What do you do to cut expenses down?

baymule

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I buy all my jeans at Vanity Fair Outlet, seldom pay over $6-$10 for jeans. There is one about an hour from us, I am on the preferred customer list and will get texts of 10% to 20% off sales on certain days. That is usually when we go. We buy shirts, jeans, underwear, socks, all for cheap. I wear Lee jeans, DH wears Wranglers.

 

Hinotori

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I wear Wranglers because they fit and have real pockets. They usually last about 3 years with me alternating 2 pairs. With Levis I'd be lucky to get a year. It was the same for hubby. Levis would go 2 to 6 months but the Wrangler Riggs lasted about 2 years when he was doing all the crawling around inside helicopters.

Ive never figured out why womens clothes are tissue thin now. It's also gotten hard to find 100% cotton tees. I hate the feel of polyester and rayon shirts.


Todays fast fashion is wasteful. It's only meant to last once season.
 

Britesea

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There are a few websites out there that might be worth looking over. They usually have names like Buy it Once, or Buy Me Once. The products cost more, but come with lifetime warranty and such.
 

CrealCritter

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I try and make, build or fix what we want or need, instead of buying. This obviously doesn't apply to lots of things. For example I can't build a central heat/air system, but I could and have installed and repaired them before. So, I guess it's true... If the ladies don't find you handsome, they should find you handy :)
 

Mini Horses

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Ive never figured out why womens clothes are tissue thin now. It's also gotten hard to find 100% cotton tees. I hate the feel of polyester and rayon shirts.

True -- my older shirts are far more substantial and hold their shape and color. New ones? Just crap. One wash and it's twisting. Thinner fabrics mean less virgin material....of course, while they skimp on that, they don't lower he prices. I haven't bought much of the new stuff. If I need clothes I have to look hard to find decent quality.. Mostly, I recycle the old ones I have. In fact, many of my 20 yr old shirts look better than the new ones.

Same in other retail issues....smaller pkg & weight, same prices. The retail market is catering to poor quality at a huge profit. Clothes are major as they just don't last now!

Consumers are so duped now. Only we elders know there was better. :old
 

flowerbug

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Mom hits the local thrift stores looking for fabric she can use on her quilts. we pick up some pretty nice shirts for a few dollars as we use long sleeved shirts for gardening.

when i had been off work and moving around for some years and then went back to part time work at a local library i needed some clothes for that. cost me all of $40 to get three pair of dress pants, four sweaters, six shirts and a belt. i had to buy new dress shoes (i won't wear someone else's used shoes unless they're crocs or i can soak them and bleach them). i have a few nice garden hats now that we picked up for $2 each.
 

frustratedearthmother

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I love a good resale shop. About a hunnert years ago when I had lost a substantial amount of weight I shopped totally at a wonderful resale shop while I was changing sizes every few months. Continued to shop there until the place closed it's doors. I also took clothes in to sell - loved that place!
 

Lazy Gardener

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I heard someone yesterday complaining they were going to toss out their shirt because they dropped something greasy on it. I'm just thinking "morons". If my hubby manages to go a week without a grease stain it's a miracle.

It's a given: When ever I buy a new shirt, I can't wear it for 2 hours without getting a nasty stain that just won't wash out... or getting a snag in the fabric... or putting a hole in it. So... if I want to keep a new shirt from being ruined, I have to resign myself to NEVER, EVER wear it! But, throw it out b/c it has a stain or a snag... or small hole.... NEVER! I only throw out a shirt when I have too many work shirts to fit in my work shirt drawers.

Agreed, the new fabrics are just plain crap. I bought hubby some cotton T's at TSC. They didn't even make it through one wash before they had a hole in them, and he does not abuse his clothes the way I do. Several washes later, those TSC shirts are all stretched out and raggy at the neck line, and look worse than many of his other shirts that are over 10 years old.

I only buy jeans when they are on a "giving it away" sale. I once bought a shirt AND jeans at Kohls for a total of $5.48. I NEVER pay full price, often finding better prices at retail than what I can buy at thrift shops and Salvation army. Here, most thrift shops and Salvation Army offerings are over priced, and the clothing already comes with rips, snags, stains, and lots of pills.
 
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