Ever since the economic downturn in 2008, all of our budgets have been cut down. Instead of having Gap clothing in our closets, we just have the gap space of no clothing.

Now everyone can get fairly good style for cheap ever since the huge Forever 21 has decided to stay for good.

Forever 21 gets old after shopping there for awhile. The store usually ends up with a jacket that they sold last winter, only this winter it has different buttons.

However, getting jeans for about $15 isn’t so bad. But for the type of people who want variety but don’t have the money, there are some ways to get more bang for your buck. Since some stores are cutting back on their budget and deciding to go green, they don’t like sending catalogs through the mail.

Sign up for e-mail subscriptions from all the closest clothing stores near you. Even sign up for stores that you don’t really like. You would be surprised when you see things that you like in a store that you never dared to walk into.

Save your money for when you get these e-mails. They always send you an e-mail when they’re about to have a sale, have cheap featured items, or have an exclusive-online coupon.

The e-mails are better than having tons of catalogs in the house, but your e-mail inbox can get pretty cluttered too. Make an e-mail account strictly for store subscriptions and junk mail.Since the stores have gone cheap on catalogs, they also want to make more money, so they’ll try to offer you a store credit card, and they’ll try to tempt you with a 40% discount.

Never sign up for the card, a devil is behind the discount. It might be hard to resist, but the card will just rack up debt.

A year later, you’ll be stuck making payments on the shoes that you don’t wear anymore. Buying the shoes with cash is a better idea and there’s a way of getting cash for those shoes.

Turn the shoes and clothes that sit in your closet into a new outfit by going to Plato’s Closet on Ming Avenue. Unlike most thrift stores, Plato’s Closet takes slightly used clothes that are still in style and gives cash for them. They’ll make you an offer depending on the condition and the style of the clothes. Plato’s Closet might have the pair of shoes you were wanting.

If Plato’s Closet is too modern, and vintage is more your style, of course thrift stores are your choice of place to shop. Even though vintage stores can have some deals, shopping at yard sales can be even better.

Yard sales can have a jackpot of designer vintage for cheap.The best thing about yard sales is that you can make deals with the seller for a lump sum of things for an almost stolen price.

The sellers usually take the offer since they’re trying to get rid of stuff that they think is junk.