Let's Go Shopping! Play the Fashion Game and Save a Lot of Money Too!

Okay, we have all seen it before. The huge clearance racks in the spring or summer displaying all winter/fall leftovers that need to go. You, on the other hand were looking for a great deal on shorts, so as you breeze through the rack you find a ton of adorable sweaters and jeans, all priced so low, you couldn't even buy them that cheap second hand, and you frown. No shorts on sale!

Well, guess what? Those shorts marked sky high now, will be just as cheap as those sweaters come September, and those sweaters will be marked up to retail price. So, why not play their game? Oh, come on you can see it, right? Yes, that's it, pick out a few cute sweaters now, so in September, you won't need them, which will clear money in your wallet so you can buy a few spring items, in the fall, all drastically reduced.

Okay, I may have solved a future problem here, but your still stuck on "I need my shorts" Yes, I know. But, before we get there, let's just look a little deeper into this style of shopping. You may still need the shorts now, but you will never be in this dilemma again if you start today, to shop clearance racks.

Okay, but my shorts... I know, I know. If you are like so many of us, those clearance sweaters take a back seat to our immediate needs. What you want to do is shop outlet stores for in season clothing. I am not talking about WalMart. There are stores like TJ Maxx, Ross, and Marshall's, that you can typically spend less on clothing, but an outlet store really is your best bet.

Now, this kind of shopping is not to end at clothes. Did you ever notice that within 2 weeks after Christmas all decorations are up to 90% off? Yes, that means you could pay as little as just 10% of the retail cost, you know, the price you may have paid in the beginning of December? See, the thing is, who really wants to lug home more "junk" after Christmas? Well, if you want the best lights and decorations for next year, it's worth it. Maybe you don't realize how low the prices are, or maybe your saying, but I just don't have the income to buy what I don't need...but if you start now, you will free up so much cash, you can actually have extra money!

I know this sounds great, but you still see yourself in such a financial pit, you just can't buy for later, you can only afford the now. Did you ever realize the now is more expensive? Go into a restaurant because your hungry now, feed your family, and your bill at the end of the meal is comparable to what could have fed your family 3 square meals for the next two days right? What about when your on a highway and you see the "gas" light pop up on your car, so you go to the next exit where gas is 0.20 cents higher per gallon because they are the first gas station everyone sees when they are in need of gas. Even the stores known as "convenient stores" are just that, they conveniently have a lot of items, all with out sales, clearances,or even the ability to chose brands. You pay up to 125% more at a convenient store then at a grocery store!

So, start small. What can you afford? If you get paid every week, try stashing pocket change away, you know $5 here and there, by the time stores are cleaning off their shelves for new season items, you will have some spending cash. And yes, a few bucks goes a long way!

Just two days ago, I went to WalMart and found maternity jeans for only $4.50, now it's July, no pregnant woman wants to be sweating in jeans, but I am not due until November, so I grabbed them for less then the price of a value meal at Mickey D's. By the way, these jeans were being sold for over $20 just a few months ago!

I also remember one year, all year long, breezing down those clearance isles, you know clearanced candles, lamps, movies...whatever. And everything that was CHEAP, I grabbed and stored away for Christmas gifts. I bought my mother a beautiful pair of lead crystal lamps for $6, they were $40 retail! I also bought some lava lamps for only $3 each, again retailing for over $20 a piece, and the best part is, I avoided all the mad shoppers in December. That year our family spent less on all of our family and friends then we spent the previous year on 1 person!

There are those of us who don't feel comfortable buying clothes for next season due to goals of losing weight. Don't feel like you should buy a smaller size, rather just by things that can always be worn big, like T-shirts, or things that tend to be the same, shoes, purses etc.. This however, is the time to stock up on kids clothes, and you know with as fast as they grow, you can alway by 1 size up! It's wonderful to be able to fill your children's closets up with a whole new wardrobe spending the amount you may have for 2 or 3 outfits! Especially considering they grow so quickly, you'll never feel like you wasted your money.

The possibilities are endless, you just have to know when to shop and what to look for. Look for the "clearance" racks. Not sales, although you can get great things in season for sale, clearance shopping is shopping ahead,and buying leftovers at a steal. Sales are tactics by the store in which they lower prices on their most requested merchandise to get people to come in and browse the store. You have to know that when a store brings in their new season items, the old ones get placed on this clearance rack, so there is always an abundance in fall, for summer items, and spring, for winter items. Also note that the day after a Holiday, is NOT the best day for a clearance sale. You want to wait about 5-15 days later. Stores are so busy exchanging merchandise, especially around Christmas, that many items don't even got restocked until around this time. Also 1 day after a holiday, you may get 30-50% off, but by day 15, you'll get about 70-90% off!!

You do want to take some practical tips on hand. Such as leftover sale item, when on food, like chocolate after Valentine's day, shouldn't be purchased for a year later. When you give them out, they will likely be less tasty then the previous year. Also,be sure your not buying something that is on clearance because it is missing pieces. A game with one less pawn, and a few missing tokens, is junk. Be sure that the clothes you buy on clearance are not on clearance for stains, holes, or unattractive imperfections, again, it's not worth buying. Make sure it's what you want, if it's something you won't take out until next year. For example,if you bought a new artificial Christmas tree in mid January, for 80% off, but never opened the box to find out it was missing a piece, or wasn't as expected, you can't return it next year! So always check your merchandise.

Hopefully these tips save you some extra money, an relive some stress in shopping. As you get more familiar with this "reverse shopping" technique, and cue into the stores you most frequents clearance trends, you will find this as an everyday opportunity. Part of this has already spread out to the public, as in the "Christmas in July" special savings stores offer. But you will notice, true deals are best when not advertised, but found!