A cheapass guide to sales shopping

L-R

Slim leg check trousers (via Very) £17.50

Painted neon pink necklace £3.99 via F21 (or £2 with the code HOLIDAY50)

Animal print skinnies (via F21) £9.99 (half off with HOLIDAY50)

Superga/H by Holland crochet trainers via ASOS £21.00

So Fabulous stretch satin dress via Very £10.50

Leopard print bodycon skirt via F21 £6.99 (or £3.50 with the discount code)

Cosmic print leggings via New Look £10

Black velvet skater skirt via New Look £5

Hamble brogues via Clarks £25

Thought I'd share a few of my sales favourites this year, some of which I've bought, some which I just fancy the look of.

I am never very certain whether to do posts li/ke this, because I don't know whether I'm just promoting brands, BUT sales shopping is something I am pretty good at, and in the interests of helping other bargain hunting folk out, I thought it'd be good to do a round up of cheap things I like in the sale this year (all of these go up to at least a size 24 I think, though only certain sizes are available), and also share how I find things and save money further on them. I try not to spend much over £10 on something, and definitely not more than £30 (those brogues are £25, but I figured clarks shoes are good and they're 50% off, and black brogues are as practical as you can get, right?) ever.

Here's how I do sales shopping:
- I think a few weeks before about things it would be useful to get in the sales. This time I wanted sensible shoes, some new trousers and a black skater skirt. I try to keep this list in mind so I don't go nuts and find endless things I want.
- Plan a budget, and a point you DEFINITELY DEFINITELY won't spend over. This helps making decisions tricky, but overspending just kicks you in the arse ultimately. 
- Painful as this is, I look a bunch of places for bargains. I tend to sit over the holidays and survey sites I normally shop at, to find which has the cheapest options. I also check to see whether stuff I've ogled before is reduced.
- When I've found what I want to buy, I also google for voucher codes for the same sites. This year I discovered that Forever 21 has 50% off it's sale items (with the code HOLIDAY50), so those blue jeans, the pink necklace and the leopard mini are mine for a grand total of £10.50! I'm currently a student and use that discount where I can too. You'll be surprised how many sites allow you to use existing discount codes on sale items.
- Not that us fatties have much choice in this matter, but NEVER SHOP IN PERSON. Sales fever is stressful and often makes you choose stuff on impulse. Shopping online gives you chances to exploit aforementioned discount codes, and also time to walk away from purchases and have a think about whether you really want them.
- When searching online ALWAYS ORDER LOW-HIGH. That way once things get beyond your limit, you can easily stop looking (in theory).
- Finally, I use cashback site Quidco to get some extra cashback - it's doesn't cost anything to join and gives you a small percent of your purchases back. It takes a while to get paid, but every little helps! If you shop online a fair bit, it can add up reasonably well. 

Sticking by these rules, I don't overspend, and I generally buy stuff I need (or have wanted for ages) that I haven't been able to afford full price.

Happy holidays x

p.s. in the interest of transparency, the links in this post take you to the items via a referral site, which earns me a few pennies if you buy something. However, I'm only linking to stuff I'd like to buy myself or have bought too, and if you don't want to go through those links you can open the sites and search for the items yourself <3 font="font">