Compare Thrift Stores

Today is Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood and I am joining in.

As wives and mothers I believe it is our responsibility to live within our means. Being frugal is the only way many of us can accomplish this. Others can afford more, but choose to live frugally so they can save, give to missions or help the poor.

One of the things I do is shop thrift stores. We all know of Goodwill, but there are many other Thrift stores around; Salvation Army, private ones and church thrifts are a few.

One thing I am learning to do is compare shop at thrift stores. I do not know about you, but around here the Goodwill is getting to be priced awfully high. I went in there last week and a shirt that still had the tags on from the store was priced $1.50 more than the original price! Walmart shoes were more than to go to Walmart and buy them.

Just because it says "Thrift Store" does not mean it is. Compare!

We have a private one nearby that has a lot of junk for high prices, another one the prices are very high for a thrift store also. The Salvation Army seems to be reasonable and often has times when the prices are marked in half or certain tags are marked in half. There is also a Christian Thrift store where the proceeds go to helping the poor and missions. This store is the greatest! Their prices are great, they are nice to deal with and will work with you.

Thrift stores are all different. We sometimes justify the money, or do not compare and just spend because it is a so called "thrift" store. Don't be fooled! Compare like you would any other store.

For more frugal ideas hop on over to Biblical Womanhood!

Check out other blogs!

I think we all loved the bloggy giveaway from last week. It was fun racing through all the 800+ giveaways listed and seeing what we wanted to try for and what we did not. I loved it as much as the other guy.

One thing I noticed as I was racing through though, I was not really seeing what the blogs were about. I was just looking for the giveaway and what you had to do or write in order to have a chance at the prize.

About half way through I began to realize that some of these blogs looked interesting and had some nice things to offer in the way of crafts, how to's, affiliate offerings etc. I still was not taking the time to look, but from there out I took notice of something more than the free gift I was trying for and actually took the time to put a few on my google reader.

Now, I am going back over the list slower, and looking at blogs as I can and seeing what is really there in the blogs that participated. Some are not for me, but others either are on the same line as mine, so I want to see what they are doing and learn. Others are good craft or sewing ones and have good sources listed on their blog or instructions in their posts.

I would suggest for some great shopping, learning and free internet sources, go back over the bloggy giveaway list slow and read the blogs, look at the resources on them and see what is there. Take time and I am sure there is a gold mine for your shopping and learning experience.

Works for me!

Frugal or Cheap?

Today is Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood. I am sorry I do not have the official logo of the day, but I am not at home on my own computer. I am in Maine at my daughter's home and having a great time with the grand kids here.

We all love to save money and call ourselves frugal, but sometimes we need to be careful. Frugal and cheap are different. Saving money can be good or bad. Let me explain.

I give this as a warning from the many mistakes I made over the years gone by. Cheap can be bad. When in the name of frugality we buy cheap we may end up paying more in the end.

I no longer grab because it is cheap. I look for the items I want, price them at different places, see if I can get them, in good shape, at thrift or other lower cost means, but I try not to let go of quality. I get the best I can for what I can afford.

How many times have you found something cheap only to find it shrinks, breaks, doesn't work etc? That vacuum at the great price, and no longer picked up the dirt after a month. I had one go in 3 weeks! Great price though!

Or that darling shirt at Joe's Bargain Barn, wear it once and it no longer fits.

Shopping by "cheap" will end up costing more in the end. We can be frugal, save money, but not become cheap. Be wise in your frugality. Make choices that will not cost more in the end. Shop wise, store things wisely, and be sure your bargains are needs and quality.

For more Frugal ideas, go to Biblical Womanhood!