Having kept myself out of charity shops this month, I couldn’t resist popping into a new one this week. I took my parents into their main town to visit their bank and do a little shopping. Whilst they were in the bank, I found a gem of a shop and came out with some lovely buys! Second hand shopping saves me loads!
Two items were purchased with our spare room in mind. It is looking a little tired so I intend to freshen it up in the new year. As with our own bedroom, I will buy pretty much all I need second hand.
I thought it would be fun to work out how much money I had saved by buying second hand, rather than picking up these items new. The estimates below are fairly conservative, so I might have saved even more. This is one of the reasons why I love buying second hand!
Here are just some of my charity shop buys for the week:
1# Country curtains
I found these lovely country style curtains, originally from Next, for just £4.50. I took a chance on the measurements, but it looks as if they will fit perfectly in the spare room.
They are in excellent condition and thermally lined too.
I looked on the Next website and the cheapest pair I could find were £60, although they could have cost more.
Saving: £55
2# Artwork
I grabbed this picture as soon as I spotted it. Not only is it a lovely water colour print, in excellent condition and in a nice frame, it is by a local artist I have actually met! He is a friend of my parents from their wine club. It would have been rude to leave it behind and I was chuffed to bits to find it for £8.99.
I know that these days you can buy one of his unframed pictures for about £35, so this would have been at least £45 new.
This will go on the wall of the spare bedroom and is this week’s favourite piece of second hand shopping.
Saving £26
3# Vintage jumper
One of the items I was particularly looking for was a warm jumper. I have lots of sweatshirts and cardigans, but not many pullovers.
I was pleased to spot this vintage Arran one for £3.25, originally from the sadly departed Debenhams store. You can tell it is vintage as it is made in Hong Kong. These days it would be made in China!
I can only guess at what it would have cost originally, back in the 1990s. However, on eBay, this style is going for between £20 and £35!
Saving £17 -£30 approx
4# Skechers clogs
At a different charity shop – which is very cheap, but you have to wade through piles of junk to find anything decent – I spotted these Skechers slip on trainers. They were just 99p and in excellent condition.
I love going through this particular shop and taking my time, but because I was with the oldies I had just a quick whizz round. Normally I find armfuls of bargains. Still, 99p for a pair of shoes is not to be sniffed at!
A similar pair of new Skechers trainers is likely to set you back at least £30.
Saving £29 plus
5# Long leather boots
I picked up a pair of knee high black leather boots with one of my daughters in mind, for just £6.50. They are really nice soft leather, and in good condition. Very retro looking, but I am not sure if they are vintage or not as they have no make. However, they are made in Portugal, which does produce some nice leather goods.
I found some similar new pairs on eBay going for around £30, although there were also some selling for much more.
Saving: £23.50 plus
Conclusion
Buying second hand will pretty much always save you a ton of money. Even with my savings being guesstimates, I reckon if I had purchased all of the above from new, I would have paid at least £185.
Total savings: at least £150
You can see why I have enjoyed my second hand year so much! Do you love second hand shopping? If you subscribe to my YouTube channel, you will be able to see my regular hauls of fabulous things I have sourced pre-owned.
Members of my Facebook group, My Second Hand & Frugal Life, also regularly display their amazing finds. Come join the community!
I’m linking up with this Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Frugal Friday’ linky.
Sara says
I can’t visit charity shops too often as they encourage me to spend money I don’t have. There is one that is on the pricey side but will always have lovely things to tempt me with. There are others that are cheaper but then you end up with things on the basis of ‘oh it was only three pounds’. It’s like the pound shop, you can spend twenty pounds on bargains you didn’t know you needed, or just not buy and save more money. I try to keep to needs rather than wants.
Buying second hand can result (if we are not careful) in piles of stuff that we don’t need. It also depends on the generosity of others (many are not generous these days and prefer to sell goods themselves), as well as people that buy new in the first place so there is something fit to pass on.
Thrift for me is not a game or virtue signalling but a real need. It’s not a choice and therefore not necessarily fun! Prices are often set too high for me and others like me on a genuine budget. Trendy people who shop to appear eco friendly etc are partly to blame for the further exclusion of less well off members of society. Older items are now called vintage and priced accordingly.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Yes, I understand that. I have a very small budget so buying second hand helps me. However it is important to value things and keep them in circulation so a good second hand economy is a good thing in my view. I don’t care if it’s considered trendy as I have always done it, as did my parents. You are right about buying too much because it’s cheap, though, and I have to watch myself there for sure!!
Debbie says
I do watch your Youtube channel and really enjoy it. I do the same thing when buying things at thrift store and/or garage sales here in the USA. I can’t believe the amount of money that some people pay retail and then turn around and donate it soon after. Their loss is our gain though right? 😉
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Yes it is I guess, but I wish people didn’t buy so much STUFF! I worry about the impact on the planet
AB says
Hi!
I’ve just started following your blog and I am enjoying it so much I have ordered your book as well, it should arrive today!
I started charity shopping when I lived in England and I still do it now that I am back to Italy, charity shops culture is not that strong here though. My best bargains so far were a Moschino long dress and a Karen Millen one, both made of wool. How amazing! I am also trying to resell some purchases I made on Vinted, but it seems to take a while, I guess it needs to take a while to understand what is going to sell well and what isn’t.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Thanks! Those are amazing bargains you found. I am finding it harder and harder to track down really good deals like that. I hope you enjoy my book
Texasilver says
I visited a thrift store here in Texas last week. I got a pair of brand new black leather combat type boots. They are not clunky & rather tailored. The maker is Catherine Maledrino of whom I know nothing about. They were 5$ US. I got my husband a dark green turtleneck, a Cutter & Buck long sleeve golf shirt (he plays a lot of golf) & a pr of Lucky Brand jeans for a total of 12$ total (for clothes). I also got a beige king size flat sheet for 2$ US. My husband likes his new used clothes & I like my boots. This thrift store is sponsored by the church that houses it. The $ goes back to the church (which struggles financially).
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Wow! Amazing bargains!