You might be thinking at this point that cheap clothes won't last long and will quickly show wear. You're right about that. But if you're careful about budgeting your money and confident enough to rock whatever you put on, that one cheap suit will get you through several paychecks until you can afford higher quality threads.

On a whim, I strolled into The Limited one afternoon during their storewide sale. I made a beeline right for the professional clothing (carefully avoiding eye contact with things I didn't need, like really cute blue jeans) and scored a quality black suit coat for $50, marked down from $200. I kept an eye on The Limited's sales and a few months later, found another black coat for roughly the same price.

"Why so much black and why the focus on suit coats?" you might be asking. Well, I like black because it's basic and therefore easier to match. My black suit coats mix with nearly everything else in my closet, increasing my outfit possibilities. When I first started shopping for professional clothes, I was less concerned with pants because I could find good ones almost anywhere for a good price. Quality suit jackets on the other hand aren't necessarily hard to find but are usually more expensive than the matching suit pants. So snap up those clearance suit coats–they're a super bonus for your ever-growing wardrobe.

Two last words on bargain hunting. CONSIGNMENT STORES. There are probably several of these great little bargain shops near your house–just do a category search for your city on yellowpages.com. You'll need to exercise some patience when consignment shopping. You might go every weekend for a month and not find anything, or you'll spy a perfect pair of pants on the rack that are just too small in the dressing room. But there are also those days when you'll hit the jackpot. Exercise diligence and remember, bring cash and your checkbook just in case. Many thrift and consignment stores don't accept plastic.