Note to KikiG - AT will do a price reduction in these circumstances if you call and ask.

I used to be an only on sale girl. But my closet analysis demonstrated that all my mistakes are things I bought because they were cheap and/or on sale. I always love the full price, nicer stuff I keep.

Of course, I wish I was a good enough shopper to buy the right stuff on sale!

I have had luck with sales, but I also made many mistakes with things that seemed to be real bargains. I'm trying to change my mindset and do less sale shopping in favour of investing a bit more in wardrobe workhorses, but this isn't an easy approach with a small budget. But I think I'm getting better!

I'm on SYB, and there are enough wardrobe holes that I've usually got my purchases planned 3 months out. So, I both do and don't shop sales.

I wait for sales if there's a specific retailer's item that I need to get, because I can wait for a retailer-specific markdown instead of the general end-of-season sale. For example, Banana Republic tends to push 20%, 30%, or sometimes even 40%-off coupon codes on Wednesdays.

I do not wait for sales otherwise, for the reasons other posters have mentioned: the full price (plus adherence to the budget) prevents me from buying thoughtlessly, I can enjoy the item for longer, etc.

I have always been a part of the "my size is gone by then" club--I'm petite and relatively small-boned with tiny feet--but until recently I only (as in 100%, aside from H&M and Forever 21) shopped sales. And I still found fab items that I love! But, I also passed up items that I would have adored because they sold out. I alleviated this problem in earlier years by simply not even looking at full-price merchandise... but as I'm getting pickier (and my budget is getting bigger), I find that buying at retail price can sometimes be worth it.