ADVICE RATING |
 4.99 (Highly recommend) from 16 votes (245 Visits) |
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Secondhand Shops are just Bargain Boutiques. |
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by mumma6  (June 2008) (rank 500+) |
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Im a mother of 5,I have been shopping in second hand places for as long as ive had children.my mother shopped in them also and most of our wardrobe was filled with secondhand gems.When i was in public school in Orange I would most probably have had 80% of my clothes secondhand or hand-me-downs.Believe me it wasnt what i wanted all the time as my friends were wandering through "miss shop" in Grace bros and i was carrying 2 or more plastic bags filles with frilled shirts and bright jumpers at 2 bags for $10.
I took the teasing on the chin and went on to high schoool still in my secondhand clobber,which now included seconds shoes and uniforms from the clothing pool.I would see other girls snigger and say "thats my old dress".But ive come to the realisation that my mum could only afford this dress so that was the end of the story.
Now these days living in Newcastle im loving secondhand shopping,some friends think its marvellous i can find bargains like i do.Some people are like "your kidding id never step in a shop like that" When you have 5 children its a dear thing just to get my kids all the pieces to the uniforms (both winter and summer) The government gave me my $50 per child thing but it was dear.It cost me $500 to get there uniforms $100 for bags $120 for stationary and $100 for shoes,that was when they first started now i get things secondhand or hand-me-down and i save about $300 .
Some people believe that second hand means not clean but all places that im aware of wash there items or toss things that are badly soiled or damaged.imagine if you had a dress up to go to ,those costume hire places charge alot.I remember once a lady i knew trying to find an outfit for a party with a sixties theme,i gave her the idea to look in the retro section of a shop i knew and low and behold she spend $20 and was fully decked out.So you can save money and with items that may only have the purpose of a one time wear you could toss them after if you so wanted.
When i had my fifth child Camryn ,i hadnt kept a darn thing form previous pregnancies ,i was 3mths and freaking out.I just wanted to go and get as much as i could for as little as i could.So every pay day i would go to my local secondhand place and bought $10 worth of odds and ends half way through my pregnancy i was cheering as i had filled a striped bag of items.These things were good brands too ,Fred bare,OSH KOSH,Peter Rabbit ,Thomas and care bear things. I remember one day going on ebay and seeing this cute little snuggle bag.It was purple and unfortunately cost $35 no way could i get it so disheartend i went shopping in the secondhand shops for something else,but you never would have believed it the same thing id wanted for only $2. i was soooo excited.
Im shopping just as much as in the past as the kids grow out of everything fast ,so im always picking up a bargain or three.My kids are used to me buying cheap versions of the things they would rather i get from "quicksilver" or "jeans west" but thats the life of a mum with 5 kids you just gotta be satified with whatever you can do for your growning family.Give it a go today,the sigma is gone as more and more of these places pop up ,walk in a browse all those racks today but hurry as i might be right behind you.lol
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