I'm pretty proud to be a thrifter. So it isn't that often we shop regular retail at the mall. To my knowledge they don't have a thrift store nor any salvage yard on board, so we only tread in that direction when in need of electronics and such.
Today brought us there so my son could spend his Christmas money. Earphones were on the list for his iPod.
I don't know the FIRST thing about earphones so when we were approached with the offer of help, I jumped on it. The sales gent described exactly why the earphones my son desired were far superior to the ones I wish my son desired. It made sense, so I approved the decision.
While we walked towards the main mall doors, my son wanted to check out a clothing store. He desired some nice duds to match the new headgear. :) I smiled because I knew what was coming. It was THAT store again.
THAT store has these pretty amazing (inflated?) prices on most anything in it. Gorgeous clothing, yes. But.. well, you either have the funds or you don't. And we don't.
However, I always oblige my son. I love this store for it's the perfect opportunity to teach him yet again why we tend to thrift.
"MOM, I LOVE this jacket! Can I get it?!? (gasp!) Ohhh... it's $200."
"WHAT!? Nooo...."
"Yeah. That's lots for this jacket, right?"
I came closer for the inspection. It was a lovely hoodie. Dusty brown tone, cool frayed edging and neat black hip hop kinda graphics. But paper thin. It hung bad even on the hanger. And let's face it, it was a lightweight HOODIE. And that's when we were approached with sales help.
Me - "I'm curious. What makes this hoodie $200?"
The sales gal shrugged her shoulders and casually mentioned it was affiliated with a bigger brand. That's it.
I turned to my son, explained (yet again) I'd pay what a 'normal-decent only what we needed' hoodie would cost, but he'd have to pay the difference if he wanted this one. He decided he didn't want to work THAT hard. :)
"We could always try the thrift..."
"NOOOOooooo.....!"
But we didn't even get out the door when he changed his mind. His earphones needed 'something' after all.
So we went. And he fell head over heels in LOVE with this winter jacket in new condition. The price? A whoppin' $30. It was beautiful, very hip hop and perfect for that new look.
SOLD.
I view decorating in much the same way. It would be nice to simply choose whatever we wish and fill our homes with gorgeous designer accessories. But I'm going to be totally honest here. Unless the product is soooo top of the line, most regular retail items don't hold a candle to the thrifted pieces many of us land.
Not being able to 'afford it all' has been and continues to be a huge blessing in our lives. We have the opportunity to be creative and save a ton of funds along the way. And it's a fine opportunity to teach our kids that there may be other options for our heart's desires.
Sometimes only the 'best' may do. But if I need something I feel I can make myself or know of a better way to land it for less while still getting more...
... try and stop me. :)
What makes you proud to be a thrifter?
Hey Donna! My 20 year old daughter finally got this lesson when we went thrift store looking and she found some Lucky jeans, regular retail they are about $120 and she snagged them for $15. She still LOVES VS, so sometimes she will take a nice chunk out of her hard earned paycheck and splurge. She's got great vintage taste, so I am sure we will be back to the TS for apartment decorating soon!
ReplyDeleteNice story!!
You are totaly right...the best thing ever is to create
ReplyDeleteMy Dad used to say "If it's worth your half of the money it's worth mine" and payed half for our clothes once we were old enough to earn our own money. I remember being in 8th grade and totally into all the name brand clothes and worked SO hard babysitting earning my own money. Went to the mall that school year with my parents and bought some totally cool, hip and REALLY expensive clothes. I loved my new stuff but figured out pretty fast that sometimes the difference between $20 jeans and $100 jeans was a tiny little tag.
ReplyDeleteI still splurge now and again but really try to buy quality, well made classic things. So often I can go to the thrift store and find almost the exact thing for 1/3 as much. With 4 kids that makes a huge difference! Thrifting allows me to have a nice comfortable home that is affordable. Plus I love stuff so much more when I've put some of my own sweat into it!
It's just like buying a new car, once you purchase it, it goes to thrift/consignment store prices from then on. My daughter's at the same age where they are torn between designer fashions and common sense.
ReplyDeleteVintage furniture and clothing are usually better made than anything I could afford to buy retail. There's an added benefit: I prefer to customize most everything I buy anyway and, with the money I save by thrifting, I can experiment with different finishes, sewing techniques, and craft ideas without feeling too much guilt should they not turn out quite the way I'd hoped.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE to thrift! In the early days of our marriage, thrifting was the only way we could afford anything beyond food and rent. What I discovered was I could get much better quality stuff than if I shopped retail. My husband wasn't raised to thrift, but he eventually got on board (after actually going with me to a department store to buy his shirts for the office. Now, he requests that I buy his office clothes at thrift stores. I can usually find brand new stuff, or items with the dry cleaning tag still on them! When we moved to the middle (as in downtown) of a big city a couple of years ago, I started buying my craft and sewing supplies at thrift stores, as well. It just wasn't worth the effort of driving out to the suburbs to find supplies, when I could hit up the thrift store a block away, and find unique and vintage items for crafting.
ReplyDeleteToday I wore a beautiful dress shirt to a celebration for my husband. The V-neck is solid sequins in purple, aqua and blue. There is a delicate pattern of those colors on a black background. Hundreds of tiny sequins dot the shirt.
ReplyDeleteI wore it to church this morning, and after the service a woman I'd never met came up to me and asked where I got my shirt because it was the most beautiful shirt she'd ever seen. I said, "Goodwill. $3.49." I smiled. Pretty cool, huh? She was shocked!
I LOVE this reply! Fascinating! :)
DeleteGreat story! I'm proud to be a thrifter when my daughter turns to me and says "Mom, your place is just so homey and I can look around and see the things you've made over or picked up secondhand and made look "right" in your place!" So gratifying when someone notices! xo
ReplyDeleteSo glad you made a good find for him... they're out there, sometimes we just have to have the patience to look for it. We had purchased a book case for our liv rm when we moved into our condo. It was $300 and we had to assemble it. We put it on one side of the fireplace. I needed one desperately for the other side of the fireplace but another $300 was definitely not in our budget. So I waited and sure enough, I found one at a local reused store called New Uses in Columbus, Ohio, for $25!!! Okay, it had a hole in the backboard but I'm going to do decorative paper or something on the back anyway. WOO-HOO! I love thrifting!! Sherry
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this Donna. Great post! It is such a blessing to not be able to afford all our heart desires. It took me a while to learn this, but it is sooo true!
ReplyDeleteRachel
xoxo
isn't it funny how we learn from what we need vs want. I love to find great things and I learned early on that I could dress my 4 kids far better by going to a children's resale or thrift than only 2 or 3 "upscale" outfits. Even more fun is finding the things to transform my space into something not everyone else has.
ReplyDeleteI love the lesson Donna! My girls also like to shop in THAT store, when I give them school money at the end of the summer I give them a budget... They can shop in THAT store and get one thing or they can go to Target, Marshalls or someplace cheaper and get a whole lot more for that money.... It is a great lesson and guess where they end up going? Yep! They get a lot for their money after all!
ReplyDeleteSusan
Must admit that I don't thrift for clothes - I have a hard enough time finding things to fit my tall body in regular stores. But I love thrifting for unusual household items - linens, crystal, china. Searching through the racks of other people's junk sets my heart a flutter when i find something that has my name written on it.
ReplyDeleteI'm a thriftier too donna! but I have never thrifted clothing yet. i find the racks of clothes way to intimidating though i'm sure there are buried and unique treasures somewhere in there. glad you found something awesome for you son!
ReplyDeleteHey, wait til he is a grown up and tells you that he is glad you taught him how to shop off price...that is exactly what my college kid (20 yrs) told me recently...he has learned the value and knows how to find what he wants at marshalls and the salvation army thrift...its a good moment.
ReplyDeleteI must live in the wrong place...our thrift stores are very lackluster...I never find a great piece of furniture for $10 that just needs a facelift. I do much better stalking my favorite store's clearance sections. I love the 80% off racks at Kohls or the 60 -90% off aisles at Hobby Lobby.
ReplyDeleteIt's the thrill of landing a great Bargain that makes me happy every time I walk by my treasures! My daughter who is 15 now looks in the stores and says "I'm not paying THAT much for THIS" My mom asked her yesterday where she likes to shop and she said that she LOVES Urban Outfitters but hates the prices so she shops online in their Clearance center (with free shipping) or tries to Thrift the items. That's MY girl! XO Cindy
ReplyDeleteI'm proud to be a thrifter for all the same reasons, Donna. I LOVE how it pushes one to be creative and see things in new ways. It is an exercise for the brain. And, I think it must get the endorphins flowing to nab a great deal, like you did with the coat!
ReplyDeleteI recently found a Burberry's scarf at Goodwill for $2 and sold it on Ebay for $73. I think that incident finally turned on a lightbulb in my hubster's head. :) I love finding "discarded" items on the shelves of thrift stores and sending them home with new owners who love/need them through my flea market booth. I focus on vintage items, and have enjoyed the education I have received by researching my finds.
ReplyDeleteThis year, I've made a goal of only buying my clothes, accessories and home items second-hand. So far, it's working. I have a feeling I may have to make exceptions for certain shoes and definitely underwear. But otherwise... I'll be blogging about it as I go: http://girlchild.wordpress.com/
I'm with you!! The joy of a deal far outweighs the delight of an overpriced item that is itself "used" after the first wearing!
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids was young, we shopped at the thrift stores all the time....until the dreaded teenage years.....they did want to do that. But they still didn't get the expense brands. You did us proud....great lesson for your son.
ReplyDeleteTerrific life lessons! I love how your son decided he didn't want to work that hard for that hoodie! I've taken my two kiddies thrifiting with me since they were babies. They love to go, they think the youth ranch on orchard is a bookstore and that's where they like to go.
ReplyDeleteI'm a proud thrifter and dumpster diver and trash picker upper! My favorite description of myself is that I "have champange tastes and a beer pocketbook". Makes me look harder and work harder but it's SO much more fun!
ReplyDeleteLorraine
And that is one of the reasons I follow your blog. In my way of thinking, you just get it. Brand new things can be lovely, but most of what we buy doesn't need to be new. Thank God that I have a mother who taught me to appreciate all things and to have a creative perspective. I would rather spend what little extra I do have on people who truly need it. I that way, I guess I'm storing up treasures in heaven. ;-) Thrifters, Junkers and Garage Salers Unite!
ReplyDeleteFirst, let me say, good for you guys for finding your treasure! Second, let me relay that becoming frugal has truly been a blessing. When both my husband and I worked, we shopped at those malls, paying those inflated prices (more me, not my husband). Then, when I decided to stay home, I HAD to change my ways. I remember by son was ready to get out of his crib into a "big boy" bed. My husband and I went to Bombay Company Kids (remember them) and look for a bed. Whew, we were sticker-shocked to say the least. My husband suggested I take my be from when I was little and paint it up for our son. The thought just about killed me as I'd never done any re-anything before! I took my old white canopy bed, removed the canopy part (of course) and replaced the holes with baseballs I drilled onto pegs for each of the 4 corners. I painted the white bed a bright, royal blue, and voila!, brand new bed, boy-styled! I couldn't believe how great it turned out.
ReplyDeleteI thank frugality for making me a more creative person, less a slave to fashioned-brands, and having more money in my wallet!!!!
Yesterday my dear daughter who I raised to be DIY and "green" bought me the cutest cowboy boots at a thrift store. The $8 boots online go for 150.00 easy! I usually don't do clothes or shoes used but wooo hoo I wanted some sassy boots!Raising 3 kids, buying used was a way to "get by" and give them more . Now I find it such a treasure hunt and smart, creative thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge thrifter too...can't beat the excitement of a great find!
ReplyDeleteEVERYTHING about thrifting makes me proud! First, it lets me stay at home, plus it lets me be creative and it also helps me to make money for myself and/or my family. It saved us 2 Christmas' ago when my hubby was laid off on Black Friday, because I was able to buy presents and pay a couple of bills too with my craft show $$. This year's craft show $$ is paying for half of Disney World! I can decorate my house just as nice as the 1M homes on the next street without having to get an outside job. The funny part is, THEY are impressed with OUR house! THAT'S what I'm proud of! ;^)
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge fan of thrifting and have been for over 20 years. Whether it's for clothing or home decor— I shop thrift first, always.
ReplyDeleteI'm a single mom to 4 children and I am a full time student. There is hardly enough in the budget for the household let alone clothing and items to decorate, but we have everything we need. I am always getting compliments on how homey and comfortable my home is. My children get compliments on how cute their clothing is. They have learned how to refinish furniture and build bookshelves, closet built-ins and make things out of nothing. I use to be a little embarrassed about shopping this way but my children, especially my 14 year old son, are very proud of the work they have done to help and the virtually non-existent price tag. Although every little bit helps.. It isn't always about saving money.
ReplyDeleteMy kids have benefited from my thrift finds: $5 cappuccino maker (they like their pumpkin lattes), $2 skateboards, $2 digital kid cameras (vs. $65 new)... and the latest score, a $5 mint-condition, Jones New York formal for the 16-year-old. They also see what the savings goes towards, like dinners out and vacations. They're hooked!
ReplyDeleteI love thrifting. I taught my kiddos to thrift and they've all furnished their homes very tastefully by thrifting.
ReplyDeleteI was excited to see that my daughter recently brought out a Suede leather blazer I'd bought for her for Christmas one year for $10 ...After having her baby she couldn't wear it. But now she's back down to size tiny It Fits...and she kept it! I love it on her and she gets lots of compliments when she wears.
Now, when people ask her where she got it? She says,"What, this old thing?" then she tells them how her mom got such a great deal on it!
Love, love, love thrifting!
Pat
Donna what a great story. I'm so glad your son was able to find a hoodie he loved at the thrift store. Sometimes we have to be patient! I scored some beautiful, name brand clothes this fall. Usually I'm looking for home dec stuff. But maybe God was tired of looking at me in my worn out jeans and t-shirts. Hey, they're comfortable. Happy Monday.
ReplyDeleteNot being a slave to credit card debt makes me proud to be a thrifter. Been there done that. Great story!
ReplyDeleteThe wisest words ever spoken to me were from my 9yo grand daughter. I asked her what she wanted be when she grew up. To that she replied without hesitation; "debt free"! Now that's what I call training up a child. You are doing the same thing; seizing any opportunity you can to teach and train so your son can have all that he needs and wants at a fraction of the cost and have a lot more fun finding it.
ReplyDeleteAs a thrifter myself, it is about the only place one can find items originally made in the USA. The quality, the quality. Oh for those good old days, eh?
ReplyDeleteI love thrifting so much (actually planning on going this week). Finding a pair of $100 jeans or a brand new set of ice skates for less than $10? You can't beat that. I was never raised on the "biggest and best" stuff, but at 21 I feel like I have a much better handle on my finances than most of my college friends, and most are pretty impressed when I tell them where I got my cute new outfit!
ReplyDeleteI've been thrifting ever since my children were small. It was the only way we could afford their clothes and toys. Years later and only last month, I was helping my 30 yo daughter set up her new apartment, and we had such fun scouring thrift stores for furnishings. To complement her custom sofa, we found a fantastic mahogany coffee table that she has painted, along with some funky cool lamps! It felt so great to know that we not only saved money, but got some great pieces that are so much better made than many things made today.
ReplyDeleteViva la thrifting!
Seriously, if I had all the money in the world to spend on anything my heart desires I still couldn't spend the amount of money on some over priced items!
ReplyDeleteI'm so hooked on thrift stores that its very hard to go into those over-priced and over-rated malls. I don't mind paying for something that is worth the ticket price, that is actually well made, and gently used. So oftentimes it's thrift stores for clothes and home furnishings on my list!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your philosophy, and think that its wonderful you are teaching your son about value. What a great lesson.
ReplyDeleteJen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
I love this story Donna! Last year for my son's eight grade graduation he had to get dressed up with a suit jacket and all. Off to Goodwill I went and found a spectacular outfit for him, shoes and all. Do you know the boy was bragging at his graduation, he had Goodwill clothes on. He looked so good! I was proud I am raising a confident thrifty son!
ReplyDeleteI think it's so funny that you asked the sales girl what makes that jacket $200. I used to be mortified when my Mom did that to me. Now I do it... :) I'm proud to be a thrifter because my house is way cozier than my friend who buys everyting at Ethan Allen. You can spill your glass of red wine anywhere here and I will laugh not cry!
ReplyDeleteI love being a thrifter for so many reasons...its green, its economical, it teaches fiscal responsibility to our kids, AND its just so darn fun when we get something we had needed wanted for way less than retail!
ReplyDeleteI have a purse story most people would die for ...but I think I will blog about it and link it back to you Donna! Thanks for the inspiration!
You are teaching your son wonderful values and I know it's not easy at times. I raised 4 and I did the same as you. I would tell them how much I would pay and if they wanted an "upgrade" they had to add in their own money...that made them think! LOL! But now they are grown and some of the best "junkers" and frugal buyers I know! A wonderful post...as always, thanks for sharing! And tell your son we're all proud of him...he's very mature!
ReplyDeleteHmm just stopping by to tell you that you are awesome and to see if I can comment on your blog. Yup I can. Must be something wrong with my embedded comment form. Ah well I am going to leave that behind soon anyway.... :-)
ReplyDeleteI get thrilled when I go to shops with decorating items and I dream about how easy and "finished" it would look if I just throw out all the old things and just refurnish and redecorate all the room with new stuff. But this feeling usually doesn't last long.. it anyway would be boring to have everything the easy way and moreover thrifting and DIY make good hobbies - they're fun, cheap, environmentally acceptable and finished projects give great satisfaction once they're done.
ReplyDeleteWell, I am not a thrifter but I am a sale shopper! The big percentage sales...like 65% or 80% off! And if online...free shipping!! Does that count!?? Ha!
ReplyDeleteHugs
SUeAnn
I love looking at your snow pics! I absolutely LOVE the snow. I was hoping for some on Christmas, but we didn't get any. :(
ReplyDeleteso i am going to comment today since couldnt yesterday. i was so lucky cause my 4 kids were ok with clothing that was already broken in ;)ha ha. how ever i never had them use used shoes you really have to be careful about those. also they seem to like my thrifted decor it helps them think outside of the box. which Donna you are a master of!!!!!! so you are teaching your son good values and i can do it myself
ReplyDeleteWhile I love the savings, I am still thinking $30 at a thrift store?
ReplyDeleteGuess I should not balk at prices close to me. I have never seen anything over $19.99 (and those items tend to last until half off color tag sale day.)
Yup, I am cheap!
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ReplyDeleteBogs Women's Classic High Tuscany Rain Boot