a challenge. Thank goodness, he's not "fashion conscious". The girls on the other hand were greatly disappointed in the new methods of clothing acquisition. Freebies, thrift stores, yard sales, consignment shops, and clearance items weren't exactly their style. I found that changing the way I approached them on the subject made things a little easier. For instance we don't buy "used" clothing. We buy "previously owned, unwanted, or gently worn" clothing. I strongly believe that knowledge is power. And, if you want to save money on anything, you must do your research! Informed consumer = More Savings, that's my motto. It took some shopping around for me to locate the best clothing value for my money. I did eventually find the one place where I consistently find excellent values with a great variety of choices. I find most of my clothing "treasures" at a thrift store about 15 miles from my home. It's well worth the drive considering the great values I come away with! My cost per item averages about $3. I rarely spend more than $5 and once in a great while I'll splurge on a $6.95 item (usually new with tags still intact and a super value compared to the original price) The thrift store where I shop is owned and operated by the National Children's Center , a local organization that provides educational services, early intervention preschool, and child care to infants and young children with and without developmental delays. You will find that many of your local thrift stores are non-profit and support worthy charities. I get a terrific value on name brand clothes popular with my girls peers, (Old Navy, Zana di, Paris Blues, Angel, Lei, Guess, Levi, Bubblegum, Mudd, limited Too, Adidas). Well there's not much I haven't been lucky enough to find at this store. As a bonus my purchase also supports a worthy cause. And let's not forget that recycling these "unwanted" clothes is environmentally friendly. Everybody wins with these kinds of purchases. These are important benefits that ease the embarrassment children sometimes experience when they shop at thrift stores. If your children are informed of all these benefits, they have the power to explain why they shop at thrift stores, if it ever comes up, and it doesn't have be for financial reasons. The wonderful part is, it will probably never come up in a conversation with their peers. My children have never had to explain themselves. Most items are of good quality and only gently used. You would never know we are enjoying a frugal lifestyle with a wardrobe like this! In fact, with their closest friends the girls freely brag about the terrific deals we get on clothing. Some of their friends are even envious because of the wide selection of popular brand name jeans the girls are fortunate to own. They have come to the realization that five pairs of name brand jeans at the thrift store is a whole lot better than one at the department store price. I have found many brand new items with tags still intact. No way for friends to know where these great clothes came from. They probably assume they shop at some expensive department store or specialty shop. We actually have fun shopping at the thrift store now. I have even caught a hint of excitement in them from time to time. Maybe my excitement for saving money is rubbing off. Not! I think it's just the fabulous clothes we find! I know the saving thing will kick in later. That's what counts, teaching them how to be financially independent in life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Besides visiting your local thrift stores you should check out these other great resources for low cost clothing. Clothing needs change so often for children. When you consider they grow so rapidly at certain stages in life, it just makes good sense to reduce cost on clothing. Spending $30-$50 on one pair of jeans is just wasteful. They will only get a few months of wear before they grow out of them or decide they don't like them anymore! Yard sales are great resource for anything you might need. It may be a little more time consuming to go this route, but the rewards can be great. If you plan your yard sale trips correctly you can save a lot of time. As you become an experienced yard sale consumer, you will learn where yard sales are frequent in your area. Combine this information with advertised yard sales in the local paper and on roadside signs and organize your trip to minimize your travel time. You will sometimes find bags of clothes for a great "take all" price. Even if everything isn't usable you will usually get enough useful clothing to make the purchase a good value. Make sure the clothes are in the right size range or are something they will grow into within a reasonable amount of time. If you have the time and purchasing items individually is an option, go through the bag. Purchase only what you know will be useful. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Consignment shops are rapidly becoming popular. Not only can you find some bargain purchases here they may be a valuable resource for you to turn your unwanted items into money. You let them do all the storing, selling, and paperwork, all you have to do is collect your money! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have a friend who sells all of her unwanted "designer" clothing on the E-Bay auction site. I have not ventured to purchase clothing on ebay myself as of yet, but have purchased many other items such as books, movies, and gifts. Ebay is a great resource for new and pre-owned items, including clothing. Especially if you are geographically limited as far as shopping goes. Of course there are other auction sites where you might find clothing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In conclusion your best defense against overspending is information. In the end the best value for you is what works best for you. And, what's available to you in your area. Investigate all your options and determine where the best value is based on your own needs. Yes, I'm going to say it again! Sorry. Informed Consumer = More Savings Happy Saving! Cheryl Johnson mother of four helping herself and others become and remain debt free. Publisher of Simple Debt Free Living at http://www.simpledebtfreeliving.com - A self-help plan, ideas, and resources for debt mangement, household budget planning, frugal and debt free living, and home business ideas. Including money saving tips for groceries, clothing , bills, home decorating, and much more.
MORE RESOURCES:
Personal-Finance - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
What is a Traditional IRA? With a traditional Investment Retirement Account (IRA) you pay taxes when you take the money out at retirement in the future. Make sure that this account is really worth opening in your situation because what you put in the account today may be fully deductible, partially deductible or non deductible, depending upon your income and other retirement coverage. Vacations Made Easy: Buying a Florida Investment Property Vacations Made Easy: Buying a Florida Investment PropertyA relaxing beach vacation means different things to different families. However, imagine returning from a long day in the sand and waves, hair dripping and tan glowing to a place where you and your family have settled over the years. UK Parents Inactivity Harming Their Children's Future University and Mortgage Savings The British government at the beginning of this year officially launched its Child Trust Fund (CTF) initiative in an effort to encourage parents and children to develop the savings habit and to teach children the value of saving their own money.Chancellor, Gordon Brown said, "The Child Trust Fund is designed to ensure that every child in our country has assets and wealth and that no child is left out and all children in Britain have a stake in the wealth of the nation". Top 10+ Ways to Jumpstart your New Year's Finances! Of course, these don't have to be done in any particular order! Just pick one or two that particularly apply to your situation. * Create your 2005 filing system. 10 Tips to Make Sure Your Financial Budget Will Succeed You've analyzed your past expenses, put them into spreadsheets, loaded Quicken with all of your data and come up with a budget. Now what? The tough part! You actually have to stick to your budget and put your plans into action. Understanding and Controlling Your Finances Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to have complete control over your finances?If you are like most normal people, you have a job. You go to your job every day. Budgeting your Savings - Did You Let Your Piggy Bank Get Away? I think most of us have at some point in our lives. Some how we forget to feed the little piggy. Creating A Household Budget Creating a budget can be a very difficult task. Although we as consumers know that we need to pay our bills, buy our necessities, and put money away for savings, we don't really know how to start. Why We Are Never Satisfied with What We Have I have to admit, I do it too. I complain. The Wonderful World Of Address Labels Ever wonder where address labels come from? Avery® is perhaps one of the most well-known manufacturers of address labels. Rightly so in some respects. UK Graduates Looking Short-Term At Their Long-Term Financial Responsibilities With almost two thirds of university entrants from England and Wales who applied for maintenance grants for this year being unsuccessful, and the average graduate owing Ј13,501 when they leave, according to Barclays, combined with a survey by High Fliers Research showing that only 21% of students were confident of managing to enter a graduate-level job this year, it is not surprising that there is a feeling of gloom hanging over many UK university entrants.According to a survey of students from 30 institutions; 63% believed there are not enough graduate jobs for everyone leaving university this year, with a fifth stating that they felt that there were only limited jobs available. Money Matters - Really! One of the biggest challenges facing black RELATIONSHIPS today are finances. Many people mistakenly feel that money does NOT matter. Reduce College Debt with Scholarships Six Scholarship judges were sitting around an oval table. Forms were piled into 50 boxes. Budgeting Made Easy Well, dang! From what I've heard and read, it looks like we've reached an all-time world-class new record in the amount of personal debt on the books. Now it's probably not quite as bad as we've been led to believe, however many of us have managed to tromp further than we should have into the financial swamp. Want Your Savings to Earn a Higher Rate of Return? Try Internet Banking Doesn't it seem like the only impressive numbers we've seen this summer are the digits on the thermostat and the unaffordable prices of homes? Real estate has been excruciatingly hot for the past few years, but getting in the market now puts you in the high-risk category for a heat stroke if the market decides to cool off this year.So if a real estate induced stroke doesn't appeal to you and the stock market's roller coaster ride gives you motion sickness, it's very likely that you as a health-conscious investor are sitting on a stash of cash collecting an anemic rate of interest. How to Draw a Personal Budget that Works Many people spend their little income haphazardly without any planning and end up getting broke before month-end. They then borrow to make ends meet and end up with more problems that they fail to repay their debts promptly. Basic Bank Accounts Failing the Basic Needs of Consumers The lists of bank and savings accounts that are available to most people are bewildering. A quick look at a comparison site like Moneynet or Moneyfacts will reveal thousands of different products. Ways to Save Energy and Slash Electricity Bills 1. Lighting & Light Bulbs Install low energy light bulbs in rooms you use regularly - they last up to 15 times longer than a normal light bulb and provide the same lighting for a quarter of the running cost. Five Secrets for Long-term Financial Success Future financial success is not a guarantee that any one of us can rely upon, no matter how wealthy we are now or intend to become.There are however five future proofing financial steps that we can take to protect our current financial status, improve our future financial prospects and secure our long-term financial success. Budgeting Your Way to Financial Freedom Financial freedom cannot be achieved without budgeting. Budgeting involves tracking your sources of income and more importantly tracking your expenses.
|
