Top 10 at your Favorite Discount Store

Whether or not you want to admit it, your wallet needs a little break. It's been gaining weight recently and it's not because of the extra bills you haven't been feeding it. It's because of all those receipts you've been stuffing it with. And while we're at it - do you really think you need that receipt from Starbucks for the Mocho Choco Latte Grande from 2007? I'm not telling you to stop your therapeutic retail madness, because I like to practice what I speaketh, and I do speaketh retail therapy. You just need to switch things up a little. The only plus side of this economy (but let's not get depressed about it) is that Neiman Marcus had a one day 20% discount on all Cosmetics, except Chanel a couple weeks ago (oops, sorry, I kept that to myself). Yes, I did write ALL Cosmetics, except Chanel - yeah, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, Sisley and all kinds of cosmetic goodness was 20% cheaper. Usually means that I buy 20% more (you give a little, I give a little, even Steven). My point? Your wallet isn't the only one suffering from receipt stuffage. Neiman Marcus, Bloomindales, Saks Fifth Avenue - they've all got wallets screaming red tag for customers, but no one's buying. Window shopping? yup. Buying, regret, returning? Double Yup (hey, you! the one who goes exercising at the gym instead of at the mall - yeah, you with the sweatpants and the painted on abs - STOP judging and have a cookie). So, 20% cheaper for items that NEVER go on sale, 50 dollar gift card for spending 100, and a veteran saleslady who worked at Neiman's for 20 years who said she has never, and I mean nevah evah witnessed a sale sign

reflecting off the polished glass cosmetics counters of the Neiman's? You know what this means? Run to your closest Last Call because you know that you don't have to sift much to find those Louboutins, Manolos, Choos and Viviers. Yeah, I know that you had trouble finding a decent pair last year and the one pair you found you had to hide somewhere in the Men's department behind the bathrobes, waiting for Black Friday to give you a break. You! with the fake Louis Vitton purse (yeah, we all know it's fake) don't be such a snob - who cares if they're last season, Fakes were never and will never be in season, so there! Sorry about that, I got distracted. I was going to give you a top 10, right? So here goes:

1. Shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes. Suddenly Aldo seems expensive compared to the good deals you'd be getting at your favorite discount store. Oh, so it's 50 bucks more for a pair. You know what that means? Here's how you balance things out... cut back on Starbucks - they burn their coffee anyway and Dunkin Donuts is so much better.

2. Purses, Bags, Purses, Handbags, Pocketbooks, whatever you call them... Look for the 40% off the last ticketed price and another 20% off that, usually a good deal. But don't just buy because you got percentage happy. Buy because you reeeaaaaallly need that bag, purse, whatever.

3. Accessoriiiiieeessss. As in, sunglasses, hats, scarves, gloves, pins, hair stuff. Recent gloat? Most awesome pair of $400 Derek Lam polarized sunglasses for $25 at Loehmann's. Nope, it was the only pair, sorry!

4. Candles. Yeah, really, I'm serious. Decent candles are expensive when they're full price. And no, please don't try to suffocate me with that horrible candle you got at the dollar store. They lace those with arsenic, you know?

5. Baby Clothes. Want to be the favorite gift-giver who didn't cop out at The Gap? So, she probably knows you didn't spend the full $240 for that scrap of material for her newborn... but she'll never guess you got it for $11. And don't be tacky by taking off the sale tag and keeping the old, pricey version by mistake.

6. That skirt or pant that you just couldn't rationalize, but now that it's 75% off, well, uh, wouldn't you be making a huge financial mistake if you didn't buy it?

7. Perfume!! Seriously! Loads of scents off. (hee hee, I'm not usually that good with puns) And it's not like Canal Street where you suspect they may be filling the bottle with water or alcohol, or 'fake' perfume and you want to haggle but have a really hard time doing it because you're afraid the cops are gonna bust you too if you spend 5 more minutes there.

8. Dresses. Dressy Dresses. Day Dresses. Evening Dresses. And since they're so cheap, you can buy 2 for extra alteration material. (Another topic altogether, but a must mention over here too.)

9. Coats, jackets, outerwear. Where else can you find them on sale before December? Well, it may or may not be your fault that you gained 8 lbs last winter and didn't think to replace your coat because you'll lose the weight over the summer. Please. You're getting older and those lbs are getting comfy on you. The only problem is that your coat's not as comfy.

10. Something nice for your husband, friend, child, friend's child so you can justify all your new purchases and why you actually spent more money by saving more money.