FAB AVE.

"Smooth Sale-ing"

By Jonaye' Taylor

            Just about every retail store is gearing up for new spring inventory, however, I have another thing on my agenda. I recommend you explore any and every sale and clearance rack that comes in sight. Right about now, stores are trying to get rid of old, overstocked winter items.

            As we all know and have experienced these artic weather conditions will not be going away anytime soon. I believe we all should capitalize on these discounted items as we transition into spring as much as possible, it is all for your benefit anyway.

            Although browsing the sale racks can be tedious because you have to pick through all of the leftovers, rejects (whatever your label is), it is all worth the effort in the long haul. As the old saying goes, "One man's trash is another man's treasure", which means for those who do not quite get the point, what one man does not want another man will. Optimistically, this season that "man" (figuratively speaking) will be you!

            Forever 21 always has a sale section in their store with items discounted as low as $4.99 while the pricier sale items they have to offer are around $18.99. Wet Seal continuously has sales going on  and their items can be as inexpensive as by one, get the second item for a penny (select clothing only). Can you believe that? It is practically a steal, you cannot forget about H&M, which has reasonable pricing to begin with considering the clothes quality.  There you can find more awesome pieces on their $5, $10 and $15 sale racks! Other more affordable clothing stores within the Forever 21 and Wet Seal demographic are Honeycomb Hide-Out, Rave and 579.

            For the more intermediate spenders that have a little more change in their pockets than others opt for Bebe, Express, Cache and New York & Co.  On the other hand, for the people that are "balling out of control"  target stores like Neiman Marcus Last Call, Off 5^th.

            The best location to find tons of outlet stores in this area is Arundel Mills Mall. If you going out of town anytime soon I highly  recommend you check out Prime Outlets there are locations nationwide, but the ones closer to home are Hagerstown, Md., Queenstown, Md., and Williamsburg, Va. I do not want  to exclude my full-figured fashionistas. Ashley Stewart has a great sale variety, and I personally love their accessories, which the earrings are currently buy two pairs for $12.

            If you have no luck  with all of the above you can always opt for an online shopping experience. I am a little skeptical about that considering so much identity theft is going  around the world lately. I beg you to please be precautious and only use your credit card on sites that claim they are secured (you should see the logos at the bottom of the site) and ones that are well known with a solid reputation. Remember, if the site seems "phishy" and the deals are just too good to be true, it is probably because they are and it is a fraud.

            Remember, go out and shop ‘til you drop responsibly. The whole purpose of shopping on a budget is to gain as many savings as possible and not spending beyond your means. If one clothing item cost your entire paycheck then slowly back away from the item. However, if you see things you loved during the season (and unfortunately priced too high at the time) but is now marked down 70 percent grab it and run to the register before anyone else picks it up.

            That leads me to another thought, make sure you check out the stores return policy, many stores have restrictions on sale items (final sale). Pick and choose wisely, make sure the items aren't damaged (may be the reason it is on sale in the first place), if the item can be easily repaired ask for additional mark downs, if the clerk says "no", let it go and keep it moving!