5 Ways To Save On Your Kids Clothing

When I was younger I would spend money like it was no tomorrow! If I knew these 5 Ways To Save On Your Kids Clothing I would save more money in my pocketbook. I remember one situation like it was yesterday! Spending fifty dollars on my son’s windbreaker jacket from the Baby Gap was completely ridiculous when he was about 4 or 5 months old as a teenage mom.

I was not great with money, and I did not realize he would grow out of it so fast, it certainly did not keep him warm going into late Fall/Winter. Through the years I did learn how to be a little more budget conscious of clothing shopping with my oldest son but not as frugal as with my next two son’s. If I knew these 5 Ways To Save On Your Kids Clothing I would save more money in my pocketbook.

I went from spending fifty dollars on one Baby Gap jacket to spending fifty dollars or less on one shopping trip for one or two of my kids with at least 5-10 (or more) articles of clothing, let me share with you how I was able to save hundreds of dollars on their clothes each season.

Everything totally changed when I got married and the struggle was real! I went from one child to two, not living in my parent’s house, my parents were no longer together and other things changed, Rapidly!

I had to learn how to clothe myself and my family with little to no money.  

When my husband and I moved in together it was just the three of us and shortly after I was found out I was pregnant with my middle son.

I remember for a while I could not afford to purchase anything for Katriel. All I could afford was clean and freshly laundered clothing for him every week.

I could not even afford maternity clothes (or larger clothes for my growing belly) for myself. My mother took me to get a few pieces and we thought it would be best to just buy larger clothes instead of maternity so that I could wear them after my pregnancy. Which was a great thing to do because I wore those pants for a least 8 years after!

Yes, 8 years!!

Certainly my Mother’s money worth.

As my belly grew I was able to find a few clothing pieces through a church that helped with food and clothing. I was so grateful for the clothes, especially one of the outfits! It was my absolute fav and it came from the Motherhood Maternity store. I learned to wear my best outfits to my doctors’ appointments, that way I looked really put together. LOL!

And then one day my Mother suggested we go to the local thrift store called GCF (aka Goodwill Community Foundation) and look for baby stuff. That particular day I did find a few pieces of clothing for my baby but I hit the jackpot when they had a crib and changing table in there for sale. It was less than forty dollars!!

Certainly, a steal and that’s when it all began!!

Now let me finally share with you the 5 Ways To Save On Your Kids Clothing I shopped in order to SAVE Money for my family when we had very little to no money to spend.

Thrift Stores 

We have many Goodwill Community Foundations (GCF’s) in the area, Salvation Army’s and a lot of independently owned thrift stores that you can get clothing and other items for deep discounts.

For example, at the Goodwill stores, they have large wooden bins in the back of the stores and one of them is for baby and toddler clothing (accessories) priced for less than $2.00 each. The bins have a mixture of boys/girls, different sizes (newborn to 5T) and items such as blankets, socks, sleepers, bibs, booties, jackets/coats, shirt, dresses, and pants.

Once I was able to find a ton of brand new socks and onesies for my baby.

The only downside is that it may take you time to look through the entire bin and you may have to find a system so that the side you already looked through does not get jumbled with the side you looked through already.

Other than that, I found so many bargains for my boys at the thrift store. 

My oldest needed a suit for the Winter formal, we found the perfect one for $12.00, all we had to do is get it hemmed and cleaned. Purchasing numerous pants, shirts, sweaters, and jackets over the years as well. 

When the seasons changed suddenly and money was tight it was certainly our go to.

Yard Sales

Yard sales are amazing! I did not know there were so many great gems and dirt cheap prices at the neighborhood yard sales.

I had a friend that when I went to her house or see her she would have these cute purses or furniture pieces and she would tell me they were from yard sales.

So one Saturday morning, my husband and I set off to find some bargains on some things that we needed in the house. I do remember that he needed were some clothes for him and a fax machine. We found both and only spent twenty-five dollars that day. What a Win!

When shopping at yard sales I found it helpful to:

• Scope out where you are going to go to that morning to save time.
• Many people who are setting up for their sales have their signs out by the middle to end of the week, preferably at large and busy intersections so pay attention to those signs.
• Years ago when I was pregnant I did not want to waste time so I searched newspaper ads and Craigslist (Mainly this source) for yard sale descriptions. That helped me out a ton when I was looking for certain items or gender. If it was something I needed badly I made sure to get there early!
• Shop in the really nice areas; this is true but I found a ton of sleepers for my daughter Jasmine(when I was pregnant with her) at one house because I saw it in the Craigslist Ad. It was not the best area, so do judge a book by its cover. Although our entire area is really great, so we can not go wrong anywhere we shop.
• Do not be afraid to negotiate prices and bring change to make it go smoothly
• If pregnant do not go alone. Take breaks if it is hot. Bring water and try to use the restroom when one is accessible. I had to ask someone once to use the restroom when pregnant. I was grateful but nervous and embarrassed. LOL! You never know when it strikes when you are pregnant.

And do not forget the new Facebook Marketplace, I have not used this one much but I do see bargains on their for Prom and Wedding dresses. So no matter what age your kids are you can help them and you to save some money.

Consignment Sales

Consignment Sales are one of my favorites places to get my smaller children clothing. These sales are normally semi-annual and the dates are way in advance so you have time to plan for them.

I first experienced one of these sales at the NC State Fairgrounds (called the Kids Exchange) and it was so much stuff and so many people but worth every line we stood in and penny we spent. I believe we spent less than $200 and we had so much stuff for the baby we were prepared way in advance.

With my youngest son, I went to a local church that had a consignment sale several times and I enjoyed their sale. It smaller, less crowded but I always find nice clothing, shoes, books and few toys for Jesiah (my youngest).

I have missed the last few sales but talking about it has me itching to go back to see what I will find. These sales are so helpful! When I did go a couple of times, the overall plan was to purchase brand new items for my younger boys later (from a department store). But I am so glad I picked them up items from the consignment sale anyway because those plans to purchase the new clothing went out the window when something unexpected did arise. I was so glad that I took advantage of the sale because money got a little tight.

Usually by the time I left out of the sales I had a huge black trash bag full of clothes that were hard for me to even carry without the stroller.

Tips for these sales:

• Bring your own bag or mini shopping cart
• Eat breakfast beforehand because if it is a large sale you may be there for a while
• If you are expecting or just had a baby, check to see if you can register early and shop earlier before everyone else
• You can sign up to sell your own items for the sales and get a chance to shop earlier and get first dibs on the items
• Check their websites to see what methods of payments are taken
• Wear comfortable clothing
• Be prepared to stand in line
• Bring water and quick snacks (especially if pregnant and with little ones)

Consignment Stores

I took advantage of this a lot when my oldest was small (he is now 18). Especially selling my gently used baby items to the stores to make money (talk about it in my Work from Home -Job leads post more in detail). Many do offer store credit and both are a great way to repurchase larger or change of season clothing for your child.

Over the years I did not go these stores as much because I did feel like the prices were still high for them to be gently used clothing. It was not until one day I was talking to my little cousin and she mentioned how she has gotten her boys (from Once Upon A Child) $6.00 jeans cheaper than I purchased mine from the Children’s Place $7.50.

I would certainly reconsider giving them a try again. The consignment stores are not just for little ones!

There are stores for the tweens, teenagers and young adults that are always trying to stay fly. Our favorite is Uptown Cheapstake! My tween and teen that are now a teen and young adult find stylish name brand clothing and shoes (that look almost brand new) that is really affordable. Plato’s Closet is another amazing store that will save you money. I am sure you will find something for yourself in those stores as well. I did!

 Clearance Racks and Sales

Believe it or not, the clearance racks prices can or will be cheaper than all the above. Searching the clearance racks should be the first thing you go to when you enter the store. It is so easy to get distracted when you enter the store with all the new merchandised that is displayed up front. Well, do not be! Remember those items will be marked down as well eventually. So make sure to head to the clearance and sales racks and take advantage of those sales.

Make sure to sign up for your favorite discount store emails. One of my stores to purchase the boys clothing over the years is The Children’s Place. They have great sales so I make sure to check their emails regularly so I do not miss out on a good one. For the entire family, we are loving Gabe’s! It is new in our area and the prices are amazing. I found $3.99 Lane Byrant shirts and my son purchased $7.99 Nike shorts. They are worth checking out!

Roses helped me out a lot through the years. Especially shopping for church clothing for the boys. You can not beat $12.00 for dress shoes, $1.00 for dress socks, an entire dress shirt set for $10.00 and belts starting at $4.50. They were my lifesaver for sure!

Do not forget other stores like Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Ross. Great finds in there!

Shopping for clothing whether it is adults or children’s clothing can get expensive. Learning how to stretch a few dollars here or there can go a long way. Helping you get all of the baby supplies that you need. From keeping your growing toddler in cute and affordable clothing. To stay in style and trend with your tweens, teenagers and young adults with their clothing with the forever growing culture.

It is achievable! It just takes a little thinking outside the box with these 5 Ways To Save On Your Kids Clothing you will save those coins for sure! And in the end, you will look like you spent hundreds…better yet Look like a Million bucks!