A $20 Experiment

Though I don't always enjoy conventional shopping, I really do enjoy bargain shopping. This week I did a little experiment, unintentionally, and found myself more convinced than ever that bargain shopping is for me.

Since it's not garage sale season yet, I've spent the winter frequenting a nearby consignment shop. I buy clothes, books, toys, and videos there for my son. One of my favorite things to do there is to see how far I can stretch a 20-dollar bill. Do I know how to have a good time or what? Any way, the other day I headed out to pick up some sneakers for my little guy. He'll be walking soon, so I wanted to have some sneaks for him. I had checked out sneakers at Old Navy, and stomped out when I saw that baby sneaks were $14.  Yes, I am cheap, but why would I pay that much for something he'll wear for a few months? Off to my local consignment shop I went. I love this place. The woman who runs the store is picky about what she takes to sell, and I usually have good luck finding what I want. Behold - beautiful sneakers for $4! Before I knew it, I was playing my $20 game... I came out slightly over ~ $21.65, but here's what I left with:

sneakers
sandals
2 short & shirt outfits
1 t-shirt

That is what I call shopping. The only way I could have done better would have been at a garage sale.

The following day, I headed across town to a mall where a Lord & Taylor store is located. Yes, a cheapstake like me was headed to a high-end department store. My sister had passed me some store credit that needed to be used -- coincidentally, it was for $20. I realized it would be an interesting study -- how far would $20 go at this store?  I headed for the toddler clothes, and picked up the first pair of shorts I saw. $42. I'm not kidding. I don't think I've ever spent that much on shorts for myself; in fact I don't know if I've ever spent half that on a pair of shorts for myself. Oh! But they were on sale... phew!... $30.  No thanks. I continued looking around and thought my sister may have been right when she said I could take the store credit & get a sock. Nevertheless, I continued looking around. I found a rack of toddler t-shirts on sale. Ah! Something I could afford. I picked out 2 t-shirts, for a total of $18.63.

Consignment shop.... 1
L&T.....0

Those 2 outings have reminded me that I'm so ready for garage sale season. Bring it on! Only another couple of months til they're in full swing in upstate NY... another sign of spring!

Oh, and I'm going to be scouting out the garage sales where the Lord & Taylor regulars live...  Maybe I can pick up those $42 shorts for $1!

Comments

[nat]

I always go for discounts for the kids stuff, except shoes. Shoes get worn down so quickly, so I always buy good, supportive shoes for the little feet. But that's all I splurge on.

Wait until you have to buy prom dresses or rent tuxes! ;)

[Megan]

Interesting experiment. For the record, next time you're shopping for yourself, check out Lord & Taylor again. Many times I've found some great deals (OK, not for $20, but good discounts for nice stuff).

But I do agree with you about the baby stuff—it's way to expensive for the amount of time the kid will actually use it. The shoe thing was the worst for us because my son (who has a disability and wore braces on his feet and legs) needed two different sizes, which meant we had to buy two pairs of shoes. Stores like Nordstrom will actually sell you a mismatched pair of shoes, but one pair there costs more than two pairs at Target!

I may try that $20 thing the next time I go out. I love a challenge!