Jeepers creepers: Beating high street prices online

As a student I'm often deciding whether to spend my pennies on clothes or food, whilst still being able to afford to actually travel to uni, so even the lowest of high street prices can send a shudder through my bank account. Recently I've had my eye on a pair of dalmatian print creepers (call me a hipster or whatever you want, they're comfortable and cool!) spotting them in fashion footwear store Linzi Shoes back home in Essex. I tried them on and instantly fell in love with the chunky sole and cute print, plus dalmatians are amongst my favourite dog breeds, so I couldn't resist. But they're £35.... £35! That's a whole week's expenditure for me, including two trips to uni and back as well as lunch while I'm there. I had to decide - what do I need more: shoes or an education. It was a close call but I opted for brains over beauty.

£35, Linzi Shoes

So when I got home I thought I'd try source a cheaper pair online and was very successful.

The thing with lower-end fashion shops is that they often buy their stock from suppliers who sell to various retailers, just changing the label to make it look like theirs. Linzi are a prime example of this and you'll often be able to find the same shoes they sell in a variety of high street shops at a lot of different prices. One of my favourite places to find even cheaper versions of the exact same style is eBay, where price competitiveness is high but shop rental is minimal. Online stores will often be cheaper because they don't need a physical shop, and nine times out of ten this works in the customers favour.

In my case it definitely did, as I managed to find the same pair of dalmatian print creepers for a tenner less at £24.99, with free delivery to my front door. YEAH BOI. Needless to say I was extremely happy and had my news shoes within two days. How's that for service?

£24.99, eBay

I debuted the new creepers tonight for a trip to the pub and they were super comfortable and easy to wear. Plus the chunky sole made my legs look a lot slimmer - mission accomplished.

Sorry about the poor quality phone pic - I was pub bound and very hungry. But note Hermes cleaning himself on the bookshelf behind me. Cute!