Growing up in a middle-class family I learned a couple of important lessons.

Hand me downs can be awesome, dollar general/tree is life-saving, and goodwill can hook you up with the best threads.

Maybe it is because this is literally how I did most of my shopping growing up and still continue to now that I truly am a broke college student, but I have always been lucky when it comes to what I find at Goodwill. Nothing is taboo about buying clothes at Goodwill, you are not less of a person because you can't buy your clothes off an overpriced rack at a name brand store. This only actually makes you, in my opinion, a bit more savvy with your money.

Now Goodwill may seem like it is lacking the ability to provide clothing that is actually from the century, but you might be surprised to find out that many people donate their lightly used and loved clothes that are honestly still very stylish. The brand I find the most is surprisingly The Gap. I have been able to find brand new pants for $4, originally $50. I have also had a large amount of Express business and work type of pants. I would say that at least 70% of my closet is clothing that I have thrifted.

My average "Hall" from a single Goodwill trip is usually about 4 pieces of clothing, and my total is usually under $20. But this is easily maximized upon when you account for the deals that Goodwill has everyday. Depending on how your local Goodwill operates, there should be discounts on certain color tags on clothing or even different departments. For example, I just went on a half off day and ended up getting a pair of Keds that were practically new for $2, a Lauren Conrad sweater for $3, and another off brand sweater for another $2. Before the discount (I marked the items with the discount prices) my items were costing me in the double digits, but with the mark down, it was now only a little over $7.

Now, to be able to snag name brand items like this for so little is a clear and obvious win to me. This is why I enjoy deal shopping at Goodwill and other thrift stores. Not only are you saving money, but your also helping the causes that Goodwill regularly helps fund with portions of all sales from in store. According to Goodwills website, "Goodwill Industries International earns $5 billion revenue per year, and we spend about 83 cents of every dollar on programs and services for people in need." So for every dollar spent in the store, know that 83 cents is going to someone in need.

All of this and more are why Goodwill is important to me, and why I believe more people should continue donating used items and clothes to Goodwil. It is simply nice to know that while you are saving money, you are also helping to save and better the lives of others as well.