Spending Too Much at the Outlet Mall

Yesterday I headed down to the outlet mall. I didn’t initially plan on spending any money. I just wanted to poke around to see if the deals were better than I can find at local department stores. I imagined that most of the items would be priced well below retail, but in fact many of them were priced on par. I looked around at the Gap, Ralph Lauren, Eddie Baurer, and a few other places. I didn’t see any good bargains so I happily walked out of each shop empty handed.

That is until I ventured into the Tommy Hilfiger store. I am nearly impossible to fit. It’s both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because on an average trip to the mall I can’t find anything that fits and therefore can’t spend any money. Bad because when I do find items that fit they often cost a lot of money. For some reason, the Tommy Hilfiger brand almost always fit me. My grandmother, who is quite a bargain hunter herself, is always searching the clearance isles of major department stores for Tommy clothing on sale. Over the years she’s used this technique to purchase the majority of my winter sweaters.

But yesterday in the Tommy outlet I found tons and tons of shirts and sweaters that fit. Most of the items that were already marked down had additional sales. For instance, a $65 sweater was on sale for $45 with an additional 50% off. I also found an additional 20% coupon at the customer service center. So I was able to buy sweaters that normally cost $65 and up for less than $20. I loaded up and my total came to approximately $150.

But as I got home and looked over the bill I began to feel a little guilty for my shopping giddiness. I noticed that two of the t-shirts I bought weren’t such good bargains, so I returned to the outlet today to exchange them. Of course, once back in the store I found a whole host of other items I didn’t see yesterday. So rather than returning the items and walking out of the store I ended up spending even more money. When all was said and done I spent roughly $180 on eleven items.

When I got home my husband was disappointed that I had even more bags with me. I told him the suggested retail price for all of the items totaled $388, but he knows I never would have spent full price for these items.

All in all I feel moderately guilty for spending so much money. On the other hand, because I am nearly impossible to fit I’m glad that I found new clothes. If I had to do it all over again. I would. But I am banning myself from shopping online or in the stores for at least a little while.

5 thoughts on “Spending Too Much at the Outlet Mall”

  1. I understand your dilemma: I struggle to find tops and bottoms for my frame. And, like you, the clothes that fit me the best cost more than I’d like to spend. Hopefully, you’ll be able to refrain from purchasing more clothing for yourself for – at least – a little while.

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  2. Hi,

    I do understand but I guess you were just a bit too happy for the new year and that’s the reason you just went overboard. but that’s ok..I mean you won’t do it often. Even i go through the same thing..even when I’m not in shopping spree, i do go out and spend a lot of money because just in time, I find the right things at the right place.

    Anyway, here’s wishing that you have a great new year ahead.

    Regards,

    Jessica

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  3. It just means you don’t have to go shopping for a long time. šŸ™‚ I recently went on a shopping spree at Ann Taylor (their clothes fit me really well and they’re good quality). I ended up buying 4 sweaters, one suit, and another suit jacket. I really needed sweaters, but not that many!

    It’s great that your husband supports your frugal goals. My husband is always encouraging me to spend more money on myself!

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  4. @jessica — i’m definitely refraining from spending more money this month. I’ve banned all after Christmas sales and won’t set foot inside a mall until spring.

    @calgirlfinance — My husband wasn’t always so frugal. I had a lot of impact on changing his financial ways šŸ™‚

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  5. I understand completely. Jeans are impossible for me. I was just at the Gap tonight trying some on. I just can’t get myself to pay $60 for jeans when I can on rare occasions find a pair at Goodwill for $7! The problem is half of the time, the Goodwill ones don’t really fit the best. Maybe I should head back to the Gap….?

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