There are 2 kinds of people in this world. People who buy things at whole price, and people who always look for a deal. I will tell you, my husband and I are 100% thrifty shoppers. Not only am I a sale shopper, but I VERY RARELY buy things at whole price.
You see, with almost every store having some sort of reward or coupon app, it makes shopping much more enjoyable! And, I don’t know about you, but I know I can justify buying something a whole lot more when I have a coupon for it!
I’m going to share with you a few of my favorite places to score amazing deals, and some of the best apps or ways to save some money! These may be some of your favorite places to shop already! Just always make sure you’re taking advantage of all reward systems and/or qualifying coupons!
TJ Maxx/Marshalls/HomeGoods:
These stores are some of the best to find great prices on brand name items! You can also sign up for the rewards program and get special coupons and offers in the mail or emails!
Target:
If you’re going to shop at target, always check the cartwheel app before walking into the store! And always go to sale racks first. I think most, if not all, of my wardrobe from Target came from the sale racks, and I ALWAYS get compliments! Also, Target’s Up & Up and Home Essentials brands often have some great products for a great price. https://cartwheel.target.com/
Justice:
Anyone with little girls, loathes going into Justice. Their regular priced items are more than I would spend on myself and the overpriced accessories reel my kids in every time! BUT they have one of the best sales and reward systems! If you sign up for the Club Justice rewards, every 200 points ($1 per point) you receive a $10 off coupon to be used towards anything in the store! But the best is, every few months they do 50 or 60% off clearance items! In my case, usually I don’t spend over $9 on a piece of clothing or outfit. I even bought my little girls their backpacks and matching lunch boxes for $10 and $4 each! (Normally $40 and $20!) I buy almost all of their bathing suits through Justice for about $6 per bathing suit, when the regular price is around $40! The best part of these sales are that we never really have to go school clothes shopping because I get such great deals throughout the year! And if you sign up for Club Justice and the email subscription, you can often get other coupons to go towards your purchase. My last buy should have cost around $300, with sales it cost about $107 and I had a $25 coupon if you spend $100. I got about 22 items for only $86 with tax. If that’s not a steal deal, I don’t know what is!
Bailey’s Blossom
(click link to shop)
Bailey’s Blossom is a boutique based out of Texas with THE CUTEST clothes for littles, newborn to size 5! They also recently started selling ‘Mommy and Me’ outfits and bigger girl’s clothes, sizes 6-16. And bonus, they have items for little boys too! This boutique has some of the cutest clothes at a fraction of the cost you would normally see at a boutique. And all domestic orders of $49 are free shipping! Score! Below are a few items that I’ve purchased from Bailey’s Blossom and how they look on my daughters!
SHEIN
(click link to shop)
If you’ve ever scrolled through Facebook or Instagram and saw the ad for SHEIN and thought “what a gimmick” I’m here to tell you that it is NOT! I was extremely hesitant to order from there for the first time. One reason, I’m all about shopping local and these are products or from across the world. Another reason, I’ve ordered from these type of sites before and received things that I didn’t order and the sizing was completely off! What I like about SHEIN, is that almost every item has reviews, and a lot of the reviews have pictures of real life people showing how they fit and what size they ordered. They have women’s, men’s, kids and accessories. Some of the clothes are very hipster, some cute and casual, and some are very sophisticated. All clothes are reasonably priced and they often have great sales! I usually put items in my cart over time until I reach the free shipping limit, and even with buying around 20 items, I usually end up only spending $50-70! Below are the dresses that I have purchased from SHEIN for our family photos for the past 2 years.
Antique Shops/Thrift Stores/Garage Sales
I LOVE garage sailing, antique shopping or walking into a thrift store and finding unique items for a great price! Just be careful! Like anywhere, sometimes even though these items are used, they can still be overpriced. Just make sure to do some research before shopping and give yourself some time! And never be afraid to make a deal. The worst they can say is “no.” Such is life!
Also, over half of our dressers and bed frames for our family of 6, are from family, friends, or garage sales. Our kids are destructive. They have put stickers on their dressers and colored on their headboards. I would much rather pay a small amount to have a used piece of furniture than to have them ruin something I paid an arm and a leg for! You can always paint or re-purpose anything to make it your own! Don’t be ashamed for using something “2nd hand.” It doesn’t mean you’re poor or you can’t afford nice things, it means you are smart! And I’m not saying, don’t buy anything new. I’m just saying, don’t pass up a good deal if you know passing it up will mean you pay more in the long run. If people are judging you for “where” you buy things, they are probably just jealous that they couldn’t get such a good deal! Just saying!
Internet Shopping
GET BROWSER EXTENSIONS:
Things such as:
- Honey will search the web for the best prices on items you’re looking for and will even tell you when/if the prices will drop!
- Amazon Assistance will browse Amazon for the best deals and will give you notifications for when items will go on sale.
- Rakuten (otherwise know as Ebates) is FREE to sign up and will give you cashback for shopping at more than 2500 retailers. Just download the plugin or go to the website, type in the retailer you want to shop at and it will take you straight to the online store. That’s it!
- Retail Me Not & CouponCabin are sites that will find coupons or deals for items that you are already shopping for.
There are a ton more online resources, just google browser extensions or coupon codes and hundreds of sites will come up. If you are already shopping, you’d be crazy not to try and find a deal!
In-store shopping
Apps like Ibotta and Receipt Hog will give you money back on things that you are already purchasing! Just take a picture of your receipt and the app will do the rest for you. Shopkick is an app that can even give you points just for walking in to stores! There are even other features like scavenger hunts that will earn you more points! How cool is that? As stated above, most stores have their own coupon or deal apps. There are even apps such as GasBuddy that will tell you where the best prices are for gas, or GoodRX will help you get the best price on prescriptions.
Bottom line, NEVER EVER SHOP WITHOUT LOOKING FOR COUPONS OR DEALS FIRST! And I get it, sometimes we have to run into stores looking for last minute gifts or home essentials, but that doesn’t mean you can’t look up a deal real quick before walking into the store!
And NEVER, EVER, be afraid to shop at 2nd hand stores, garage sales or Mom2Mom sales! We are all trying to live our best lives and as long as things are in good condition and you like it, who cares if it’s been worn or used before! I would much rather get an amazing deal at a garage sale or The Goodwill and have more money to do fun things with my kids, than to spend way too much money on “things” just because I want the best of the best!
If you have Instagram, find influencers that share their deals and or promo codes. Always use google to find the best prices, and always check reviews before buying. Just because something seems like a great deal, doesn’t always mean it’s legit! And always, ALWAYS be proud of your thrifty shopping!
All professional pictures on this post were taken by Rikki Renee Photography.
All sources underlined are linked to the related sites.
The Meltdown Mama 
Yeees!! I love TJ Maxx! They have some of the cutest home goods items at a decent price.
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