I was so pleasantly surprised to find bargains in the UK during our most recent vacation. I suppose being in the islands over the month of July helped a lot since it was sale time there.

Back home in the US, there is a store called TJ Maxx. It is a discount retailer very much like Ross and Marshalls. Well, I saw its UK counterpart, TK Maxx, and it had locations all over. I had fun visiting its stores from Belfast to London. It was here where I realized I could score big time. It had top British brands like Ben Shermann and Ted Baker from shoes to clothes to leather bags. The key to shopping here was speed. I had to think fast if I was going to purchase or not because there were locals and tourists alike eyeing the same merchandise as I was. I was truly floored by the prices. They cost a lot less than what they would normally sell for in the US. I bought two pairs of Italian suede shoes here. Beautiful and priced at just 39 pounds or US $60. Now that is cheap. There is nowhere in the entire USA where Italian shoes are sold this reasonably unless of course you go to thrift stores for used ones.

I likewise enjoyed visiting the small boutiques in Kensington, Regent Street, and Covent Garden. Marc and I must have visited 10 Ted Baker stores and it was in their branch close to Harrods where I bought a leather bag on sale. I actually should have purchased another leather bag I saw in the Cambridge Satchel Store priced at 76 pounds. I thought that was a steal. Anyway, here were some of my most major purchases and I am proud to say, I didn't overspend.