What to Buy Where: A Beginner's Guide to Bargain Shopping

Cute pillow for $8!

Walmart:
Baseball hats $3-$8
Walmart has cute, quality ball caps for $2.97!! That's a steal. You can get them in pretty much any color you could want too.

Nail polish $2
Pure Ice is my favorite cheap nail polish brand and Walmart carries a large selection of Pure Ice colors for $1.98 (in case you don't know, nail polish is typically upwards of $8 for the nicer name brands, but I don't buy that ish).

Throw pillows $5-$10
Throw pillows are notoriously stupidly expensive. You can go to Target and blow $20 on a throw pillow, or you can go to Walmart and spend $5!

Athletic wear $1-$10
Last year back in August Walmart had a big blow out sale on summer athletic wear and everything was $1. I got two nice pairs of athletic shorts each for $1 that were originally $10. I usually get all of my clothing at thrift stores, but I've never had success with athletic clothing, mostly because the athletic clothing you see at thrift stores is kind of falling part, or a weird material, or odd shapes/sizes. I don't know why, but that's what I've found.

Marshall's:
Journals $5
I've gotten my last two journals from Marshall's and they were both $5 or less and really well-made.

Planners $5
I also got my current planner from here. They have a HUGE selection of planners.

Make-up $3-$6
I don't wear make up every day, but when I do wear it I will not be putting $40 products on my face just to wash it off in 12 hours. You can get all of the basics for very cheap at Marshall's.

Essie Nail Polish $3
Normally this brand of nail polish is $8, even at Walmart, but Marshall's always seems to have a couple bottles of last season's colors for $3 or less.

Gabe's:
Swimsuits $10-$20
Ya'll don't understand how rare it is for a girl to be able to find a swim suit for $10! I'm talking $10 one pieces and full two-piece sets! None of that half of a string bikini crap, lol. They're not just your grandma's Speedos either. Gabe's has a huge selection and probably 80-90% of them are $10, which is a total steal. Swimsuits, underwear, and PJs are on my no-go list for thrift shopping. I know that to hardcore thrifters that might make me sound like an up-tight germaphobe ("just wash it in hot water!"), but there are some things I just prefer to buy new.

Dollar Tree:
Decor (everyday and tacky holiday decorations)
I've gotten all of the holiday decorations for my dorm/apartment (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter) from Dollar Tree. They have a great selection of tacky but cute and cheerful holiday decor that I'm a total sucker for. But they also have cute everyday decor, like picture frames and decorative mirrors and candles (are candles decor?).

Picture frames
I think it's kind of dumb to spend $10 or more on a picture frame but that's the going price at most places. To me, the picture is the main feature, not the frame, so if I can get the frame for a dollar, I will.

Gift wrap (including wrapping paper, bags, tissue paper, etc.)
Gift wrap can be so expensive! I feel like it's possible to spend as much wrapping a present prettily as it cost to actually buy the present, which is absurd. Dollar Tree is definitely the place to go for all your present wrapping needs.

Party supplies (cups, plates, napkins, etc.)
Dollar Tree has an adorable selection of baby shower party supplies, and I know they have party supplies for other events too (just haven't looked that closely). DL and I have talked before about how you could plan a whole party with just Dollar Tree stuff and no one would ever know.

Certain foods 
Okay, there are some weird, no-name foods at Dollar Tree that I wouldn't necessarily choose to eat, but then they also have stuff like animal crackers, pudding, boxed cake & cookie mixes and candy that you'd find at any grocery store but for half the price.

Lowe's:
House plants $3-$10
I've gotten almost all of my plants from Lowe's. They're always well-watered and taken care of and very affordable, unlike some bougie gift store places that cater to hipsters and millennials.

IKEA:
Furniture
I'm going to do a whole post about how it's possible to furnish an entire small house/apartment for under $1,000 at Ikea. I know that DL could totally beat me and do a "How to Furnish an Entire House in Under $50 by Yardsaling" but I'm not as well-versed in yard saling, and not everyone lives in areas where yard sales are common (like in large cities like Philly).

The apartment TJ and I will be sharing next year will be furnished almost exclusively by IKEA, mostly because it's cheap and convenient (you can get everything you need in one store) and it's very movable in that everything comes in boxes and you assemble (and disassemble) it yourself. Perfect for a fourth floor walk  up!

Household items
Almost my entire kitchen this past school year was furnished by IKEA. I'm not a pro chef, so I don't need pro chef priced kitchen equipment. IKEA is the perfect place for an occasional cook like me to shop.



     I don't know if this post was useful at all (probably not if you're a guy) but it was fun to make...up next will be my How to Furnish an Apartment in Under $1,000: IKEA Edition post.


     Hope you're staying inside during this horridly hot weather...

-SE Wagner