Rescue Your Heels - for $5

I don't know about the rest of you, but I wear heels to work just about every day.  Partially because I'm short-ish, and if I wore flats all of my pants would drag on the groups.  Also, because I feel more "powerful" and "professional" in them - is that ridiculous? 

The amount of walking that I do on property both inside and outside is enough to keep my pedometer well over the 2 mile mark some days and takes a toll on my shoes.  I've learned my own set of do's and don'ts when it comes to buying shoes in the first place, and then several ways to keep those shoes in good shape as well.  You see, I don't have an unlimited budget to spend on shoes and if I tried to, I think my husband would kill me.  If you find yourself replacing your shoes incredibly often, maybe these two tips will help you reduce your shoe budget a little, and allow you spend that hard earned cash somewhere else! 

First - think about the shoe itself when you're buying it.  One of my biggest problems used to be that the heel would become scratched, marked, etc from driving and catching it in the pavement.  And I HATED that my heels looked unprofessional after just a few wears, but when the leather or patent was damaged there was no way to fix that - hello trash can.  After much shoe shopping (thank you KOP), I've found one style of shoe that holds up better than any other - that is the slingback stacked heel.  By only buying stacked heels and not wrapped heels, there is no fabric on the heel itself to get damaged, and the plastic (or whatever material that is) holds up for thousands of wears (and can be touched up with black paint or marker if you're really tough on them).  The slingback allows for less wear on my heel and less chance to damage them while driving! WIN! 

Second - These replacement heels from Target may save your life.  I know some people spend $20 - $40 to have these things replaced by a shoe repairman or at your local dry cleaner.  Don't you feel silly now that you can do it yourself for $5.49 for FOUR pairs of shoes? I meant to take photos last night when K replaced mine, but it was dark, and midnight - so anyway. 

1.  Get your replacement heels, a towel, and your vice grips (or pliers). 
2. Wrap the shoe in the towel and trap it between your legs. 
3. Using the Vice Grips, remove what is left of the old heel and then pull the metal spike from inside the heel itself.  This part requires some patience and some strength, but give it a few minutes! 
4. Put the new metal piece into the heel and use a hammer (or the sidewalk) to hammer it back in there.  TADA - you're done.  In 5 minutes and for less than $1.50 you just gave your shoes new life. 

What are your tips, tricks, and go-to items when you're shoe shopping? I'd love to hear what other ladies use to make decisions!
 
P.S. Target has no idea who I am, but I am obsessed with this product and their end cap in the shoe section is the only place that I've ever found these!