Friday, June 11, 2021

There's method to my madness

I know that there are many who think that all I do is shop, shop, shop. Even my DH sometimes thinks I'm nuts, because he doesn't quite understand my way of thinking. I'm a planner. No, I'm not one of those 'the sky is falling' people, but I like to be prepared for things. I don't like last minute business & the stress of running around for things. I'm a smooth sailing kinda girl.

Several events of the last year has made me shift my shopping thinking. We have a very good food/hba/cleaning stockpile, so I've purchased less groceries the past few months. However, everyone seems to focus on groceries & not really think about other things. We've seen prices skyrocket in all areas (not just groceries). This is mainly due to the pandemic. Then the catastrophe in the Suez Canal happened. Then the southern gas pipeline hack happened. Now there's drought out west. All of these have and will continue to contribute to price increases, because supply is low while demand is high. 

Has anyone noticed that clothing stores don't have the great sales they've had in the past? What about all those great clearance sections in store. I've noticed that Burlington no longer has clearance racks. Marshalls/TJM have limited clearance. Kohls, Macy's etc have oodles of clearance, but the prices are still shocking. Well Kohls USED TO have tons of clearance. When I stopped there last weekend, I was shocked. Their clearance sections were half the size it was before. I've also seen many empty areas in the store. I've never seen anything like this before. 

We all need clothes and shoes, whether you're a minimilast or whether your're a fashionista who loves a full closet. It's especially essential when you have kids. They grow fast, they don't take good care of their clothes, they need select items for sports or special events. You get the idea. 

The majority of apparel & footwear are imported. Covid has been wreaking havoc in India, who manufactures lots of clothing for the US & other nations. That's just one country, but most of the world is still crippled by the pandemic. The backlog in the Suez canal has cost Billions per day. So retailers are stuck with limited inventory and can charge the consumer whatever they want. 

While we have full closets, I've decided to continue stockpiling for ourselves. I've always stockpiled clothes, because I hate paying full price for anything. I don't even want to pay half price. I still have oodles of gcs to my favorite stores. I received more for Valentines & Mother's Day. My guys know that I prefer gcs, because I'm going to find what I want at ridiculously low prices. So that's what I've been doing. Buying things that we need in future at 80-90% off. I've decided to just take out cash for things for DS. 

I'm not gonna lie. This takes a bit of work. I check all my favorite stores every morning. It doesn't take much time, because I know what I'm looking for. I do the same for DS and select items for DH. Now, I really don't need a single thing (okay, I still need sports bras). I can go without shopping for a year or two and still have plenty to wear. However, I have this sense of urgency to stockpile. I trust my gut instincts, because I know that's God nudging me in the right direction. So I'll continue buying for both myself & DS. I don't know where I'm gonna wear all my fancy schmancy clothes to

Why am I shopping like this? I know that it saves us Thousands of $$$ every year. About 2-3 months ago, the zipper on DS's winter coat broke. It's not something that could be fixed, especially not when you're on your way out. We just grabbed a new $200 coat (same as the one that broke) that I got for $22 early last year and went on our merry old way. 

I needed to replace my athletic shoes. I pulled  a new pair from my stockpile (purchased BF 2019). Paid for it with gcs and stacked the coupons/rewards. Last year, Kohls didn't have the shoes as part of their BF sale, so I'm glad I always buy extra. I still have one new pair in my stockpile. 

DS needed new quarter socks. Pulled some from the stockpile. 

I pulled some new summer outfits that I bought with gcs at beginning of the year. Now that we're fully vaccinated, we can go out again. There was one year that I didn't stock winter clothes for DS (I can't even remember why I didn't do it) and I cringed when I had to pay full price for new pants, shirts, hoodies. NEVER again!

But, I don't just stop there. What happens if your coffee pot broke first thing in the morning? I only drink one cup of coffee per day, but I NEED my coffee fix. I've had rotten luck with constantly breaking the glass carafe. I have a coffee machine with built in grinder and I love that thing. So I've made sure to buy a spare carafe when Kohls sent me a 40% off coupon before. I also have an el cheapo coffee pot that was around $2-3 during a BF sale one year. Just in case the coffee machine breaks.

When our governor prohibited us from buying gardening supplies last year, I didn't get upset. I just pulled out the leftover seeds from the previous year and planted produce again. Easy peasy. 

When our state opened after lockdown last year, I went out and bought a spare blow dryer. I have thick curly hair. I hate the hair straightener, so I still blow dry my hair the 'old fashioned' way. One winter I was in the middle of blow drying my hair, when the dryer croaked. I almost cried, cause I was stuck with a mess. I bought the dryer, because everything was so scarce then. Now we have all the price increases. Sure, it's $2 here, $5 there, but all those little bits add up. That's money we could be saving instead. 

My favorite part is that when disaster hits, I have peace of mind. I don't have to panic, because all our needs are more than met. My guys don't know or realise how much time & work I put into this. To them, everything is just there when they need it. I wouldn't have it any other way. To me it's not work. I look at it as investing in our future (providing while saving).

So here's how much I spent the past month or two. 

First, I finally found DS a wool coat. I've been searching for one for more than 2 years, because I love my wool coat so much. I got a $398 Cole Haan coat for ......... $33.74 plus tax. I couldn't believe it! That's more than 90% off. This is not the exact coat that I got for DS, but it's similar. I now love his coat even more than I love my old one I like that it's almost knee length, so it keeps a larger portion of your body warm. 

OOP : 418.18

Potential earnings : $250.00

Total cost to us : $168.18 (that's around $5.10 per item)

I paid $418.18 in cash for our purchases (I didn't have gcs for these stores). 


Wool coat

Corduroy jacket

6 pk socks

1 Pair shoes

2 pks undies

3 Jeans

2 Sweatpants

12 T-shirts

2 Polo shirts

2 Casual shirts


4 T-shirts

1 Shorts

1 Sweatpants

Most of the items will go into the stockpile. I found DS's favorite underwear on sale and had to stock up again. There is no way I'm gonna pay $42-$50 per package. $18 per package was the pre-pandemic sale price, so I'm happy to get it at that price again. It's also hard to just get the pure cotton ones, so I get those whenever I can. We don't like microfiber or polyester. All of the items we bought are name brand items. 

As for the potential earnings. I included 14 items in this purchase to resell (I have to offset some of our expenses somehow). We might get more than $250, but for now I'm just sticking to that amount. I also listed 2 items that we replaced, from DS's closet. Those 2 items alone will add  around $40-50 to our pockets. I never return items to store. I pay so little for things that when something doesn't fit, I just resell it for profit. Easy peasy. 

I needed some nicer t-shirts for going out. I'm using 2 now and added the other 2 to my spare closet. 

I still need to find good winter sweatpants for DS. The ones I bought wasn't thick enough, but he can still use it. He's in good shape now. I don't need to buy anything else, since I did a good stock up. 

I'm still tracking our purchases and will continue to update you with money earned from selling our old clothes/shoes etc. By the end of the year, you'll be able to see how much/little it cost us to wear name brand clothing. 


  1. I always bought for the next season or two for my children. I even bought baby girl clothes when I was pregnant. No one knew back then what was coming--boy or girl. Me ex was upset that I might have wasted money if I had not had a girl. I told him I could sell them at a yard sale for more than I paid. Some of the outfits did not fit her until she was over a year old. Buying ahead really suits me and my budget.

    1. You're a woman after my own heart Linda :) I've been doing the same since DS was born. It has saved us so much money over the years. In these uncertain times, I'll continue doing it. We just don't know what disaster (hopefully none) will strike next. I'm all about being prepared & saving money.

  2. " To me it's not work. I look at it as investing in our future (providing while saving)."
    Preach it gurl!

    Back when my kids were little(and aged within a 5 year range)I hit a killer clearance sale on sweatpants and shirts. I bought 2 sets in each color and size they had. Spent less than $20 total and we were flush with play clothes for years! lol

    1. That's an awesome score Sluggy! I would totally have done the

      People like you & me think long term. We know that by spending a little more now to buy things at rock bottom prices, will save us so much more in the future.


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