Froggy Frugal Tip: Spread out your family’s clothing, shoes and household expenses.
It’s funny how you sometimes don’t realize that you have a great tip because it happens to be every day life for you…well, this is one of those times. This time we’re looking at ways to budget in and spread out shopping for these expenses to help you save money and even time! Keeping in mind of course that every once in a while there will be a sudden need (for instance if your sons decide to use your measuring cups in the sandbox then throw them in the creek when they are done with them – no, I’m so not speaking from experience *sigh*).
For those of you who want to move to the meat and potatoes of this tip and avoid all the fluffy stories and ramblings of Me, here they are:
- If you don’t already have it factored in, set an amount for clothing into your budget on a regular basis.
- Keep a running list of the items needed around the house. Particularly kids clothes and shoes and kitchen tools (these seem to be the main things that need to be purchased most frequently).
- Check regularly for these items. Either plan a trip to your favorite store (online or in your town) or peek at that list before you make a trip to a store like Costco or Fred Meyer and spend a few moments going through the clearance sections of that store. I like the latter option only because it isn’t out of the way and doesn’t require any extra trips or time out of my schedule.
- Stick to the basics – what do your children really need? Make a list of the basics that they need to have on hand and stick to that list. It may seem simplistic, but for those of us who cannot afford (or for heavens’ sake, even have the room) for each of our children to have 5 pairs of shoes and 6 pairs of designer jeans, this is definitely the most frugal and sensible way to go.
A couple years ago I began purchasing clothing and shoes year round. Now, for some families this is not a problem and they do this type of thing simply to keep their 2.2 children in the latest fashions, that is NOT what I’m talking about. No, I’m talking about the fact that even though money is tight, we cannot completely rely on birthday and Christmas gifts to get them through the year (or a month for that matter), especially the children that are growing fast, or who happen to have a need.
For example: a need when the child that has one pair of tennis shoes and decided to wear them outside to play one day and “happened” to stumble down to the creek…thus making said pair of shoes completely worthless as something that can be worn to go anywhere (well, they could wear them out, but everyone they pass would pass out from the stench).
Another example: our oldest son has been grown 8 1/2 inches in the last 2 years (5 inches from August ‘07-Sept ‘08 alone and he does most of his growing in Feb./March & July/August ). Yup, AAAAAAH! Trying to keep up with that human weed has been nearly impossible. Add to that the fact that he is now a teenager and starting to have some definite ideas about what he’s comfortable in and what he likes to wear (style-wise). So, if I were to try and purchase him an entire wardrobe, I’d be spending hundreds of dollars every 3 months…on only ONE of my SIX sons!
Every family is so different…in size and financial status…so it is impossible to give one set solution that will work for all of you. I’m not saying that there aren’t a couple times per year that I do a little more focused clothes purchasing, but for the most part it will be completely spread out.
We do have a fair amount of hand-me-downs to go around, but depending on how many boys they have gone through (some of the clothes start as far up as my 18 year old brother and just work their way through the group) and how rough one particular boy may be on their clothes, there will always be someone that needs something.
Back to school is a great opportunity to get some basics and we have a pretty set list of things that we purchase for the boys at that time … but ONLY if they need it! Otherwise, I’ll spread out the purchasing based on how often my hubby gets paid.
I shop at Fred Meyer almost once per week. They always have some clearance on hand (actually, I think there is ONE week per year that they do not), sometimes their clearance is as much as 60% off. I know that there are other stores that run great deals, like Kohls, but personally I have ONLY found good deals on clothing for my husband and oldest son. I do not pay more than $20 to $25 on a pair of Sketchers (not that I buy name brands often, but it’s a good example of the savings when these shoes usually cost about $50)…but typically I don’t spend more than $10 to $15 on a pair of shoes period! Know your store, they will almost always have the clearance clothing and shoes in the same areas of each department, so don’t even bother going to the other parts, just the clearance. You can go through these sections every time you are at the store and pick up only the things your family needs and would love.
This is just one recommendation though. Many people live very close to some great secondhand stores. I do not, but my sister can almost always find brand new or like new clothes for her children at these stores!