Confessions Of A Clearance Shopaholic
When it comes to personal entertainment, I have a small list of activities that consume my attention. I usually spend my time watering my houseplants, killing tomatoes (you read that correctly), watching reruns of Marvel Comics movies or drinking coffee. However, when I do leave the house, I enjoy a little retail therapy. Specifically, I like to shop clearance.
Not just any clearance, I like to shop 60% off or more. Even better is a percentage off "of the already low price" on the tag. Now where exactly do I find these types of prices? You name it, I can find it. I live in a small city but I have more than enough of a selection to keep me busy.
My sister is amazed at what I can score on clearance. She teases me that the stores must bring out the clearance items when I walk through the door. Though I wish this were true, I do have some strategies. First, I know where the clearance items are in most stores. Second, I sometimes go into a store strictly to see if they have clearance on end of season items. When my kids were little, I would go into Sears and score a bag full of clothes for pennies on the dollar. I'd buy items a few sizes larger and hang on to them for the following season. Third, I am okay with leaving the store empty-handed. It is all about the thrill of the hunt.
Of course I had some inspiration for learning to shop clearance. When I was younger, my dad was sick a few times and had to stay off of work temporarily. Even with his reduced income, mom made sure that we didn't want for anything. We would shop for clothes on clearance and from outlets. My mother also taught us about getting more bang for our buck. She would say, you have $XX.xx to get your school clothes. You can pick two or three expensive items. Or, you can get five to ten sale items. I always opted for stretching my dollars.
Then there was college. I lived on campus and had plenty to eat. I had a couple of part-time jobs (babysitting and work-study). My priorities revolved around making it to classes during the week and making it to parties on the weekend (and keeping decent grades). Since parties were not free, I had to budget my dollars to cover entry, drinks, after hours meals and going-out clothes. So... you go out before the cover charge, get 2 for 1 drinks and split them, go to greasy spoons for filling $5 dollar midnight meals, and buy hottie clothes on sale. I had $20 to spend for the weekend and I usually budgeted $10 for a new outfit (and of course there is the mandatory clothes swap that happens so that you never wear the same thing again).
After college, I had my first child. I was a single mom and proud of it in so many ways. I was lucky to live with my parents, afford my own car, and have adult jobs (still working at one of those places today). On top of that, my mom worked at KMART and they happened to have layaway. So when new items hit the store, I'd go shopping with the goal of getting five new outfits and a few odds and ends. When I payed off the layaway, I'd only have to buy socks, underwear and shoes as needed and I usually got those items on sale also. Baby girl may have had a single mom, but she wasn't going to suffer for it.
As I mentioned, I like houseplants. My thumbs are a greenish brownish color. However, I do have luck with greenery (non-flowering). I have ivy, palm, lilies, croton, ficus, etc. in my home and office. With the exception of a few gifted items, my crotons, lilies, and palm were on death row. I found the crotons in the back of a nursery for maybe $5 each. The lily and palm were being thrown out by their owner. The ficus and a few others were $2.50 each. The ivies also started off on either the scrap aisle or the neglected and near death aisle.
Somehow, I get them to grow. They are not always beautiful but at least I don't usually kill them. Sometimes I do a better job than others. For my houseplants, I have learned to keep them in the house. Whenever I take them out, I forget to bring them back in and they either bake or freeze to death. There are only three things that keep my plants happy--good potting soil (only bought this on sale once--very bad idea), monthly fertilizer, and water. I also re-pot them every couple of years. And yes... I buy the pots on sale.
In addition to flowers, I buy hair products on sale. This may seem odd except that there are four female residents in my home. Though we each have our favorite hairstyle, we have one thing in common. We each have thick, curly, frizzy hair. We require a lot of products designed to tame these manes. So if I happen across moisturizing anything on clearance, it is coming home with me. My favorite picks are conditioner, hair masks, moisturizing shampoos, and moisturizing oils. We are always trying to have a good hair day.
Of course I purchase clothes on clearance. Doesn't matter where they come from, they need to be on clearance. Dillard's, WalMart, Target, JCPenney, Macy's... If I make a purchase, it is on clearance. Of course the quality of clothing that you can score varies at each retailer. The big discount stores are great for t-shirts, sweaters, sundresses, blue jeans, etc. I look for the 70% off racks. Of course sometimes they have goodies that are low cost and quality but you have to be brave enough to try it. At the "fancier" department stores, I usually try to snag items that I can mix and match for work. With the right sale, I can usually get nice work trousers, shirts, and dresses for less than $20 a pop. Yes this is more expensive than the regular price at the discount places. However, the quality is also better (I keep stuff for a long time).
My obsession with clearance shopping has been in the making for many years. I have tried to encourage my girls to do the same. It is definitely a benefit to me because I stay within my budget. It also my opportunity to teach my children how to live below their means. To me, nothing could be worse than hitting a bump in the road and not being able to maintain my quality of life. So we shop clearance. We get some of what we want but all of what we need.