This is a post from Jennifer Lavallee of A Heart for the Home
When it comes to any size family, saving money is something we all should strive to do. There are many areas we can find ways to pinch and save but a big avenue to save money is with kids clothes!
Because children go through many stages and sizes of clothing, there are a few ways to save some money in this area. Being creative and planning ahead is key to saving a lot of money.
Here are 5 ways to save money on kids clothes:
Hand-me-downs. I can’t say enough about hand-me-downs. This really is a big savings. Look around your church or school and find a family that has children close in age to yours and work out a deal to pass clothes to one another. It really benefits both families and it will give a great variety of clothes for your kids. It’s wonderful to give a bag full of clothes away to a family that can use them but it’s also just as wonderful to receive a bag full of clothes too.
Yard sales. This is a great place to find pretty cheap deals and usually you can bargain with them if you’re not excited about their prices. At most yard sales you can find kid’s clothing for 50 cents to a dollar or in some cases you can stuff a bag for a low price too.
Thrift stores. Going thrifting is so fun and believe it or not, they also have sales too. Goodwill will occasionally have seasonal sales where “all summer” or “all winter” will be just $1 for children’s and $2 for adults. The Salvation Army will have “Family Day” where most of their clothing is ½ off. These are great times to find items such as jeans, coats, shoes, and other items you’re needing to complete a child’s wardrobe.
Clearance Sales. Now when it comes to clearance, I usually try and think ahead in seasons for each child. For example, if I find sweatshirts on sale but it’s summer time, I will buy ahead of time for the fall or winter and put those items away. Make sure you have a designated spot to store these items. Finding a good clearance is hard to pass up when in the long run it will save a tremendous amount of money.
Consignment Shops. Selling your children’s clothing will give you some money in return for new-used, name brand clothes, or finding good deals at consignments shops is also a money saver. Many times these stores will discount their clothing during seasonal times and you can “stuff a bag” for a very low cost to your wallet. A benefit of a consignment shop is the clothing is in really good shape and you can find good name brands that otherwise would be to pricey to buy new.
Here’s an added bonus, learning to be creative with storage is also another way to saving money. If you have spaces to store your children’s clothing, you can mark Rubbermaid totes with seasonal items, by months, or even fancy dresses or suits that another one of your children can use at a later time. It’s wonderful to pull out a dress that an older child has worn years ago and know the younger sibling has a chance at using it as well. Here is a great way to organize some of your children’s clothes for these occasions. CLICK HERE.
There are many ways to pinch and save on kids clothes. The key is being creative, thinking ahead, and having fun while saving money!
What things do you do to save money on your kids clothes?
So true! We shop at Goodwill and Savers a lot! It helps 🙂
Yes! Thank you 🙂 After three kids I realized what an excess of clothing we had… time to slim down and buy used this time around. Have a beautiful day <3
Blessings,
Amber
http://joydare.com
I really try to use coupons to buy my kids’ clothes, plus I have a grandmother who loves to buy for them, so if she makes a request, I ask for clothes (we have enough toys). I also love to check out Kid-to-Kid, a consignment shop here. We got all their ballet clothing there at a large discount!
I buy most of my daughter’s clothing at a large semi annual consignment sale. I love it for the savings. I also found her a bunch of summer dresses at a garage sale for $.50 each. Great tips!
We try to only use hand-me-downs OR to purchase used clothing. I also take advantage of buying ahead, off season, for the best deals.
In early fall, I go through our tote and see what we still need. Then when AB’s birthday comes in October and for Christmas, I have a list ready for friends and family who ask. I always to try ask for shoes in the next size as well as more fun clothes like for dress up or dance class.
I like to MAKE money off our clothing by reselling items at our local consignment stores and sales. With this money, we purchase new shoes (usually Stride Rite) because feet are SO important!
Yes, reselling is awesome too! Craigs list, garage sales, e-bay, or even FB communities have local groups that sell in your area. I’ve had great luck with those too!
I’ve done consignment sales, CraigsList and joined a great local FB yard sale group. I have developed relationships with a few moms that have kids younger and older than mine so that I can sell and buy clothes from them as my kids grow. It’s been a life saver!
Great tips – I’m a huge fan of swapping clothes with friends and accepting any, and all, the hand-me-downs I can get:) Found you at the HDYDI link party:)
These are some awesome tips! I have bought ahead for seasons before and my husband has laughed at me. 🙂 Then when I only have to purchase a couple of items he is thankful. 🙂 I “pinned” this on Pinterest to give my readers some tips as well.
Found you at the HDYDI link party 🙂
Yes, yes, yes and yes. And yes. You’ve pretty much covered how we get clothes!
Thanks for linking up at HDYDI.
Will definetely be telling my friends about this! Thanks for the tips