I grew up shopping at yard sales and thrift stores and I loved it how cheap I can find gently used nothing. I even had a yard sale monthly run where I highlighted all the yard sales in my area and I spent my Saturday morning shopping. Find a good bargain can be addicting and fun!
But then one day I happened to walk into a department store at the mall when they were having a sale and my world was changed. I walked out of the store with Ralph Lauren shirts for my kids that only cost me $5 and they were brand new not gently used. So that is when I started trying to figure out ways to save a penny or two at department stores.
Here are my Penny-Pinching tips that have saved us more than a penny when shopping for good quality clothes. I found these stats interesting that JCPenney recently conducted and discovered: 95 million Americans (2 in 5) say they usually wouldn’t even pick up a penny if they saw it on the sidewalk. But that doesn’t mean Americans think the penny is worthless. In fact, quite the opposite. Nearly nine in ten Americans still keep pennies around either in their home, a piggy bank or their purse (89%) and say that pennies can come in handy (88%). Almost three-quarters of Americans (73%) say the penny is an important part of our currency and should not be eliminated.
10 Penny-Pinching Shopping Tips when Buying Clothes
1. Sign up for their mailing list. We travel a lot so we are not always around when the sales hit at the store or when the coupons come in the Sunday paper so store mailers that come to my email are a huge help. These mailer inform you of all this sales happening and sometimes they even have online discounts that you can’t get in store, so shop online instead.
2. Clip those coupons from the Sunday paper. Now with smart phones you don’t even need to print off a coupon you can just pull up the coupon from your email on your phone, they scan it and bam you have your discount. This is so convenient because I’ve had this happen to me lots of times where I forget to walk out the door with the in-store mailer and when I get to the store I don’t have my coupons.
3. Catch the BIG sales. Most stores have sales the same time of the year figure it out and wait to go shopping then. When you combine their summer sale and their in-store coupon you end up saving tons of money.
4. Use promo codes. I do some of our shopping online and before I go to the website I look online for promo codes that might be floating around the world wide web. Many times it’s just free shipping codes but those save you some money especially if your order is big but not big enough to get their “free shipping for order over $150.”
5. Shop out of season. We do tons of out of season shopping and this is where we save tons of money. Again, pair these of out seasons rack sales and your coupons and sometimes you’ll get quality clothing for less than $8.
6. Go to outlet stores. Especially go to outlet stores when they are having big sales. I once walked out of the store with a big name brand dress that once cost $175.00 and it only cost me $12.00. I couldn’t believe it because there was nothing wrong with it. Make sure to ask if they have coupon booklets and grab one.
7. Buy one size bigger clothing for your growing children. We do this a lot and it ensures that they can wear it for longer.
8. When it’s your birthday or your child’s b-day ask for a gift card from your favorite store.
9. Ask if they have Rewards Programs. I didn’t realize this until a couple of years ago. Not only are saving money while you purchase the item but the dollars used to purchase those items will save you money in the future. Lots of stores have reward programs where you earn points for the dollars spent and they even have days where they double your rewards.
10. Go to clearance racks. Sometimes they are not labeled clearance but find the place where they put all of the clearance clothes. Many times but not all clearance clothing items have a button missing or in some way “damaged” so make sure you inspect the clothing on the clearance rack.
Hopefully you enjoyed our penny-pinching tips! Everyone can remember the joy of finding a penny and picking it up. At least I can, especially now that my little guy is thoroughly filled with wonder when he finds a penny on the street. So when did the penny lose its luster? At JCPenney, we’re making it worth something again. JCPenney’s new “Get Your Penney’s Worth” campaign is designed to remind people of the power of a penny and the retailer’s commitment to making sure every shopping experience is worth their time, money and effort! I love all of JcPenney’s sales so checkout below the huge BOGO specials going on for their “Penney Days”.
JCPenney is launching promotional offers called “Penney Days.” Penney Days will include “buy one, get one” specials available in store and on jcp.com. The first week-long Penney Day BOGO event will start Feb. 28 to March 5, allowing customers to purchase any item from the Company’s The Original Arizona Jean Co.® and purchase another Arizona item for just one penny (excluding footwear). Throughout the year, additional Penney Day promotions will include one-day-only specials that feature a unique in-store item for just a penny with no additional purchase required so keep an eye out for more information!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of JCPenney. The opinions and text are all mine.
