Happy Friday! I have so enjoyed a less busy week this past week with no appointments or pressing things on my schedule after a crazy busy summer! I have spent the entire week at home and got lots done around the house and in the kitchen – I just love working around my home.
I haven’t been able to yard sale much in the last month or so due to schedules and honestly it gets so unbearably hot here in south during the summer (feels like it has been 100 degrees for 3-4 weeks!) that yard sales slow down in July and August – looking forward to them picking back up again once it starts getting a bit cooler.
But I have popped in a few thrift stores as I have been out and about. I stopped in one of my favorite Goodwill stores in Atlanta (it is right by IKEA) on my way home from Haven Conference a few weeks ago. And I got some great deals!
Two white Pottery Barn mugs
that say “Coffee” on the front for $0.77 each! Love those!
A Brooks Brother dress shirt for my husband – he looked so handsome in it this past Sunday! 
He is needing to replace some of his dress clothes so I have started trying to find him some nicer quality dress clothes. I find that the Goodwill stores in Atlanta usually have some really nice brand name stuff. We can’t afford or honestly we just opt to not spend the money to buy JoS. A Banks and Brooks Brothers and expensive brands like that new (even though he does like them and they are very good quality). But when I can find them for $5 basically new at Goodwill, I snatch them up! No matter how much income we have, my philosophy in life is to not spend more than we have to and to always live frugally. If our income doubled or tripled tomorrow or we won some big cash prize, you know where I would be next week? Still shopping yard sales and stopping in Goodwill (and maybe stalking Craigslist for some new living room furniture). 
Living frugally is not just something I do because we have no money in the bank, because honestly God provides just what we need. It is something I do #1 because I love the thrill of the hunt – the feeling of not knowing what you may find, #2 I love finding unique things for my home, #3 I am just frugal at heart and would rather keep as many dollars in the bank as possible.
Oh and I found another name brand thing too!
The first West Elm item I own – this cute gray chevron rug.
Then last week I stopped in Value Village.
I found a cute cable knit Ralph Lauren blanket for $2.99. (Can’t wait to use it this winter and especially during the Christmas season!)
And a Thirty One tote (looks brand new) for $0.80. I think I might try to re-sell this on my local facebook yard sale site for $10-15 to make some profit. If not I may give it as a gift to someone – I just couldn’t pass it up for $0.80.
And one last Goodwill trip – loved that white ceramic bowl (I think it was $2.92).
And the Apples to Apples game was $1.91 and was BRAND NEW – everything inside was still in the original plastic wrappers. Will be great to give as a gift to a newly married couple. I was able to give a huge stack of games to 2 newly married couples last week as wedding presents. These are our teens in our church that we have watched grow up and played many games with over the years at retreats and game nights. To be able to give a stack of 7-8 games all tied up with a bow, some completely brand new like this, to help them start out their game closet is something I love doing (and they look forward to getting!) I know when we were first married we wanted to have games for when we had people over, but spending $20-30 each just wasn’t at all affordable to us. We would save up to just buy one or ask for them for Christmas presents but it took a long time until we had 7-8 games in our game closet. I always go through the ones I find at yard sales and thrift stores and replace markers or pads of paper or dice if they are missing and make sure they have all the pieces.
And the boxwood pile – well, those are letters that spell “HOME”. I LOVE boxwood and know how expensive wreaths and such are to buy. I have worked on a project with them this week but not sure if it is turning out like I thought?…. So you might see that next week or they may just go back to Goodwill. We shall see.
I would love to hear WHY you shop secondhand – would you still do it if you had more than enough money to go buy what you wanted new? Any fun finds recently?
Love this post!!!
I love this post! It’s funny, my mom used to shop Goodwill for me because we didn’t have much money and I really did not like the things she bought for me (outdated looks etc) but now that I am older, I love thrift shopping, Yard sale-ing etc.!! I agree, it’s the thrill of the hunt, finding name brands, getting a lot for my money and finding fun new decorative items for the house. Also, as you said, being a good steward of the money God gave us! I get bored with decorative items sort of quickly and love to decorate, so I feel like I can afford to change things out with the seasons, have fun with my home and not spend much money!
Oh my goodness, you found some amazing steals!!!
It always helps me to think globally when I’m getting discontent about finances or things I own. Remembering that I’m not placed here on earth to own the cutest or nicest things, but to serve and shine Jesus is a pretty great way to pacify my discontent.
Thankful with you for the deals God helped you find… That dress shirt is awesome!
Great finds, Christina, and I agree with so many of your points! I also love the thrill of the hunt at garage sales and thrift stores. But more than that, I would rather be frugal with my wardrobe and home decor so we can spend our money on things that provide memories, experiences and education for our children, like dance/acting/piano lessons, vacations and college. I love the quote that goes something like “broke people stay broke by living like they are rich, rich people stay rich by living like they are broke” (Dave Ramsay, maybe?). I would totally continue to thrift shop no matter our income. It’s also a way to be ecologically minded (reusing/recycling) and community minded (many thrift stores support needy causes). By the way, your idea of gifting games to newly weds is awesome! I like to gift books to new parents, both baby board books and story books they can read to the baby when they are older. Unique gift that is well received. I don’t gift used books, but I do get great deals on them at Ross/Marshall’s/TJ Maxx. I know I still cherish books from my childhood as well as those my kids loved when they were younger.
Hey Christina,
I love the white ceramic bowl and the Thirty-One bag -what a fun summer print!! Thanks for sharing your finds, as well as the reasons you choose to live frugally. I love to shop thrift stores – it’s the thrill of the hunt, but it’s also finding great name brand items that I probably wouldn’t buy otherwise.
Enjoy the weekend,
Lanita
As always, I love seeing all your thrifty finds! Wishing I lived near you because I would love to have the 31 utility bag for my preschool teacher bag!
Hoping fall temps come soon too. I’m in SC and desperately want cooler weather now!
Wow, you had a great week; love the rug and the red blanket. I am totally with you; even if we had a lot of money, I would still be a thrifty shopper. I hope I have instilled that in my children too. Just because you can buy $60 jeans, doesn’t mean you should when you can go to our local resale shop and get 4 pairs for that (and mom will help pay for them–but not the expensive ones). I love to decorate and have lots and lots but not because I have bought new. Thanks for sharing your tips and purchases with us.
I live frugally because I must. But I still like to buy things!!! I also help out the stores that I buy from.
I have to admit that I used to live frugally but got away from it. Since I lost my job, a blessing from God, we have jumped back and it has brought us closer. We really need work done to the house since it has not had a refresh in 12 years, again work. To have to search online, find projects, discuss them and then work together. Plus discussing money, job opportunities and life in general. Now I remember why I liked the frugal life. It just seems more vibrant. Plus we have remembered to be grateful for what we have and to help others less fortunate than ourselves, we seem to share of ourselves more.
I am super frugal too Christina, your Friday purchases were great. I feel too guilty paying full price for anything, I guess that’s why I’m an extreme couponer.
http://www.frugaliciouschick.blogspot.com
Love the boxwood wreaths and the game was a steal! As for me, I shop thrift stores because of the prices AND for the thrill of the hunt. You never know what you might find.
Keep the boxwood wreath definitely! You can wrap lights around it at Christmas time! Love all and the inspiration to remain frugal!
Christina – we are so much alike and have so much in common! I so enjoyed talking with you the other day via Facebook! I do wish we could meet up sometime! I am just like you when it comes to budgeting and living within our means! I love shopping at yard sales and have quite a stash from this summer. In fact, one bedroom in our home is completely full of yard sale finds and my husband just asked me the other day when I was going to get that organized! LOL! My favorite store to shop at in my hometown is our local Goodwill Store! That is where I buy ALL of my clothes and my husband’s clothes! I love wearing CATO FASHION and he loves wearing POLO. At $3.00 a pop per item, we save lots of $$$ and get to wear the clothes we LOVE! I am so glad we have connected on Instagram and I love reading your blog posts! You are so inspiring! When my blog is up and running, I will let you know! I love ALL of the great bargains you scored in this post! Makes me want to run to the Goodwill Store right now and see what I can find! Keep doing what you are doing because you an inspiration to everyone!
I started to love Goodwill in my area . Found a living room set . I went to Goodwill yesterday . Just to browse . I found a couch , love seat & chairs . For under $50 . And in good condition . I only have to shampoo them .
I love your comment about living a frugal life despite your income! I am the exact same way. I have recently had an income boost but I am still bargain hunting- to me, it is so much fun to get amazing items for next to nothing! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful finds! Hopefully I will get lucky like that soon!
I just found TWO white wood rocking chairs for the front porch @Goodwill yesterday…for only $40! They look brand new!
Yes! I’ve said the same thing, that if I had more money that I would still live as I do…frugally! I recently posted on this topic after working on it for several weeks…