1. Go Shopping Often-No, I don't mean you need to go every day. There are a couple stores (Target & Kohl's) that I usually go to once a week and then some I go to 1-3 times a month (Forever 21/H&M). By going often, you can watch certain items as they get marked down and grab them when they are finally at the price you want. Also, stores like Forever 21 and H&M move/change their merchandise pretty often so there is always something new when I go in there.
2. Know How Stores Mark Their Stuff Down-This is very important in order to get "rock bottom" prices! You might think that 50% off is a great deal, but if the store has a habit of marking things down to 70% or 80% off, then often times it's better to wait! As I mentioned in my previous post, Target marks their stuff down on a scale of 30% - 50% - 70%, while Kohl's clearance is usually 60% - 70% - 80%.
3. Know What Is a Good Price And What Isn't-Sure, those shoes might be 50% off but if they were $100 to begin with, is $50 really a good price for those? Sometimes that sale or clearance price might seem like a great deal, but stop and think, if the sale price were really the full price (i.e. no alluring sticker), would you buy it? Those stickers and marked down prices can be very appealing and stores will definitely use those to their advantage. This is important to keep in mind.
4. Do Brands Really Matter? It's true, certain brands will definitely hike up the price. It's also true it's sometimes more fun to say I got these ________[insert brand] for $ [insert great price here]. However, most of the time, I think it's just an added bonus. Unless the brand is very obvious when you are wearing it or unless you can really tell the difference between the more expensive brand and a cheaper brand, a lot of the time the brand doesn't matter. I remember a few years ago buying a pair of pink heels. I bought them at Burlington and a few weeks later was at Nordstrom and saw the same exact shoe, just a different brand. They were probably 3-4x the price at Nordstrom and I guarantee you no one would have known the difference!
5 Credit Cards-Now, before I go further with this one, if you can't use a credit card responsibly (responsibly=you put something on it then you pay it off right then or when the bill comes) then just skip this one and go right to #6! :) Okay, if you are still reading this, then I take it you can use a credit card responsibly. A lot of stores have their own credit cards. Often times by having their card, you can earn points, rewards, extra savings, etc. If there are stores that offer a credit card that you shop at often, this is a great way to earn freebies and save yourself some money! I have a Victoria's Secret credit card and a Nordstrom credit card and have gotten lots of freebies by having both of them!
6. Emails, Coupons & Reward Clubs-One of the easiest ways to save money and land a bargain is by signing up for store emails. A lot of stores will send out coupons to the customers that are signed up. I've received some that are % off and some that are $___ off $___ purchase. (The best ones are the ones where the $ off is the minimum purchase-i.e. $10 off a $10 or more purchase. These are basically like getting a gift card/gift certificate to that store for free!) DSW & Kohl's are great ones to sign up for!
Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of From My {Bargain Shopping} Heart to Yours :)
Have a loveleigh day everyone! :)
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