4 Old Navy Items To Skip Buying This Winter, According to a Shopping Expert - AOL.com

title: "4 Old Navy Items To Skip Buying This Winter, According to a Shopping Expert - AOL.com" description: "Explain the financial context and show how to compute related percentage changes with clear examples." date: "2025-10-12T11:32:38.000Z" readTime: "4 min read" tags: ["finance", "percentage calculator", "how to calculate percentage", "inflation", "percent change", "investment"]Understanding the nuances of retail purchases, especially during seasonal shifts, often comes down to simple math. Whether you're tracking potential savings or assessing value, everyday shopping decisions frequently involve percentage increase or decrease. A savvy consumer knows that a small percentage difference can add up significantly over time, influencing both personal budgets and long-term financial health.

What Happened

A shopping expert highlighted four Old Navy items shoppers should consider skipping this winter. These include trendy distressed jeans, highly seasonal velvet and sequin apparel, general clothing purchased for maternity, and specific kids' character items. The advice stems from their limited wearability, poor return on investment (ROI), or the availability of more suitable alternatives, aiming to help consumers make smarter spending choices.

Why Percentages Matter Here

When a shopping expert advises skipping certain items, they are often implicitly suggesting a poor value proposition. Understanding this involves modeling the situation with percent change – assessing how much value an item loses quickly, or how much more effective alternative purchases might be. Calculating the percent of a number helps consumers quantify potential savings or the true cost of short-lived trends.

Example Calculation

Scenario	Formula	Example	Result
Realistic case	((New - Old) ÷ Old) × 100	100 → 103.4	3.4% increase

This example illustrates a 3.4% price increase on a hypothetical $100 item. While the Old Navy article focuses on avoiding purchases, understanding such percentage changes is crucial for comparing current prices, assessing inflation's impact on your budget, or quantifying the opportunity cost of buying low-value items instead of more durable ones.

Key Takeaways

Prioritize long-term value over fleeting trends.
Calculate potential savings from skipped purchases.
Use a calculator for complex changes; mental math for estimates.

Try It Yourself

Ready to smarten up your spending? Open the calculator

If you want to explore more tools like this, check out our full collection of [online percentage calculators](/calculators) for everything from discounts to tax and profit margin formulas.