William « Adventures of a Frugalista

9Apr/122

HAUL: $30 at Village Thrift

Apparently, I've been to Village Thrift at least once each week for the last 10 weeks. I guess my Foursquare Village Thrift mayorship is well deserved! Today was discount day, with three tag colors 50% off and 2 tag colors 33% off. I think I wound up buying more 33% off items than 50% items, but they were all still good deals. Two of the items I got today were brand new, with the original tags still on them, including a pair of pajama pants that I had considered getting my husband for Christmas, but decided against due to their cost. They were a fraction of the original cost at the thrift store!

The Goods

Dress

Sundress

Dark boot-cut jeans

Black Bermuda shorts

Black and white striped shorts

Blue flannel penguin pajama pants

I snagged a total of 6 items for $30.07, which averages out to $5.01 per item.

Continue reading for all the price and brand info.

Tagged as: $10 or Less, $5 or Less, Andréa, Secondhand / Used, Village Thrift, William Continue reading

13Oct/110

HAUL: B-Thrifty Groupon

This week I purchased a Groupon to a new "big box" style thrift store called B-Thrifty. It was a good deal: for $15, I got a voucher for $35 to use at the thrift store (excluding its consignment section and the International Bazaar housed in it). That voucher was burning a hole in my pocket, so I headed over today to check it out. (Little did I know when I left that a tornado watch would go into effect while I was out... just my luck.)

Overall, I enjoyed the B-Thrifty. The store is huge -- I believe my tweet said, "Holy clothing, Batman, this place is enormous!" -- and it's the first thrift store I've seen that actually has as much, if not more, men's clothing as women's. I found many items that were brand new, including the short-sleeve men's polo and the dress I bought, but I was also disappointed to find several significantly stained items as well; in the shoe department, there were like-new dressy high heels next to sneakers that should have been in the trash. So like with most thrift stores, you really need to pay close attention and examine each item.

The aisles are very wide and can more than accommodate the shopping carts; very few thrift stores can fit carts down the aisles at all, so this was a real plus. And as funny as it sounds, I really enjoyed the music selection, which included really well-known classic rock songs.

I'll definitely be going back, and I plan to take advantage of their BiP Member card (for 30% off on Thursdays) and their Federal Holidays discount (50% off).

The Goods

Pink tank top

Patterned tank

Plaid tank top

Sundress

3/4-sleeve cardigan sweater

Hooded 3/4-sleeve shirt

Eagles jersey

Short-sleeve polo shirt

Long-sleeve polo

Belt

I wasn't sure how many items I'd be able to get (or would even find) for $35, but I came home with a total of 10 items for $35, which is a good deal. Since I only paid $15 for the Groupon, though, it was really 10 items for $15 for me, which is an even better deal!

Read on for all the details on brands and individual prices.

Tagged as: $10 or Less, $5 or Less, Andréa, B-Thrifty, Groupon, Secondhand / Used, William Continue reading

10Oct/110

HAUL: $50 at Village Thrift

Today I made my fourth trip to Village Thrift, one of my new favorites. My first trip was somewhat lackluster, but since then I've gotten a 25-item haul for $80 and a 15-item haul for $60. I scaled back a bit more today, but still came home with a good haul.

I've mentioned before that Village Thrift's discount days are Sunday and Monday, when three different tag colors are 50 percent off. Today, perhaps for the holiday, in addition to three tag colors at 50% off, there were another two tag colors at 33% off. I succeeded in restricting myself to only discounted colors, buying 8 blue tag items at 33% off and 3 violet tag items at 50% off. (And, looking at the receipt now, I just realized that some items that I had thought would be full price actually received a discount... always like when that happens!)

The Goods

White cardigan sweater

Gray knit cardigan

Patterned tank

Blue knit tank

Flowered blouse

Purple dress

Gray & blue dress

Eagles jersey

Orioles jersey

Christmas Cards

Brown & blue organizer

The total: 11 items for $41.31.

Continue reading for the price and brand details.

Tagged as: $10 or Less, $5 or Less, Andréa, Household, Secondhand / Used, Village Thrift, William Continue reading

10Oct/110

HAUL: Payless BOGO

Today I was at the mall with friends and noticed Payless was running a full-store BOGO sale, so I stopped in to pick up a few essentials. (For those of you who don't know, BOGO stands for "buy one, get one"... in this case, it was buy one item, get one of equal or lesser value for half off. So buy one pair of shoes, get a pair of shoes for half-price. Buy a purse, get a second purse for half-price. Etc.)

The Goods

Tights and shoelaces

I snagged 5 items for $15.46. Not exactly a steal, but not bad to get some items we've been needing. (One of the pairs of shoelaces isn't pictured, as my husband has already put them into his shoes.)

The Details

I only picked up some items my husband and I have been needing: tights for me and shoelaces for him. The haul:

3 pairs of Minicci tights: a hot-pink pair on sale for $0.99, a brown pair at full-price for $6.99, and a grey pair half-off for $3.49 (50% off of $6.99)
2 pairs of shoelaces: one pair of 54-inch brown shoelaces (not pictured) at full-price for $1.99 and a pair of 40-inch brown shoelaces half-price for $0.99 (50% off of $1.99)

Tagged as: $10 or Less, $5 or Less, Andréa, BOGO, Payless, William No Comments

2Oct/110

HAUL: $60 at Village Thrift

I was divided about Village Thrift after my first trip there, but after my second trip there last week it's become a new favorite. Today was another discount day at Village Thrift, with 50% off on three different tag colors. Once again, almost everything I bought was discounted, although unfortunately the most expensive item I bought was not. (It was still a good deal, though, and will be very useful.)

My husband really liked the shirts I got him last week and gave me the go-ahead to outfit him with more, so I focused on the men's department this time around. I'm really glad he wanted more shirts; I think he needs more variety in his wardrobe (and the less I need to do laundry, the better!). I only picked up two clothing items for myself, as well as a few books and household items.

We'll see if Village Thrift expeditions become a weekly tradition...

(I apologize for the poor quality of the photos today. I think it's a combination of bad lighting and difficult-to-photograph patterns and colors.)