Shopping in the sales feels like a subtle way to spend. Lower prices naturally equal money saved. 【小题1】 Sometimes you think you’re getting a bargain, but actually you’re paying more than you need to. So, follow the tips below and you’ll hopefully be on the right track.

Only buy essentials. You might have been tempted to buy a much higher item than you actually need, simply because we’re dazzled by the size of the discount. So despite the savings made on the full price item, it’s actually a huge waste of cash. 【小题2】 You can even have a “need” note which you add to regularly, allowing you to focus your shopping during the sales.

【小题3】 Just because there’s a sale running with a lower price, doesn’t mean you can scramble for the goods immediately. If you can wait, some price history websites are a great way to get a sense of any regularly occurring price variations. Certain items will have a life cycle too. Christmas cards and decorations are bargains in January while TVs tend to be at their lowest prices in the early summer when the newer models are released. 【小题4】 So this is only a strategy for non-essentials.

Check for alternatives. Finally, even if you think you’ve got the best price out there-or at least one you’re happy to pay-it’s worth checking you’re not overpaying still when compared to similar products. 【小题5】. That could mean staying away from high-end brands, looking for secondhand items or trying a different but similar style.

Though online ordering is popular in the UK today, hands­on experience still attracts many buyers’ attention.

Oxford Street

London is a shoppers’ paradise, and most visitors head for Oxford Street. Halfway along is Selfridges, one of the world’s first department stores where the architecture and window dressing impress you even before you go in. There are at least four other major stores on this street, plus Europe’s largest music shop. In December the atmosphere is especially festive because of the Christmas lights which are always lighted by a politician, a great sportsman, or a super star.

Kensington High Street

A fashionable area for shopping is Kensington High Street. One of its department stores even has a roof garden — good for relaxing between purchases. There’s also an organic food superstore.

Borough Market

You can’t visit London without going to a supermarket. One of the oldest and best for food is probably Borough Market on the south bank of the Thames. Get off the underground at London Bridge and wander among fresh fish stalls, bakeries, and fruit and vegetable sellers. You can also buy specialities to take away, like cheeses, pork pies, mustard and chutney.

More places for bargains

Portobello Road Market on a Saturday is your best choice for jewelry or collector’s items. It’s a short walk from the underground station at Notting Hill Gate and you never know what you will find. For clothes, Camden Market is the place. It gets a little crowded at the weekends, though. Convent Garden Market offers great experience for the simple pleasure of looking at jewelry and gifts.

Catherine Gallo, 20, couldn’t believe it when a fellow student at Hofstra University told her she had gotten a stylish jacket for free from a new on-campus shop in Hempstead.

Gallo and her friend got their clothes from Hofstra’s Career Closet shop, where the professional clothing makes donated new and gently used professional clothing available free for its students, who can “shop” by appointment for clothing for job interviews and career fairs. Operated by the Center for Career Design and Development, the Career Closet is in the Campus Living and Wellness Center. So far, it has provided more than 1,500 students with items for their own closets.

Career Closets aim to address the need for students on limited budgets to have professional clothing, and they’re springing up at colleges nationwide including University of Washington and Boston College. Fashions such as suits, ties, shoes, handbags and more are raised from Hofstra employees and the Center for Career Design and Development’s corporate partners, including accounting and consulting firms such as Baker Tilly and Crowe

“It’s a great way to build up my closet,” says Margaret Sykes, 19, a new college student from University of Massachusetts majoring in filmmaking. “I’m glad Hofstra is providing this service because clothing is expensive now and a lot of people don’t have money to get business clothing.” She adds, “I have mostly jeans and T-shirts, so I got a few business suits. I need something that looks professional when I go out on a shoot to interview an important figure such as the president of Hofstra University.”

Career center director Michelle Kyriakides says the shop’s concept is something she had in mind for many years as a “personal goal”, even before she heard of it becoming a trend at other schools. “So much of an employer’s decision about career readiness depends on how the applicants present themselves, so we want to help our students feel confident,” Kyriakides says.