Back to school time usually translates to money flying out the window. If you have multiple kids, back-to-school time can land you in the poor house. Unless you love rice and beans for dinner for the entire month of September, finding ways to save a couple of bucks on the whole process goes a long way.
School clothes are a huge part of the back-to-school budget, but if you get a little crafty, they don’t have to break the bank. Here’s a couple of tips:
- Host a clothing swap. This is probably my favorite, because you know exactly the house the clothes came from. Plus, most kids strive to look exactly like their friends, so they are usually pretty willing to participate.
- Hit the consignment stores. This is THE place for designer clothes and deep, deep discounts.
- Extend the wearing season of clothes they already have by buying a sweater to go over a tank top or leggings to go under a dress.
- BEFORE you ever go shopping, do a closet overhaul. Clear out what doesn’t fit or is too worn out for your liking. That way, you know what you HAVE to work with. Just because it’s a new year, doesn’t mean they need new jeans {if the ones they have still fit}.
- Sell that pile of ill-fitting clothes you just cleared out of the closet to a local consignment shop. Take the in-store credit price to turn around and do some school shopping.
- Consider waiting until October or November to do school shopping. I started doing this later in the kids lives, when they were wearing their summer stuff clear through September anyway. Come October, all of those over-priced back-to-school clothes start hitting the clearance rack.
- Look on Ebay. If your tween or teen just HAS to have a certain name brand, look on Ebay first. That place is the Mecca for just about anything. Try the item on in the store and then buy it on Ebay when the price is agreeable.
- Make sure to look on each stores website for coupons before you go. Stores like Target and Old Navyusually runs back-to-school coupons starting in August.
- Buy only what they need. Kids can only wear one pair of pants at a time. Stock them with only what is needed to get them through until the next laundry day.
- Make sure to check out the clearance sections in both the stores and ONLINE. Online clearance is actually usually waaaay better than what you find in the stores. There is a better selection of sizes and styles, plus they usually offer free shipping with a minimum purchase.
How do YOU save money on back-to-school clothes?
~Mavis
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Tamara says
All good tips. I especially adhered to Tip #6 as MANY years my son would have grown two inches from the beginning of school (August) to October and would not fit in the jeans that were bought in August but NOT worn because of the temperature!
Julie says
My son switched schools last year and now wears a uniform. I love it. School shopping now is two or three pairs of pants and three polo-type shirts. Add one gym uniform and one load of laundry before week’s end and that’s it. As winter approaches he’ll need a pullover sweater if his old one no longer fits, but last year he never wanted to wear it.
Lisa Millar says
There is another difference I forgot about. (Not having kids its not something I think about so much)
In Australia the majority (by a long shot) of schools, public and private have school uniforms. Pretty straight forward and no agonising over fashions! 🙂
My Mum is a dress maker, so we always got nicely tailored uniforms! 🙂
I do remember getting some hand me downs from older students at times. Plus two younger sisters to hand stuff down to must have made it easier on my parents pockets.
Leslie says
I buy all my kids clothes at thrift stores! I swear no one knows. I will buy up to 3 years ahead of my oldest boys size. Most things cost 2-3$, I get everything but shoes. With 3 boys there is no waste if you keep the clothes organized by size.
Julia says
I also wait till cooler weather to buy school pants. I made the mistake several years ago of buying them before school started, clipping off the tags and washing so we’d be all ready. Then we had a warm fall and my son outgrew them before he got to wear them. Are!!! I know some folks like school uniforms which is wonderful. My son’s school has a very relaxed “dress code.” This means that he has one wardrobe which he can wear everywhere. There is no changing from school clothes to play clothes. Our church is also laidback in what folks wear so anything in the closet works. So at the end of the week he has one load of clothes to wash to be ready for the next week. We also buy most everything second hand and are grateful for any hand-me-downs we get. I keep several boxes in his closet to store clothes he is waiting to grow into. I do usually buy him one or two new cool T-shirts so he feels like he fits in. This year he chose a t-shirt with a quote from the movie Sandlot. You’re killing me Smalls!!!
Mavis says
I love that movie and that quote! Your son has great taste!
Leslie says
I use my Old Navy VISA points to buy school clothes. I use the card to buy groceries and pay it off every month, so I never pay any interest. Then I combine the points with Old Navy coupons. I spent $2.02 on about $500 worth of clothing for my three kids for fall clothes. I’ve been doing this for years!