In today’s world with everything being so expensive, people need to get the best deals they can to stretch their dollars. It would seem that more and more families are buying their goods at the discount chain stores. When it comes to certain items like cleaning products or party favors, one can’t beat the dollar store pricing. The food chains also happen to be terrific places to save a few bucks on sale items. So if you’re willing to shop carefully, then you can definitely save nicely each month on the essentials.

How does other items such as discount clothing stand up to long term savings?

Through my own personal experience, the discount clothing did not seem to stand up at all. I bought my son a pair of less expensive no name jeans, at one of these discount stores in town. It made sense to me at moment, he had been growing so fast, why spend more money for name brand jeans.

After a few washes the jeans started looking tired, like he already had them for quite awhile, and within a short period of time they developed holes in the knees. Maybe they could have lasted six months if everything was equal, who knows.

The next time he needed a pair of jeans, we went right to a store that specialized in designer kids clothing.

I was impressed with their jeans right from the start. The designer’s had built-in buttons on the inside of waste band; this allowed parents to adjust to a few sizes larger as their child grew. I believed if a company is willing to incorporate this feature, they must have confidence their product will last the test of time. I examined the material which seemed much heavier, and the stitching was definitely much stronger.

These jeans lasted my son over two years at a cost of $49.99. Over the same two year period, he would have most likely gone through four pairs of discount ones at $19.99 each. The over all saving was approximately $30.00.

Conclusion

I have learned the best shopping method for me was not to be cheap, but frugal. Which means saving at the discount stores on the everyday items, plus looking for the sales on the more expensive designer and name brand items. In taking this approach, I do not have to sacrifice quality for price, and still save dollars both in the short and long terms.