Save Money, Shop at Thrift Stores
Tags: Money, Retail, Finance, Saving Money, Budgeting

Save Money, Shop at Thrift Stores

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Thrift stores are a great place to shop for everything from clothing, furniture, toys, collectibles, sports and exercise equipment, etc. I know of people who turn up their nose to the idea of shopping at the Salvation Army or Goodwill or any other thrift store. One of my friends, Cheryl, doesn’t like the way they smell. Her favorite place to shop is Nordstroms, which is very expensive. It never occurred to me to shop thrifty until I met my friend, Linda. She bought all of her clothes, other than underwear, at thrift stores.

I’ve known Linda for 42 years. She has always lived beneath her means. We first met when we were teaching together. The other teachers thought it was funny that she bought used clothing. She can afford new clothing on her salary. Why does she do it? Linda had the last laugh when the economy crashed in 2008. She had retired by then, and she lost money in some investments, but she was still sitting pretty since she had lived so frugally all her working life.

I don’t know when I started shopping in thrift stores, but it was definitely due to Linda’s influence. I discovered that I had an eagle eye for things and could spot a good buy from across the store. At the time the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert T. Kiyosaki was a best-seller, I found his board game in Goodwill. It was unopened, and I bought it for $2.00, knowing that it sold for $185.00 retail. I put it on eBay and made $103.00.

My youngest son had a pickup truck at the time. I got him to haul furniture home for me when I found a good buy. He started calling me dumpster diver. Then I started buying my clothing at the thrift stores. Nobody knows that I paid $3.99 for that blouse or $5.00 for that pullover sweater. If you’re into name brands, you’ll find them in thrift stores. I know of women who have to change their wardrobe every season.

Sacramento, California, as to be the thrift store capital of the world. There’s something like 164 of them here. I’m not that much into clothing. Sweaters and blouses are my style. I go to a dressy occasion about once a year. A closet full of clothes is just something else to manage. However, I do get great compliments on all of the clothing I purchase at thrift stores. A relative keeps asking me where I get all of my beautiful clothing. I unashamedly tell people where I got my clothing and how much I paid for it.

If you want to give thrifting a try for profit, you can start by watching some YouTube videos of thrift people. There are a lot of them, and they can show you what to look for. One lady paid $500 for a midcentury sofa at a garage sale. The company that made it is called Joybird, and they sell them for over $2,000. I like midcentury home decor and had been following this company. If I had seen that sofa, I definitely would have bought it. That’s what I mean about having an eye for things.

Please don’t limit yourself to Goodwill and Salvation Army when it comes to thrifting. Here’s a list of other places you might find where you live:

Garage Sales

Flea Markets

Catholic Charities

Heart Association

Cancer Association

Homeless Shelter Thrift Stores

Food Bank Thrift Stores

The larger the city you live in, the better chance you have of finding multiple thrift stores. Take a country drive on the weekend, and you might find antique shops with good prices.

In the meantime, happy thrifting!

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