Greetings from Fire Island, NY, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. (But we only tell our best friends about it, so shhhh.)

When we last checked in, we had reached our first destination, New Jersey, where we stayed with a dear friend and had a delicious dinner.  The next day for lunch, we bought a salad for our hostess and shared a big one between us, total cost $20.  The on to Brooklyn, where $20 bought us (and several of our friends) a few slices of great New York pizza, some soda and a great night with more childhood friends at a free concert featuring Blondie, Pat Benatar and The Donnas.

Next stop, Long Island, where we stayed with family and visited the beach outside their door.  After a stop at a local supermarket, we stocked up on items that would surely be overpriced if we bought them at our next destination, Fire Island, and tiny sandbar of a beach paradise, with nothing but beach, bay, bars and a few little shops.  (Very expensive, but I hear that next week the stores start cutting prices drastically in order to clear out their inventory before the summer ends; will keep you posted).  Supermarket bill, $80.  Savings over Fire Island prices, probably $75.

We parked at a friend’s house, saving over $100 for parking, and another friend drove us to the station, savings of about $5.  The ferry ride over was $34 round trip for the both of us, and we are now ensconced for the next week at the home of another dear friend,  just steps from the beach and a short walk to the town.  So far, we’ve been cooking and BBQing, and our on-island expenditure up to now has been $6 for yummy water ices.  Added to the running total, we’ve now spent, between the two of us, including gas for the car, roughly another $200, bringing us so far to a grand total of about $500 and we’ve been gone a week, and traveled about 1300 miles.  So far, so great!

It’s good to have friends in high places!  (Of course, they’re all always invited to visit us in Florida any time they want.)

Until next time, stay cool!

(BTW, we didn’t win the lottery…yet!)

For more about travel on the cheap, click here.

My sister, the Rebate Queen, and I are hitting the road in a few weeks for an extended road trip to NY and the Northeast.  If there’s anyone who is better than me on saving money, it’s her.  We will report on our money saving techniques and successes (and failures!) as we plan and go.

One stop: Visiting my little country house in the Catskill mountains to bring home some of my stuff.  Talk about a deal:  I bought this house for only $30,000, fixed it up, expanded the porch and deck, filled it with lots of Vintage Catskill furniture and knick-knacks, and now have it on the market for much more, after 10 years of enjoyment.

But I digress.  First job is finding the best and cheapest way to get there.  Do we fly? Do we drive? If so, which car?  And who’s going to do the driving anyway? As a Florida newbie and ex New Yorker (i.e., not a daily driver) I don’t always make my passengers comfortable).  Where will we stay?   Actually, I’ve never meticulously budgeted my travel expenses.  This will be an adventure for sure!

If you’re traveling this summer, there’s lots of good news — gas prices going down, tons of great deals, lots of people taking the summer off (i.e. laid off) so easy to find travel companions.  At the same time, Continental, like other airlines, just announced the addition of checked baggage fees, Spirit Air is now charging for seats and drinking water, and other airlines are trying similar tricks.  So buyer beware.

We’ll do our best to help you find ways to travel cheaply this summer.  Here are a few links to get you started.

Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, for more on travel, click here.

Most people who live outside of a major fashion city like NY or LA have limited knowledge of sample sales, where manufacturers sell off their overages and close-outs at a fraction of their retail prices.  For many, I think, the media has best publicized the phenomenon in those images of Wedding Gown Sales, where brides-to-be storm the racks, knocking each other over and sometimes coming to blows in pursuit of the perfect gown at a deeply discounted price.

Is that what a sample sale is really like? In a word, or two, very often.  Not all sales include the fisticuffs and name-calling, but at some, I think the manufacturer sets it up like that merely for the entertainment value.  However, in reality, those plain brown paper or blue plastic shopping bags carried throughout New York’s Garment District often signal the very best values out there.

Unfortunately, my recent trip to New York was not on a good Sample Sale day.  I did find one great sale on Agnes B, (check out these prices — the discounts are somewhat typical) but nothing was cut for my size 12 American body.  But for those who are planning a trip to New York,  here are some tips. 

First, give yourself a full day with comfortable shoes, lots of cash (some places, but not all, take credit cards and checks), and nice underwear, as you may find yourself undressing in an open dressing room, or even on the sales floor!

Next, check the internet.  Search sample sales at www.DailyCandy.com, search sample sales and the city you’re in on Google, and sign up at www.soifferhaskin.com for emails as sales come up.  By following these steps you will have a starting point. Take one of the west side subway lines to 34th Street.

Once you arrive in the garment center, things should take off on their own. Walk up Broadway from 34th to 40th Street, then across to 7th Avenue, and then down 7th.  If there are any sales going on that day, you will find circulars taped to lampposts, and guys giving them out on the street.  Ask anyone you see with the above-mentioned shopping bags if there are any sample sales going on, and walk along the side streets too — it’s common for people to enter the smaller office buildings and ask the lobby personnel for leads.  

Although many of the sales, especially the higher-end ones, may have the merchandise actually sorted by size or style, you need to be prepared: many have things hanging on racks in no particular order.  After all, it’s the thrill of the chase.

Be bold, be determined and be nice, even when you have to stand up for yourself.  (“I’m sorry, that dress is mine — PLEASE get your dirty paws off it.”)  You should come out with some really incredible buys.  (One of my all-time faves was a purple silk Tahari suit, absolutely beautiful, which was never put into the line; therefore a one-of-a-kind Tahari Original, for under $100!). 

Of course, if it’s a quiet day, you can head over to 32nd Street, which has the best selection of dollar stores I think in the country.  Or if all else fails, there’s always Macy’s.

Now, the market is finally realizing that not everyone has access to these sales, and in the past few months I have discovered a number of sites that do online sample sales for shoppers everywhere.  My next post will highlight a few of these where you can sign up and shop wherever you are, and take advantage of the highly discounted prices. 

For more tips on Shopping NY like a New Yorker, please check out my posts on Chinatown and Street Vendors.

But I digress, although shopping for tickets is a fun bargain adventure in NY.   BTW, if anyone knows of a discount ticket 

service that’s offered elsewhere, please let me know!  

Up early on Day 2, first stop, financial district.  After a moment of silence at Ground Zero, I cheered myself by heading across the street to Century 21.  Now with 6 stores, all in the NY/NJ area, this is one of New York’s shopping landmarks. Though officially a specialty store since it doesn’t sell furniture, Century has arguably the best selection in the city of designer apparel and accessories, shoes, lingerie and home decor at a great discount. Picked up a pair of designer sunglasses (something I would not buy on the streets, as they are often knock-offs with headache-causing cheap lenses) for a song. 

Heading north and veering east, my next destination is the East Village.  Stopped along the way to pick up a piece of fresh fruit from a street cart, 

 beautiful and cheaper than any supermarket.  One of the things I miss about NY is the street food.  Better than anywhere except maybe Paris. Would have eaten more 

but I was on the way to meet my friend Joey for lunch at a trendy little vegetarian restaurant with a great lunch special, for roughly half of what one would spend in the same place for dinner. Delicious lunch for less than $10.  Wandered through Chinatown (Click here for a full report) and Little Italy, up to the West Village where I visited a small flea market where a building used to be (nothing exciting there) and into the East Village to meet Joey.

En route to the restaurant, I crossed St. Mark’s Place, which I think is one of New York’s prettiest streets, where I was assured to find a plethora of street vendors hawking everything from clothing to jewelry to hash pipes.  In the market for a gift for my sister, I found a beautiful embroidered shawl in her favorite color, purple.  Asking price was $12, already a bargain as in a store if would cost much more.  The man at the stand (Mr. Standman?) offered me 2 for $20 but wasn’t budging any lower.  I did, however, get him to do $10 for one. Told him I’d come back. (This is usually a good bargaining technique.)

After lunch, back to St. Marks.   Mr. Standman did remember me but still wasn’t budging.  I bought the scarf for $10, a win-win transaction.  Paid cash, tax included.  Mission accomplished.  

I dropped Joey off at the subway station, and again headed north up Sixth Avenue.  Outside a famous corner Hot Dog restaurant, I spoke with a street vendor and house painter called Fitz.

We had a fun conversation, I bought a vintage Miami ashtray from him for a dollar, and I continued up 6th Avenue, with the purchase I couldn’t help but buy, to the Ladies Mile.  The Ladies Mile is a stretch of 6th Avenue known for its beautiful architecture and its shops.  In the early 1900s, the quarter-mile strip housed such elegant New York stores as B. Altman, Arnold Constable, Lord & Taylor, Tiffany, and Brooks Brothers.  The Ladies Mile got its name because in the old days of New York, it was where the rich uptown men dropped their wives while they visited their mistresses, whom they kept in the adjacent (and now very hip) residential area known as Chelsea.

Now, the beautiful buildings house a variety of big box stores, including Barnes & Noble, TJ Maxx, Bed Bath & Beyond and Filene’s Basement.  I walked into one, only to find lots of people with full shopping carts, and dozens waiting in line to pay.  No recession here, it seems.  But I have a promise to myself that I will NEVER stand in line and wait to give people my money.  I walked back out to the street.

Continuing up 6th Avenue, vendors lined both sides of the street, selling bags, belts, cell phone accessories, artwork, 

scarves, flowers, food and more.  I picked up two belts for myself ($8 for both), flowers for my host ($5) , a case and charger for my cell phone ($10 for both) and headed uptown to the home of a friend for a haircut and color for less than most people pay for a blow-dry.  (I can’t even say what I paid for that, but let it suffice to say that he hasn’t raised my price since maybe 1980.)

Out to meet another friend for dinner (less $25 from Restaurant.com
) and a movie (discount tickets from the Entertainment Book), and the Bargain Finder Extraordinaire (me!) winds up another day of living the good life for less. 

Next week we will talk about a shopping technique somewhat specific to New York but now spreading to the internet — Sample Sales. 

Happy Weekend.