Sure shopping at the mall is convenient but how often do you see clothing for great prices? You have to drive to the mall, pay for the mall parking, walk around crowds of people, search through piles of clothes on to find that the shirt you wanted is not available in your size.

And shopping online? You really just don’t know what kind of clothing you’ll get. Whether it will fit or not, whether it will be the real brand or not, and most important whether you can return it or not. So what is a cost conscience consumer to do? The answer might be simpler than you think.

I love Banana Republic clothing. Banana Republic features a wide variety of colors and styles, sells great accessories, and they have things for the whole family. But, as you know the Banana Republic stores are not cheap. So what do I do? I get Banana Republic gift cards online at a discount or even for free.

I use online auctions to buy Banana Republic gift cards at discounts of up to 30%. I’ll buy a $100 gift card for $70 or better yet I’ll join a website that is giving away Banana Republic gift cards for free for completing offers that usually have a free trial with no obligation on my part.

And let’s face it, the sun will rise tomorrow, the summer will come again. Be smart about your purchases. I usually buy great jackets at 20-30% off towards the end of spring and amazing t-shirts and shirts towards the end of summer. With a 20% in store sale plus my 30% discount by buying a Banana Republic gift card online I get my clothing for almost 50% off. How many people can say that?

Another tactic to consider is shopping at second hand stores. Though a bit time consuming second hand stores sometimes have gems that you can buy for 10% of the retail cost. I bought my daughter a designer skirt at one such store for a mere $10 while it cost over $90 at the store.

Good luck with your shopping and if I run into you at Banana Republic be sure to say hi.