I’ve been contemplating whether I should show off my bargains for a while now.

On the one hand, getting a great deal on something you need should always be celebrated. On the other hand, it’s so frustrating to hear about someone else’s brilliant bargain and realise you’ve missed out.

In the end, I decided that showing how far money can go with a little effort and creativity will hopefully inspire you, not annoy you. (If I’m wrong, leave a comment and I’ll stop showing off.)

So on to the bargains.

Last weekend, my sister told me about a sale that Myer (one of Australia’s biggest department store chains) are having, with discounts on pretty much every category of merchandise. I went looking for sports shoes because I walk a LOT but rarely buy suitable shoes because I find them ugly. I hate spending money on ugly things, no matter how practical they are!

So I was very, very lucky to find these babies on the sale rack:

Trail running sneakers. $41.23 down from $159.95

My hiking boots are quickly wearing out and probably irreplaceable. They’re also way too hot for walking in Australia in summer. Hence these ones: they’re kind of ugly, but when only koalas, kangaroos and outdoors-y types will see me, I guess I can relax my stylistic standards a little.

City sneakers. $26.23 down from $99.95

Here’s a quandary: say you often walk 10 km (6 miles) around the city in a city, but you’re so vain you don’t want to resort to wearing ugly sneakers to do it. Is there a stylish shoe for serious walking?

I’ve tried Converse and Birkenstocks for exactly this reason, but their comfort wears out at 2km (1.2 miles) and 6km (3.5 miles) respectively.

The shoes above are my latest attempt at looking stylish while keeping my feet comfy, soon to be taken out for their first test-walk. Fingers crossed they’ll succeed where the others have failed; if not, they’re not too expensive a mistake.

PS: If you’re in Australia, the sale’s still on for another couple of weeks and last season’s stock is now 75% off the marked-down price! (It was 50% off reduced prices when I bought these, so if there’s any of them left, they’ll be even cheaper.)