I am now in the fortunate (or unfortunate, if you are the one who views my bank account at the end of the day!) position of working close to not one but two TK Maxx stores. One I must walk past to get to work, and one is five minutes away in a retail park I can visit easily on my break. I'd always wandered in now and then and usually found a lot of bargains, but having two right under my nose has led to me walking in to pass five minutes before work, and now I'm beginning to think I'm not actually saving money on things I need, but buying a lot of things I don't because they're on sale!

There are currently 210 TK Maxx stores in the UK, Ireland and Germany, and they usually tend to be in retail parks or shopping centres rather than on the street. Each store promises big-name brands at up to 60% off. What's more they get new stock every day so, again unfortunately, it is the ideal store to wander into to pass time.

TK Maxx sell clothes, bags, footwear, housewares such as towels, small items of furniture, etc, toys, luggage...well they do sell a lot! But of course, how much choice you have depends on what time of day you go and which bargain-hunting vultures have been before you!

I definitely recommend going early in the day as they may have just had a new delivery. New clothes are supposedly on the edge of the rails. If you find something you like, pick it up and hold onto it for dear life. Chances are if it's that great, putting it down will mean losing your precious bargain! Never, EVER, go away and come back to buy your fabulous bargain later. I doubt it will be there!

Clothes are arranged by size although take them with a pinch of salt as they are often converting from American sizes and so you may find them a bit smaller, or larger, than you are expecting. Footwear is arranged on shelves in pairs so you can easily try them on, and split into active wear (trainers and casual shoes) and other shoes (heels, sandals, etc). Things like makeup and body care products are usually "dumped" onto shelves for you to rummage through. Sometimes they have packs of several products at one bargain price, like my recent Pout find (see below) and more expensive brands such as Clinique. This is probably for security reasons as they are tagged.

Some recent bargains I've had from TK Maxx are:
- Two pairs of Vans slip-ons for £14.99 each (RRP £33.99 each).
- Pop Beauty glitter stix trios for £4.99 each (RRP £10).
- Pout lipslick, eyeshadow duo and eyeliner for £10 (RRP debatable as they are discontinued - I think they listed £20).
- Adidas swimming costume for £7.99 (RRP £25).

All-time best TK Maxx bargain I've found - Seven jeans for £20! (RRP around £100!)

There are all kinds of brands to be found if you hunt hard enough and go at the right time, such as Miss Sixty, Seven, Bench, Wranger, Levis...

Customer service is usually pretty good. If you go in the morning there is often a fairly long queue as there don't usually tend to be more than two people on the till, so be prepared to wait. Sometimes the stores can look a bit jumble sale like! I have had to return things before with no problems. Overall it's a great way to get things you need cheaper, and treat yourself without feeling (too) guilty!