As women, we’re natural ’sharers.’ We love to give tips and girlfriend advice whenever we can pass along anything that might benefit other women. We share recipes, tips and tricks like last minute gift giving and gift wrapping advice, links to great girlfriend gift sites, help with travel tips, and anything that will make our girlfriends’ lives better, easier or provide a solution to their problems.

Looking at 2009, our financial situation may be one of those problems. We’ve talked about helping our girlfriends through economic stress and ways to reduce stress – which are really important during the holidays and as we anticipate what 2009 will bring. (Note – if you’re concerned about your finances, you should listen to Judith Stephens podcast interview with Girlfriendology. She has great girlfriend financial advice!)

The following article was a great reminder of women helping women. Linda Lowen, from About.com’s Guide to Women’s Issues, shared how a story about a women thrift shopping changed her opinion about being frugal. It was a great reminder to me to shop at consignment and thrift stores. And, I thought it was girlfriend advice that was worthy of sharing, so here’s Linda’s girlfriend advice:

Frugality is the New Black

Linda’s Women’s Issues Blog, By Linda Lowen, About.com Guide to Women’s Issues, Thursday December 18, 2008

I have a sneaky secret. The most fetching items in my wardrobe – though new to me – aren’t new. I am comfortably middle class, yet I frequently visit thrift and consignment stores for second-hand pieces from manufacturers I couldn’t otherwise afford.

Usually I keep my mouth shut about this. But earlier this week, while shopping at an off-price overstock outlet store, a woman behind me in the checkout line raved about my coat. I turned to her and admitted that it came from the consignment shop down the street. “It was new with tags,” I said in a low confessional tone, “and it retailed for $375 and…” here I paused for dramatic effect, “I got it for $59.”

Why am I baring my bargain-hunting soul to a complete stranger? Because after years of being unfashionable and déclassé, frugality is finally back in style.

I got over my “ewww…other people’s clothing!” squeamishness years ago, after hearing a National Public Radio interview with a young woman – the scion of a famous family whose surname graced a chain of major department stores in the 1950s and 60s. Although the family’s fortunes had reversed, she’d been left with a taste for the finer things in life and had learned that by buying second-hand, she could obtain high quality, well-made goods at an affordable price.

That radio interview changed my outlook. I became a much smarter consumer and started buying previously owned items wherever I could. And the savings I’ve reaped over the years have been incredible. Here’s one example: In my family room is a fairly new armoire I picked up at an estate sale for $500, intending to use it as an entertainment center to hide my TV. When I looked up the manufacturer’s website online, it turned out to be worth over $10,000.

I’ll never know the circumstances that forced the original owners to give up the armoire or the designer coat, and I suspect that in this economy more items like this will surface. These people needed the cash instead of the stuff, I could afford the asking price, and it was a win-win situation.

Recently, I started doing radio commentaries for a nationally syndicated women’s issues show called 51% – The Women’s Perspective, produced by public radio station WAMC. And in a strange example of my life coming full circle, this week’s show features a 5-minute piece I did on frugality, and why I shop second-hand when I can.

Maybe someone listening will take home the same message that I took to heart all those years ago – that there’s no shame in spending your money wisely and enjoying what someone else previously enjoyed. Maybe you’ll give the show a listen. And maybe that someone who embraces a whole new outlook on second-hand shopping might be you.

If so, I’ll see you at the consignment shop.

Hear more: Linda’s frugality commentary on 51% – The Women’s Perspective

Frugality is the New Black.

How are you being frugal? What girlfriend advice can you share?

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Tags: About.com, Charity shop, Consignment, Frugality, girlfriend advice, National Public Radio, Radio broadcasting

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