As you have seen in my earlier posts, my husband and I came to the U.S. in 2003 with our four young children as tourists filled with excitement and optimism.

On our third week of stay, I found out that there was a way to apply for a change of status from a tourist visa to a non-immigrant working visa. We did not know it would be the start of an altogether different journey for our family.

My first job was with a law office on Pacific Palisades about 20 miles west of Los Angeles, California. I would hitch a ride with a friend at 6:00 a.m. He would drop me off on Broadway street in downtown LA. I would then take a one-hour bus ride along Sunset Blvd. that ends on the Pacific Coast highway where the law office was located.

We had a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean from across the street. It was a wonderful time in my life - having a very interesting job in a perfect and high-end office, one that I could only see in the movies.

Always a delight to look at the ocean on my daily commute.

An Eye-Opener

As expected, my whole family's wardrobe was limited to only a few weeks of stay. My clothes that passed for office wear consisted of only five blouses, three pairs of pants and some hand-me-downs from my beloved cousin.

One day after work, while I was waiting for a bus to take me to downtown LA, a well-meaning officemate struck a conversation with me. She said we didn't need to wear fancy or expensive clothes, just something neat would do. I felt so self-conscious as I then only realized I was wearing a pair of old black pants that had obvious stitching in front of the right thigh. A 3-inch part of it had ripped and was sewn with dark blue thread. I didn't even notice.

My officemate said she shopped for office clothes at Ross or T.J. Maxx. She also said sometimes she could find nice clothes at Goodwill.

I did my research and saw that Goodwill was a thrift store founded in 1902 in Boston by a Methodist minister. He collected used household goods and clothing in wealthier areas of the city, then trained and provided employment to those who were poor to mend and repair the used goods which were then resold. Since then, my family and I would shop at Goodwill for our clothes. We would always find good quality clothes that fit our budget.

Accidental Shopping at Robinson's May

Many months later, I was on my way home when the bus I was taking broke down in West Covina, a city next to Azusa where we lived. There was a huge shopping center in the area where our bus stopped. I decided to go inside a Robinson's May store to look for a restroom before waiting for the connecting bus home.

It turned out that the ladies' room was near the women's clothing section, so I looked around for a new pair of pants.

A nice sales lady approached me and helped me look for pants that fit me. I found two pairs and got ready to pay for them. To my surprise, she offered me a store credit card, and helped me with the quick application. It was my first ever credit card in the U.S. It was the first card that allowed me and my family to graduate from thrift store shopping. 🙂

Don't get me wrong, though. Even today, my family and I still go to Goodwill to bargain hunt.

Robinson's May became Macy's in late 2006. I can say that after all these years, I am still thankful to that Macy's saleslady for being attentive to a shopper like me and for giving me that offer.

I have bought so many things from Macy's through the years. It has been my family's go-to shop for birthdays, graduations, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and all other occasions and non-occasions.

The Iconic Macy's in New York City, NY

How I Shop at Macy's Nowadays

Since I discovered that I can shop at Macy's and split my purchases in four interest-free payments, I have bought my "project purchases" little by little and checked them off my list. I will tell you more about these project purchases in a different blog post.

I have bought quite a few jewelry items, branded shoes, handbags, clothings and other high-quality purchases from Macy's and paid for them in four to six equal monthly installments without interest.

Well, it's been 20 years since I had my Macy's card and will continue to shop at Macy's till I drop. 🙂

What about you? Which store in the U.S. did you get your first store credit card? What were your experiences with the store and do you still shop with them?

Hope to talk soon!