For the last twenty years, a dedicated mother named Angela Morton has been able to avoid buying new clothes from retailers. Instead, she shops in secondhand stores for all her clothes purchases, saving a ton of money on the common expense. She added that she even buys her underwear secondhand to save money. She has managed to stash away hundreds of dollars of savings every year by buying everything she and her family wears from secondhand shops.
Angela Morton lives with her two children and husband at their home in South Wales, United Kingdom. Despite being the mother of two teenagers, 17-year-old Ben, and 16-year-old Meighan, she has convinced them to also shop secondhand shops. Her 40-year-old husband, David, also has learned to love saving money by buying every bit of clothing from stores that offer up great deals on used items.
Morton claims to achieve a “buzz” from her shopping habits. While she spends a lot of time at charity stores and secondhand shops, she also does a ton of online shopping on eBay and Vinted to save money on clothes.
“I estimate that I have saved hundreds of pounds a year shopping secondhand,” Angela said. The savings amounts to hundreds of dollars that can be spent on other things the family wants to do or purchase including experiences for the entire brood.
She said, “On just three items, I have saved around £1,304 (more than $1,500). My children have worn secondhand or handmade clothing for at least ten years and have never had a problem with it.
“They didn’t know any different growing up, and now they are older, they like vintage styles and that they can get more for their money. My son loves the 70s and 80s and enjoys vintage shopping. We enjoy vintage shopping as a family day out.”
Buying clothing secondhand has helped Morton save thousands of dollars over the last two decades of careful shopping. She has also found some strikingly good deals. For example, she purchased a Vivienne Westwood bag that had only been used one for about $70. She also purchased two Stella McCartney bags for about $50 each instead of paying the suggested retail price of nearly $1,000 per bag.
One other great thing that Morton purchased was a pair of Dr. Martens boots that she spent just $35 to $40 on. The boots lasted her for eight years.
Morton’s obsession with secondhand garments began as a teenager when she was nineteen. She loved vintage clothing and started buying clothes from previous decades from secondhand shops.
Angela said: “I have loved the 1950s and 1960s since I was younger, in particular the clothing and music. I have never liked the styles of modern fashion and didn’t want to look the same as everyone else.”
While the savvy mom buys her lingerie secondhand, she does buy some underwear new from a sustainable brand.
“I occasionally buy new from brands such as Y.O.U. underwear. It is ethical and sustainable and has a buy-one-give-two model, which means that every time you buy a pair of underwear, they donate two pairs of underwear to ‘Smalls for All.’”