Stretching the holiday buck

While the holiday season is cause for celebration, it can also mean stressed budgets as families try to figure out how to keep up with everyday, household expenses and afford the added financial burden of gifts.

Local businesses, the Presbyterian Women's Thrift Shop and the Children's Cabinet Thrift Shop, offer local residents the opportunity to stretch their holiday purchasing power without sacrificing quality.

Children's Cabinet Thrift Store Manager Nancy Brown said the store is very blessed to be located in Incline, citing the generosity of the residents who donate goods.

"We not only receive quality used merchandise from our locals, we also receive new items from stores like Potlatch and Ace Hardware," Brown said. "There are even people as far away as Palm Springs who own businesses, have heard about what we do and send merchandise for us to sell."

Children's Cabinet puts all the profits from the store into programs for local children, Brown explained.

"All of the money stays here in Incline, for Incline kids," Brown said.

The store, which will change location to a more spacious site in mid-January, is stocked with everything from clothes for the entire family to furniture and at very low prices.

"We carry everything from soup to nuts and everything in between," Brown said. "And the added bonus is that when you buy something here, you also help the kids in the area."

Helping is also what makes the Presbyterian Women's Thrift Shop an economical place to shop while giving something back to the less fortunate, Brown pointed out.

"We're pretty busy all year, but the holidays really bring people here," said Aetna Mayfield, who was filling in for Presbyterian Thrift store manager Bobbi Henry.

Mayfield said that many regular customers are either going through tough times, enjoy a bargain or are hoping to come across an unknown Jackson Pollack.

"It always makes me a little nervous when I'm pricing things, like a $3 clock, that I may see on the 'Antiques Roadshow' for thousands," Mayfield joked.

Like Brown, Mayfield praised the generosity of the locals for allowing the store to carry quality merchandise.

"The people of Incline are very generous, when it comes to donating items and we have so many volunteers helping to run the store," Mayfield said, as she surveyed the 25 customers milling about. "It really makes for a good shopping experience."

The list of charities that benefit from the profits of the thrift store range from various Presbyterian churches and their charities to Prison Fellowship, Church World Services and Campus Crusade.

"To be honest, I'm not affiliated with the church, but I believe in what they're doing and I really enjoy working with the other ladies," Mayfield said.

Both shops will be holding sales as the holidays approach, with items marked down by as much as 50 percent.

"Shopping in a charity thrift store is the perfect way to get into the spirit, save on your budget and help others," Brown said.