Money is a scarce thing to come by when in college, and saving pennies is a highly valued skill.
Many students devise plans to save money for housing necessities, laundry and shopping, and local thrift stores can help make pennies go a little farther.
"College students can pick up all kinds of household products and needs," said Della Bolger, manger of Attic Window, a thrift store run through the Muncie Mission.
The Attic Window, 400 W. Memorial Drive, is only one of several thrift and vintage shops around Muncie. Thrift stores have been growing in popularity, as can be seen in the Broad Ripple-area of Indianapolis, where vintage stores are in abundance.
According to Muncie native Bob Duryea, manager of Thrifty Threads in Broad Ripple, there are 20-plus vintage and thrift stores that service all of Indianapolis.
Nichole Pastura, freshman deaf education major, searches thrift stores for the most unique items she can find.
"I like to look for something you would never find anywhere else, (or something) you would never see any else wearing," she said.
Pastura said her best buy so far has been a pair of men's pants she found at Retro Active, a vintage shop in Fort Wayne.
Regardless of what people may think, thrift shops owners and managers insist that thrift stores sell a high-quality product at a lower cost.
Bolger said prices for clothes from the Attic Window start at $3 for women's jeans, though most stay between $3 and $5. Men's jeans start at $5 and men's shirts are $2.50.
Because of early February's warm weather, they were having sweater sale, four for $1. With the sudden rush of winter, Bolger said this is the best timing for the sale.
Kim Johnson of Muncie's Goodwill store, 5035 W. Hessler Road, said prices for kids clothes start at $1.99 and adult's clothes start at $3.49. These prices do not alter according to the type of clothes.
While it may appear the rush on the thrift market is controlled by younger generations looking to find their own style, shop owners say a wide variety of people not only shop at the stores, but also donate.
"We see people of every facet of life shopping here," Duryea of Thrifty Threads said. "We see young, old, rich, poor, everyone."
Many of the older thrift stores were designed to be a service to the community. Attic Window began with the Muncie Mission.
According to Bolger, the Muncie Mission began when its then-director provided shelter for men. The community donated clothing and other items to the Mission. After acquiring a surplus of items, the Attic Window was opened to the public to help clear out the merchandise.
"All proceeds go back to the Muncie Mission, so it's a continuous circle of help," Bolger said.
Many thrift stores accept donations from anybody, though they will normally check the quality of a product before putting it on the racks. Johnson of Goodwill said mostly middle-aged people with children donate clothing and other items frequently, while older people are more likely to shop at Goodwill.
"The quality is mostly what you would see at a department store at half the price," Johnson said.
Both managers of Attic Window and Thrifty Threads said they keep the store as presentable as possible.
"We try to break it down into a lot of individual racks," Bolger said. "It's really attractive and shoppable and a nice facility."
Many thrift stores provide a unique line of clothing, as well as household products and other useful items.
"You can come in here and find some of everything," Bolger added.
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