If you didn’t get a chance to read it, last week, I wrote about saving on school supplies.
First let me say, that it is NOT necessary to buy your child a ton of clothes for back to school. A new outfit for the first day might be nice, but if their clothes still fit, you shouldn’t go out and buy a ton of new ones. I only buy myself a new dress for open house and occasionally hit the clearance racks for essentials during the year, but then again, I am not a growing child.
As a teacher let me also say this, the most important thing that my students can have is a nice pair of comfortable tennis shoes. Recess and gym are so much easier when this is the case!
- Yard Sales. I just finished with my yard sale, and although I didn’t have any kids clothes, you can find great items at these. There are about 4-5 more weeks of great yard sales this summer, and I think you will be surprised at the deals you can find.
- Once Upon A Child and other consignment stores. These are a little more expensive than yard sales, but I have seen clothing with the tags still on very often in these types of stores. You can find clothes for all seasons here too.
- Thrift Stores and Goodwill. These are great cheap options. INSIDER TIP: Ask the cashier which day of the week they put out new merchandise. This can help you decide which day to shop, because the best items will be there on that day.
- Clearance racks. Kids can be hard to shop for on clearance racks, because you never know what size they will be the next year. But sometimes, you can catch the clearance items to finish up the season. Kmart, Walmart, Kohl’s and Old Navy all have great clearance racks for kids most of the time.
- Coupon Sales. Gymboree and Kohl’s both have great coupon sales, as well as many other stores. Watch out for these special offers, and you can save a ton. Check out EBATES and Shop AT Home for coupon codes and cash back on back to school shopping.
- Hand Me Downs. Do you have friends or family with kids older than your own? This makes a perfect opportunity for Hand Me Downs. Many times kids grow out of their clothes so fast that this is ideal. The clothes are still good, and someone you know can use them.
What is your best tip for shopping for back to school clothes?
Do you have a Thrifty idea? Did you save a ton of money this week? Do you have a Thrifty deal you want to share?
If so, please leave a comment or link up below!
If possible, please leave a link back to Coupon Teacher so that we can all share ideas.
This is linked to Life as Mom and Madame Deals.
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Great tips Shelly! I never pay full price for my kids clothes. Most of the time I get their clothes second hand or from Old Navy Clearance. I have gotten some awesome deals from Old Navy when they have their huge end of season sale!
Great post, Shelly!
We use a “sinking fund” for our clothes. Meaning we save a little every payday so by the time the kids need new clothes, there is money available. We have fabulous consignment stores near us and have been able to buy lots of clothes for cheap. We never pay full price for shoes or other items that need to be bought “new.”
I totally agree with what you are saying. So often parents spend more time worrying about school clothes and supplies and if they only spent that much time worrying about the homework and studying I am sure your job would be much easier!!!
Yard sales are a great place for kids clothes. My 3 year old has gotten cute Gymboree clothes. It’s harder to find clothes for my 6 year old, though.
I buy most of the kids clothes at end of the season clearances. I just buy the next size up. I’ll also purchase a t-shirt larger than my son needs, so I get 2 years out of it
Great Great ideas! I love shopping consignment sales, like a treasure hunt to me! And I also love my Kohl’s!
My other favorite place for kids clothing is the Target Clearance Rack and the Outlet Mall at end of season. I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten t-shirts for my DS for less than $1 at Children’s Place.
Thanks, Shelley, for stopping by today. Sorry to hear you had such a rough school year last year. Hopefully, this year will be 100% better.
And thank you for your list… lots of useful info! Much appreciated!
r.
One aspect of homeschooling that I love…we don’t have to buy school clothes every year. We just get them when they are needed – mostly at holidays and birthdays. New clothes are nice, especially when you get them for SO little cost – but one wear, and they are now used. I have found great deals at yard sales or Goodwill stores – some still with the tags on them! I don’t think new school clothes are a “must” – I think it’s just ingrained that new school year = new clothes. Just my opinion.
Toni,
I agree. I hope the tone of my article was exactly what you just said. I know that many families who don’t have the money go out and spend WAY too much on new clothes for school.
I admire homeschoolers too!
I stretch with the whole secret currency of American Express points. Since I use the cards for a lot of home & office use, I rack up the points, then redeem for gift cards for the kids clothes for some stores above. All kidding aside, there have been months on end in this economy that it has been the only “income” I’ve had from my biz so it has HELPED!
My Old Navy tip: You can shop by size on their site, and specifiy on sale, clearance, or sort by price. This saves the time of trolling through the racks.
we must be on the same brain wave this week as I have been posting back to school tips as well. Two great bloggers can’t be wrong will be back to see what else you have to offer
Great ideas! I’m glad I finally found another Thrifty Thursday to link too!!
http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/2010/07/thrifty-thursday_29.html
These are really nice tips. One of the tricks I learned to save even more on back-to-school items is sticking to the shopping list I made and with it. Keeps you from being tempted to grab things you don’t actually need… Coupons help too.