When I go shopping, part of the enjoyment is getting a great deal. While I enjoy shopping at Nordstrom’s just like the next girl, I also love hunting for incredible finds at thrift stores.

Last weekend I spent a rainy afternoon at a nearby thrift store and found a fleece jacket ($4), a white shell top ($1.50), a black sleeveless jacquard top ($4) and a GAP flaired skirt ($7). In the past I’ve also found beautiful cashmere sweaters, jackets, wool crepe suits, french cotton shirts, high quality leather goods and a wonderful mix of styles to suit just about any fashionista.

Want to spend the afternoon shopping with your girlfriends, but trying to stay within a tight budget? No problem! You’ll have just as much or probably more fun shopping at thrift stores and spend a fraction of what you’d pay at retail stores. Since most thrift stores are used to fund a charity, you’ll also be contributing to a good cause. Another bonus!

Of course, the bigger the city you’re in (and the better dressed), the better selection you’ll find. To help you find the best thrift stores in your city, check out a great site called TheThriftShopper.com. This handy resource includes listings for almost 9,000 thrift stores across the country, along with their location, store hours and user ratings. Just type in your zip code or city to find the shops closest to you.

Happy hunting!

Related: Clothes Heaven

Now that the rainy season has officially arrived, it’s fun to see the wide array of rain boots women are wearing this season. Some are practical, whimisical, stylish, and after seeing so many styles I was inspired to go online to shop for a new pair.  I found a rainbow of color choices offered by 150-year-veteran Hunter Boots. I also saw boots with eye-catching graphic designs from Chooka, prints from Burberry, UGG and Juicy Couture and even some fun options at Target.

Here are a few of my favorites from ShopStyle and Zappos.

Links: ShopStyle   Zappos

On cold, rainy days like this, it’s nice to be able sip a hot drink and do my Christmas shopping from the comfort of home. Being able to browse through a seemingly limitless inventory of products for exactly what I want is one of the great benefits of online shopping. Many of the online stores are offering free shipping as well.

Before you check-out with your online shopping cart of selections, be sure to do a quick search for coupon codes. Some of the popular coupon code sites are:

• CouponCabin.com
• RetailMeNot.com
• CurrentCodes.com
• CouponMountain.com

Some of these sites have coupon codes for over 2,000 stores.  Once you find a coupon code, there’s usually a place to enter a coupon or promotional code in your store’s check-out page.

Saving $10 here and $20 there using coupon codes can amount to some significant savings.  Just think – this could be the fun money for your next girls trip!