Thrifty.

Growing up we were never the family with the most expensive things. In fact in all honesty for the most my parents did their best to just get by. What this usually meant for us kids meant we never had the brand new car or the name brand clothes.  Most of our clothes came from one of two places, hand me downs from older siblings. Or..

Thrift stores.

Admittedly I hated it. My mom would drag us from thrift store to thrift store every weekend searching for deals, used jeans, used sweaters and while they were cheap, they were often at times things that were in style two seasons ago. And as a teenager I didn't want to admit that my clothes came from places that didn't start with Abrocrombe or Guess. I was teased half the time as it was, I didn't really need another thing to add on to it. And so, half the times it was a discussion I didn't share with the majority of friends.

Yes I hated thrift store shopping. I hated the way it smelt, hated the lack of styles it provided and I hated being dragged day after day to them. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad had we mixed our thrift store shopping with the occasional name brand shopping, but at the time it wasn't really a luxury we could afford. I know this now.

But how funny times change. That thrift store shopping I hated so much as a teenager, has now become something I actually secretly like. I sit here from just about a brand new kitchen table, in perfectly good shape, bought at that thrift store I hated back in the day. And I  eat on an amazing dishware set that I bought. And I am wearing brand new, yes brand new Aeropostle and American Eagle jeans bought at a thrift store.

Maybe my mom was on to something all those years ago.

Yes I said it I actually wear clothes from there now. Most of the time its for work purposes or jeans, since being a size 0, is at times impossible to find in the stores. And with all my surgeries and the question of will I gain any of it back, well those jeans that may just turn out to be those in between jeans, feel a whole lot better when they are under five bucks.

And yes, my son wears used clothes. Because as  a toddler I don't see the need to buy expensive name brand clothes that he will only wear for a couple of months before out growing them anyway. My husband, who grew up in a house that pretty much never denied their kids anything now looks through the racks, and finds knick knacks for himself. 

It has become a family affair.

I will be the first to admit I do shop at American Eagle, and buy new clothes still. As does my husband, and my son. But the difference is now, I don't look at thrift store as cheap junk an old smelly clothes.

But rather to get a deal from time to time.

Sometimes mom really does know best.