The holiday season is my absolute favorite time of the year; the weather, the family, the friends, and of course, the shopping. I adore shopping for christmas presents, secret santa gifts and new scarves to wear to each gift exchange!
But my college budget is measly compared to the prices in my online shopping carts and something's got to give. Unfortunately for me, the college budget isn't going anywhere so I have to get creative with my shopping. For all the shopaholics out there feeling the financial burn, this one's for you (and your gift recipients).
1. TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Ross are your best friends. (yes, even Ross).
I can't emphasize enough how amazing these stores are! They're not quite outlets, not quite thrift stores, and not quite a normal retail store either. They are a beautiful in between of style, trends and most importantly, GREAT PRICES. Have a friend that's into designer bags? They have them. Got a bud who's obsessed with accessories? They have those too. Each store has amazing deals on name-brand items ranging from clothing to luggage and is perfect for your holiday season.
Tip: I recommend TJ Maxx for clothes and accessories, Ross for decor, and Marshalls for your last-minute needs (they usually keep things really well-stocked).
2. Outlets
So you probably won't find the extreme deals like Ross has, but often times the clearance items in outlet stores are sold at crazy low prices. My personal favorite is Steve Madden, which is miraculously 10 minutes away from my house, and have gotten in-season shoes for, wait for it, 20 DOLLARS. Most outlet stores don't have their own websites, but you can always check the official retailer sites to see if their clearance deals align.
3. Clearance
Honestly when in doubt, clearance it out. I'm a back-to-front shopper, meaning I make a beeline for the clearance racks before even touching the new trendy items. Why? Because often times retailers will rotate slightly old merchandise out for the newest arrivals, meaning the sale section is basically great deals for great clothes that they just didn't have space for. Don't get me wrong, you'll have to sort through some out-of-style, some weird, and some just plain ugly. But the gems hidden in between them are totally worth it.
4. Don't buy just because there's a sale
Black Friday is a prime example of this. As someone who has worked in retail before, I can honestly tell you it's a bit of a scam. Weeks before Black Friday, my store would get price adjustments from the company that increased the overall price little by little. Then when the day came around and prices dropped, they were only 5-10 dollars less than they started three weeks before. Now not everyone does this so always keep an eye open, but also beware of the fact that it's a mass-shopping holiday and the companies know/plan for that.
Tip: Cyber Monday is actually where it's at. The deals usually increase a little bit since you save time and gas by staying in, while also getting free shipping in most cases.
5. USE YOUR ADDICTION
True shopaholics will take any excuse to drop what they're doing and get shopping. Well, this is your lucky season because it's one giant excuse to shop non-stop! I've found with any method of shopping, the most important factor is monitoring your targets. A lot of my best purchases, especially designer ones, have resulted from routinely checking in on the stores I wanted to buy from. This especially goes for point number 1 (Tj Maxx etc.) where new materials are coming in fast and going even faster. If you have your eye on something, ask the associates when their next deal is coming. If it's not soon enough, ask them how long the item has been there, sometimes it's about to be rotated out for clearance. Also check when the stores get shipments in; a lot of interior designers visit stores like HomeGoods a few hours after their morning shipments, leaving just enough time for associates to put out new arrivals but still beating everyone else to them.
Now go walk the aisles of your favorite places and stalk some deals! Your giftees AND your wallet will thank you.