I never thought about posting this here until a friend suggested it. I have been buying my clothes at thrift shops and/or second hand shops because it is too expensive to buy a new size every month or so. It never occured to me that others may not think of this idea so maybe you all would like to try this idea. It sure does save a pile of money and you can actually leave the house in clothes that fit! Although, those big baggy ones do feel nice to put on every now and then!

This is what made me post here!

"DID go to the second hand shop yesterday though, was really exciting! It's a really good one, and I'll be back there again when I'm down some more. Still got 4 nice tops, and a dress that I can sqeeeeeze into ( 1 size too small), still shows a bulge or two, but I really liked it, and it was only $10.00 ( about $5.00 US) so I figured I couldn't go wrong.......you should do a thread on that idea...you know, going to the thrift shops for the "inbetween clothes" - if it hadn't been for you, I would never have thought going."

The clothes in my "in progress" picture in my gallery came from a Salvation Army thrift store jeans (St. John's Bay - JcPenney) 3.99 - don't think they were ever worn - tank top 99 cents - not too bad for 5 dollars - definately couldn't have bought them at a regular store for that!

Good Luck - hope you all save piles of money and look like a million bucks!
Barb

That is how got through my first 4 months on Atkins. I was dropping 10lbs a month and clothes are way too expensive!! I still love Goodwill bargains!

This is a great idea! Even Walmart shorts are more expensive than that.
Luckily, I have clothes in all sizes since I've lost all my weight and gained it twice now.

Works for kids too. I have a friend who buys all her kids stuff at resale and Goodwill stores because they're growing so fast.

I might have to try the 2nd hand shops. At the moment I'm still wearing my 42-waist pants with the help of a belt

I'm sorta in between size 38 and 40. Been putting off getting new pants until I'm officially a 38.

I looooove thrift shops. There's a fantastic huge one in Laurel Maryland my MIL took me too, got some great outfits.

Thrift shops while losing weight are the only way to go in my book! Why pay retail if it's only going to fit for a couple of months and be too big after that?

I agree....I love thrift stores and I can find some really cute stuff in the ones where i live and brand names for so cheap! I only buy shirts at the regular store and that depends on the style but no pants...lol...learned my lesson by losing right out of my favorite pair of $60 pants so I'm not buying brand new for a while.

I certainly use the thrift stores alot, being on a strict budget with 4 kiddos. I have found it gets expensive regardless though. I have gone from a 14/16 to an 8/10. I sometimes wear my old pants with a belt just so I can see that difference myself.
If you find a support group near you as well or people that live relatively close you can trade off clothes depending on the stage your in .. like someone who is out of a 14 can pass them on to someone moving into that size range. If you get 4 or 5 friends all doing that the clothes should make a full round before getting tossed.

I like thrift stores, but fortunately I have a whole collection of clothes available for me in sizes 14 and 12 when I need them--- what I used to wear on my way up to size 18! It's a good thing I don't throw anything away! I'm between a 16 and 14 now, but will probably drag the 14s out of storage in a couple weeks.

There are a couple nice size 12 dresses I wore in high school that I still have-- I can't wait to wear them again!

I have one good (expensive) size 18 suit, but I also know a good seamstress I can go to to have it taken in when I need it done.

Looks like most of you already knew how to save a buck! Knew you were a great support group on here should have known you were all pretty smart too!

I like the idea of the clothes swap - unfortunately I have no one to hand off to me around here - wish I did - so I go to the thrift shops.

I have given my mom a lot of shirts and my girlfriend some shirts and a ton of pants and shorts. I do feel bad handing stuff off to my girlfriend though because she is wearing the sizes I started out to be - and squeezing in to them - plus she has no desire to even try to lose weight yet - but I'm hoping eventually she will! She would be so much happier!

I refuse to part with the 18's & 16's yet because I like to wear them around the farm - makes me feel good knowing they were almost too tight not long ago! The 20's and 22's were getting to be a safety hazard!

The 22's and 20's though are out of here! I WILL NEVER WEAR THAT SIZE AGAIN AS LONG AS I HAVE CONTROL OVER IT!!!!!

The seamstress idea is a great one too! I finally gave in aNd had my mom take in a few of my favorites I really didn't want to part with. It was a hard decision because I had that little "what if" going off in the back of my head!

I absolutely love goodwill and other 2nd hand shops and dont forget yardsales... where else can you get a tommy hilfiger shirt for a quarter???

another thing i love to do is buy and sell on ebay... good way to make extra cash

I used to hit more yard sales than I do now because I could estimate what size my kids would be the following year - that's impossible now! I've never sold on ebay but have definately bought

Locally, I visit 'The Burlington Coat Factory', because they sell clothes at wholesale prices. Bought 4 pair of Polo/Nautica cargo shorts for $56, retailed at over $220.

tcastro does that mean you reached that solid 38 mark? If so Congrats!

I love to shop at thrift stores and garage sales, too. Even when I wasn't loosing weight, I got all my clothes at second hand shops, or on Ebay, which I also love. Since I am losing weight, I can find more things in my size at the consignment shops and thrift stores. I am also fortunate that my daughter who is low carbing, too, and smaller than me is passing her clothes down to me. We are also taking up some things, mostly skirts because I'm not much of a seamstress. We are getting her some new things at the thrift shops and just costing along until she gets closer to her goal. She is losing pretty fast and has only between twenty and thirty pounds to go, then she will get a whole new thrift shop wardrobe with a few new things thrown in if they are on sale.