Thrift stores can be dangerous.

No! There is no way a thrift store can be dangerous! They are such fantastic money savers with great finds.

They can be dangerous to your budget.

Can I really be spending more because of thrift stores?

Read this article on the truth about thrift stores.

 

 

Do you ever overspend because of the great deals found at a thrift store? Does this effect your financial state?

 

Yes I am one who has at one time or another overspent at a thrift store but I have a friend that works at a nursing home and they have a yearly yard sale so the things I usually get at the thrift store I donate to the nursing home for their yard sale so in reality it makes me feel good.  The thrift stores in our area are getting quite pricey so I don't purchase as much there as I have in the past but I can't complain because over the years I have gotten some really good deals there also.

Brandy:

Do you ever overspend because of the great deals found at a thrift store? Does this effect your financial state?

I've been watching the show "Hoarders" on A & E Network and quite often people who hoard tend to frequent thrift stores. One woman in particular felt that she was "rescuing things" to keep them from going to waste. Often times the spouses end up leaving them because the hoarding gets so bad. Sometimes the excitement of acquiring an item at a bargain is what motivates the spending. My sister is a "Hoarder" and when I look around her home I see stuff and dollar signs of how much money she has wasted buying stuff she doesn't need. I know how this problem got started and its a sad story and yes she has deep financial problems.

I gotta say that I don't have issues with shopping at thrift stores.  Now I have found things unexpectedly -- like the time I went and there was a sale on women's sweaters.  I had them on my list but not for that shopping trip, but you just can't beat $3 each so I went ahead and got 3 of them.  There are not scads of thrift stores out here like there was where I lived in VA, but there are a lot of garage sales and auctions and estate sales.  Those could be problematic for me if I'm not careful.

Toni B.:

quite often people who hoard tend to frequent thrift stores

They would run out of funds at some point if they were paying full price.

I usually head into a thrift store with specifics in mind though I like to browse for interesting and unexpected things that we could use or make gifts of. I always have a budget since I can only spend funds I have.

I have gone over what I had expected to spend before though. Last year I spent more than I intended when I saw a thrift store had a sale on women's clothes. I bought both summer and winter pieces and have not bought or needed anything for myself since. I think this was worth the overspending at the time since I have spent less over the year for clothes. This is usually how it works out for me.

 

 

 I have a sister, too, who is a serious hoarder. She always was a thrift store shopper, mostly bringing home things that could be re-finished, like furniture. Then when she retired her time and money was spent bringing home tons of stuff but not doing anything with it, with the idea, like Toni B mentioned, of not letting something get wasted by leaving it where it was. Now her home and her yard looks like a junk yard, with little room for movement.  I fear that someday it will get left to family members to clean up, when she is no longer able to do it herself. 

Another sad part to that story is that she needs dental work, and doesn't have the money to pay for it, money she would have had if she had not spent it all on the massive amount of "stuff" from thrift stores, storage container auctions, and yard sales. Edey

One thing she doesn't mention is that you should take a list of sizes and color preferences, both for yourself and your family, if you will buy for them. Also, even though most thrift stores here are good about checking zippers, buttons and so on, do the checking for yourself.

I have occasionally bought more than I intended to at a thrift shop or a garage sale, but better that than buying more at a retail store! If I spend $5 on a sweater that I love from a thrift store, it's much, much easier on my budget than spending anywhere from 3 to 15 times that much at a retail store.

Still, it isn't wise to "shop 'til you drop" no matter where you're shopping. One good way to keep yourself under control is to take only cash and leave the checkbook and credit card at home. Then if you find a really good buy or something you really want, you can decide to put back something else, or not. It puts the decision in black and white, instead of being able to use excuses to buy both.  

Edey:

She always was a thrift store shopper, mostly bringing home things that could be re-finished, like furniture.

My sister worked at JC Penny's in the housewares section. Between really great markdowns and her discount, she paid thrift store prices. A few years ago I went through her house and found 16 full size lamps in a spare bedroom. They are still sitting there along with multiples of everything else. If I didn't know better, I'd guess that the store managers would mark stuff down knowing my sister would eventually buy it which was a win-win situation for the store. They didn't have to ship the unsold merchandise back and they got a good majority of her paycheck.

Edey:

I fear that someday it will get left to family members to clean up, when she is no longer able to do it herself. 

Yep - that's my fear too. I haven't been out since 2007 and get the distinct feeling its gotten worse since her son moved back home.

Edey:

Another sad part to that story is that she needs dental work, and doesn't have the money to pay for it, money she would have had if she had not spent it all on the massive amount of "stuff" from thrift stores, storage container auctions, and yard sales.

Edey - Are you sure we aren't related to the same sister?

 I don't buy anything I haven't been looking for, except an occasional T-shirt from the 75c bin. (Then come home and find 10 T-shirts already in my drawer!)

My brother was a hoarder, and he'd buy caseloads of things. He never, ever gave anything away, collected everything. You couldn't walk through his room, and outside his house were many old, useless trucks and cars.