Getting The Most For Your Money

    Being a mother of six on a fixed income I have learned a couple of tricks to save money which I would like to share you. One of our basic and most abused needs in our family is clothing. My nine year old rips all of his clothes, my six year old stains hers and my two year old and one year old triplets are outgrowing theirs ever time I turn around. Not to mention that my roofer husband likes to wear his good clothes to work which is a catastrophe. I remember a time long, long ago when I only had one child and he only wore Gap from the Gap store. If someone where to tell me to buy clothes from there now, I'd probably laugh at them.
    No, I've found the joy of thrift stores. I am able to find name brand clothes at a fraction of the cost. At first I was apprehensive to the idea of used clothes, I thought they would be holy, dingy clothes that really needed to be thrown out, but I found out I was way off. Many times you can find name brand clothes that can pass as brand new for nearly nothing. I can go in with one hundred dollars and leave out with a brand new wardrobe that people actually compliment me on!
    Now, some useful information I've figured out, pretty much all thrift stores are created equal. You don't have to go to the large chain stores to find the best quality, it's all donated and the small businesses usually have better pricing. Sometimes the larger chains have 1/2 off days which will put them at about the same cost as the smaller chains. There are also some thrift stores that will offer you in store credit for your donations. I found a specialty baby store that gave me one baby outfit for every two I donated and then gave me a fifty percent discount on what I bought.
    Always buy off season! You will get a better deal and more of a selection if you buy your winter clothes in the summer and summer clothes in the winter. Remember to wash any clothes before you wear them because the thrift stores usually don't. Now you can go shopping without kicking yourself for spending your life savings!