The average family spends over $1,000 on back-to-school YIKES!
The CLOTHING Debacle – Anyone with a daughter knows this all too well!!
#1 Really spend some time this summer cleaning out the closets and dressers, purging what doesn’t fit or what they don’t wear. Separate these items in boxes or totes by season and SELL them.
- Hold a yard sale and have your child run it with you
- Take the not sold items from the yard sale to Plato’s Closet or another consignment shop
- *Note summer items they typically want by May and in August take any fall or winter items including boots, shoes, costs, sweaters. These are the times of year when they will pay more for these items.
- Save the $s you get from this and give it to your child to pick whatever they please for school clothes. BOOM! They learned the value of a dollar, feel empowered to decide for themselves, and you saved some $$.
#2 Keep an eye on groups like the Buy Nothing App or Gifting Items Only FB Groups, Clothe Me C-Opps to donate the items that didn’t sell at the consignment shop and trade in for the next size. For example, in the spring I gave away all my son’s summer clothes that he outgrew to one person and then another person gave me summer clothing her son outgrew and I didn’t spend $1 on summer clothes this year.
- Don’t have a group like this near you? Then start one! Get a group in your community or church to hold a CLOTHING SWAP. Be the change!
#3 CHORES: Give your children a weekly allowance for tasks done around the house. This provides them with a sense of accomplishment, teaches responsibility and serves as a pseudo savings plan for you to slowly build up that fund, that they can use for clothing they want.
#4 OFF SEASON: Pay attention to off season sales. For example, I buy winter coats, leggings, and boots in the Spring because they are far cheaper.
#5 Don’t forget those sporting goods needed for our active children! Dicks Sporting Goods will give certain sports (like football) DISCOUNT DAYS on certain days AND they PRICE MATCH, so shop online before you go so when you go into the store you can ask for that price match. This is where things can get VERY expensive.