Thrifty shopping reveals wardrobe bargains

As the economy struggles, people need to stretch dollars further. Many are turning to coupons and local food co-ops such as Bountiful Baskets to help stretch the food budget. But can a family cut clothing costs?

Searching ads, arriving in the mailbox and newspapers, can reveal good sales. There are end-of-season sales with clothes marked down 50 to 75 percent off at many reputable stores that a family can take advantage of. Online searches can also net some good savings. A search on Shopko's website revealed a sale on girls jeans at 50 percent recently, making a $25 pair of pants $12.50. Searching a little more, a straight-legged version of those same jeans was marked down to $10.

For those that desire more "designer" clothing, American Eagle Outfitters online had a sale on some jeans, including a woman's "Artist" jean normally $50 reduced to $20.

And then we have thrift stores, like Deseret Industries and Savers. Deseret Industries is nonprofit and provides employment training to those who need it, with items for sale donated by the public. Savers is a for-profit thrift store that also receives its items through donations. Savers partners with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and pays the organization per pound for its donations. So purchasing items from one of these thrift stores helps our community.

Just how much budget help can we get from thrift store shopping? Take a pair of men's dressy shoes. A pair of Dockers dress shoes can cost $60-$75 retail. A search online at the Dockers website shows a sale at $50, regularly $60. However, a nice pair was recently found at Saver's for $13. At the Deseret Industries this shoe was found for $5 and shows little to no wear.

If one is willing to spend the time, shirts for all ages at both stores range in price between $5-$8. This includes name brands such as Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Fitch, Old Navy and Nordstrom. Pants range in price between $5-$8, with the occassional pant at a high-end price of $14. Upon search, name brands include Dockers, Izod, Nordstrom, St. John's Bay and Calvin Klein. While it is true many of these clothes can have a worn-out look, some pieces of new clothing can be found, with department-store tags still attached. Clothing articles that are gently to barely used absolutely can be found.

The difference, then, between "gently used" clothes and new at clearance prices can range between $2-$20, depending on how much time a person is willing to take in searching. And that's the key. Thrift store shopping takes time and effort to find good deals, but they are definitely available.

Brenda Bennion lives in Santaquin, Utah, with her tall, gorgeous husband of 23 years and is the proud mom of five biological kids, a daughter on loan from Taiwan, a cat and a dog. She currently home-schools her youngest daughter.