The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Chonce. You can read more articles by Chonce over at her personal blog, My Debt Epiphany. Enjoy!
I’m pretty numb to other people’s responses about how much more expensive my life must be because I have a child. Some expenses that society labels on parents can be a little over exaggerated – like the price of clothing.
I spend next to nothing to clothe my 6-year-old son year-round. This doesn’t mean he walks around with holes in his clothes and pants that are a size too small either. I probably spend less than $150 per year clothing my son and he still wears nice and sometimes new clothing. Here are a few of my favorite ways to score children’s clothing for cheap or sometimes even for free.
Shop at Thrift Stores
Thrift stores are the best places to search for discounted kids clothing. Not all thrift store clothing is good quality, but not all of it is poor quality either. Kids grow super fast, and it’s common for parents donate lots of childrens’ clothing when they don’t know any younger children to pass the items down to.
As a parent of a younger child, I know that kids don’t take very well care of their clothes so it’s nice to find some good deals on quality used clothing at thrift stores.
Some of my favorite stores for the best finds are Goodwill and Once Upon a Child. Once Upon a Child is a nationwide chain that actually pays customers to sell them their children’s old clothing, toys, and baby accessories. This store tends to sell name brand gently-used clothing for an extremely discounted rate and they have high standards in terms of the quality of the clothing. This store is best to shop at when you have younger children, but you can seriously get more bang for your buck on designer brands without paying the high price.
Visit Garage Sales
Visiting garage sales is one of my favorite money-saving activities during the summer. Since I never go on big shopping sprees when my son needs clothes, I love picking up little things here and there at local garage sales during the summer. One time I found several shirts and pairs of pants in good condition for as low as a quarter each.
To find garage sales near you with kids clothing, search online to see if anyone is advertising their event on sites like Craigslist, or be on the lookout for signs in your neighborhood. Most online ads will include some of the items they are selling and if you find local garage sales on social networks like Facebook, you can even reach out to the host for pricing and more information. Keep some cash on hand during the weekends (like $10-$20) just in case you happen to see a good deal.
Take Advantage of Retail Store Coupons and Sales
Shopping used isn’t the only way to save. Two of my favorite stores to shop at when I’m looking for new outfits for my son are Target and Kohls. Both of these stores have great sales on children’s clothing along with coupons to generate additional savings.
Most people live remotely near at least one of these popular stores. I have one right by my job and sometimes I stop by on my lunch break to scope out the clothes they have. I’ll look through the clearance rack where most items are way less than $10 to see if I find anything I need. Or I’ll make a mental note of anything I would like to get for my son that is currently listed at full price (but I won’t make the purchase that day). Sometimes, I’ll wait a while and see if certain things go on sale. Almost all the clothing at Target goes on sale after a while so if it’s not an urgent need, I’ll wait. Other times, clothing is so cheap at Target I may just purchase it regardless if it is on sale. It really depends
At Kohl’s, they also have an impressive clearance rack, along with coupons and Kohl’s cash that customers can use. You can sign up to receive coupons in the mail along with email alerts about other sales the store is having.
Shop Online
Shopping online is easier for kids than adults because it’s easier to tell what size your child is. Some online retailers like Crazy 8 offer free shipping after you spend a certain amount and other online consignment shops like like Thredup and Schoola give you a free credit so you can save instantly on your first purchase. Shopping online is convenient and can help prevent you from overspending.
Additional Tips
In addition to the options mentioned above, I do a variety of other things to keep the costs for my son’s clothing to a minimum while still putting him in nice, wearable clothes.
I accept hand-me-downs – If a friend or family member offers me hand-me-downs that their child grew out of, I almost always accept them. Even if the clothes are too big at the time, I store them away until my son can grow into them. Right now I have enough jeans stored away for him for the next two years.
I usually shop for news clothes at the end of the season – I don’t participate in the crazy back to school shopping rush outside of school supplies. For clothing, I let my son wear his summer clothes back to school in August (since it’s still pretty hot), then I purchase additional items when the prices have went down. I also always save a little extra money to grab clothing for the following year/season during the season end clearance sales.
I don’t care about brands– Finally, one of the main reasons why I am able to spend so little on children’s clothing is because I have absolutely no brand loyalty. While some parents care about their child exclusively wearing Carters or Oshkosh, I don’t set an example for my child to be materialistic and care about brands. Instead, I focus on affordability, quality, convenience. A few weeks ago, I found some Lee jeans on sale at Kohl’s for $5. It was a very convenient purchase for me, and I could care less about the brand.
How about you all? Do you set a budget for your child’s clothing? How do you minimize the amount of money you spend on children’s clothing?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy https://www.flickr.com/photos/ironypoisoning/6968717778/
