By Hilary Escobales & Jennifer Zolnowski
Once you start earning your own money and have more independence you will begin to do things like buy your own clothes. It seems like there are a million different stores out there to buy your clothes. It is very easy to be carried away by wanting to have the coolest fashions, but be careful. Sometimes the name brand stores can be very expensive. Instead of getting the name brands all the time, try to shop around at some of the other department and lower-priced clothing stores. Often you can find the same style of clothing from brand-name stores in less expensive stores like Target or WalMart.
Although it may not be the exact same pair of jeans, it is wiser to spend $20 on jeans at Target than to spend $70 on a similar pair at Abercrombie & Fitch. It is a good idea to look at second hand stores or Am Vets. Often you can find name brand clothes for much cheaper prices. Places such as TJ Max and Marshall’s also often have brand new clothes with brand name labels – you just need to take the time to search the racks of clothes.
If you are living in an apartment, a dorm or even a group home, you will also be responsible for buying other items besides your own clothes.
You may also find yourself buying food, soap, toothpaste, paper goods and cleaning supplies. The more independent you are, the more things you will be responsible for buying.
Just as with clothes shopping, it is wise to do some comparing when shopping for food and other items. On Sundays, the newspapers will contain ads for the different grocery and drug stores. There will usually be some coupon sections in it as well. These will be very important when shopping for the items on your grocery list.
The first thing you should do is make a list of the items you need, such as milk, bread, toothpaste and laundry soap. Once you have finished your list, take the ads and look to see if any of these items are on sale. Make note on your list of the sale price and the store that has the item on sale. You will probably not find every item on your list in these ads and that is okay. If it is the same distance to either store, shop at the one that has most of the items on your list on sale.
Another way to save money shopping for food, cleaning supplies and personal care items is to look for coupons. Coupons can save you up to $1.00 off several of the items you are buying. Some stores will also double or triple the value of coupons up to $0.99, which will save you even more money.
Shopping economically takes planning and effort but it is worth it in the end. Just follow the tips in this article and see how much more you can buy with your money. It will make you feel good to have a little money left over for something special.