Serious Savings

At our church mom's group a few weeks ago, Miriam Hofer shared her tricks & tips for saving money. She proved her success at shopping thrift stores by bringing in GREAT items that she got for less than $1 each. (Some were like 28 cents!!)
She gave us a handout with the information for thrift stores she shops at and the days they have sales. Yes, thrift stores have sales. So yesterday the Salvation Army in Reedley was having their 75% off children's clothing and the Open Gate in Dinuba was having 50% off infant clothes. Well, I decided to try my hand at the trade.

First I went to The Salvation Army in Reedley. I got the following:
size 12 month sweet dress for next summer
size 3-6 months brown skinny leggins with lace trim on the bottom
size 0-3 pink overalls AND i found the matching long sleeve shirt somewhere else on the rack
size 0-3 red pants with ruffle but, I love me some ruffle but on my little babe
size 12 month tutu swim suit for next summer. precious!

TOTAL COST: $2.91

After shopping the Salvation Army, I headed to Fresno to hit the mall with a friend.
We went to Gap and I scoped the clearance racks at Gap Kids.
I got the following long sleeve onesies for right now, bc my little girl has mostly summer clothes in this size and I needed some long sleeve stuff.

TOTAL COST: $9.78

After shopping at the mall I decided to hit the other deal at The Open Gate in Dinuba. So Lydi and I hit the road. When we got to The Open Gate there wasn't a whole lot there because it was already late in the day & people had already been shopping there. But it was 4:30 and I had 30 minutes to do some shopping. I grabbed a couple things and got the counter. My total was going to be $3.41 and they told me I could fill a brown paper sack for $5. Meaning, anything I could fit in the bag would still only cost me $5. Sweet. So I decided I'd keep looking. Next time I'll go early in the day, but still, check out my loot.

Four denim over-all pieces in sizes 0-3 months, 0-6, 6, and 12 months.
A vintage looking jumper for play time size 18  months.
A sweet little vintage white sweater-like onesie size 18 months.
3 size 2T dresses (botttom right, 2 pink, one denim)
Two little jumper one pieces size 12 months for next summer.
Spring dress size 9 months
A great little gap summer hat size 6-12 months
And a hand made little dress that I am going to use as a pattern to make others like it.
(Not pictured, 2 belts for myself)

TOTAL COST: $5.00

So, let's consider my savings. Two items for $9.78. Twenty-Two items for $7.91.

I'm not saying I will never go buy Lydi anything new. Of course I will. But I don't think I am okay with spending $20+ on a piece of baby clothing that she may only wear twice before she grows out of it. Truth be told, I'd rather buy clothing for myself or Lee at that cost, because we'll wear it for years. Of course it is tempting to buy the super cute name brand things right off the rack, but the reality is that we aren't made of money, so I can only shop those racks when they are on sale or clearance. Plus, if I buy her something at thrift store prices and she does only wear it once or it gets ruined then I haven't lost a lot of money. Also, the majority of the items I bought at the thrift stores don't even look used. That's because how often does a baby wear 0-3 month overalls when they probably have an excess of other clothes? I am not buying my baby dirty, old, stained clothes. At thrift stores there are definitely items you don't want to buy, but you'd be surprised the treasures you can find. And I think that is what made it all so fun. So much fun it might be a new hobby of mine... like hunting treasure.

Yay for super savvy serious savings.