I never would of said this when i was younger...

...but i LOVE to thrift shop now!! Its the thrill of the hunt and who doesn't love to save money? Even if you have money, its still smart to save some. My fiances family and i are going thrift shopping this coming week for 25% off Tuesdays.  We will also be checking out National Camera Exchange. I'm in need of a better lens for my new Canon. Speaking of deals, I was on a local garage sale site tonight and found a bird cage designed to hold cards for a wedding... SCORE!! I bought a bird cage this summer at Home Goods as tall as me for a nice big decoration. The bird cage card holder will match perfect and it was only 5 bucks. I'm getting excited for the big day! So far the wedding hasn't broke the bank thanks to all the deals I've been finding =) I'm one week away from purchasing my wedding dress. I'm not wearing one handed down to me though... I'm very particular about the style of my dress so that is the one thing i for sure want to go buy new. I don't want to spend too much time going from store to store looking for thee perfect dress though... i think ill be so happy that day that ill end up bringing home something my first day looking, haha.
Its been a very busy holiday weekend for us though, so i haven't been able to do much for crafts. We have just been busy doing some shopping and finding deals!

Thrift shopping became huge after the recession in 2008. Stores like Plato's Closet boomed and other second hand stores started popping up! What i will share with you today is a few tips I've learned when it comes to thrift shopping:

 

• Make sure you examine your items before you purchase them! Its a no-brainer, but a lot of times there will be a small tear, a button missing, etc. If you aren't able to fix that on your own, you might be disappointed when you discover the flaw after buying it.
• Hit the sale days at Thrift stores or use their punch cards. Usually these days will fall between Tuesday and Thursday.
• Check out second hand stores out of town. My favorite time to stop in to new locations is if we are passing through a town while traveling. That's where the real thrill of the hunt begins =)
• Check brands because I've visited thrift stores that had no idea Silver Jeans can be spendy so i paid just FIVE dollars for a pair of Silvers in GREAT SHAPE!
• Remember that thrift shopping takes time. You probably wont find everything you need that day, but you just saved a ton on what you did find. I usually go buy new what i didn't find used =) If you spend just 20 minutes in a Thrift Store, don't expect to walk out with much. The more time you take to sort through everything, the better! Happy savings!!