7 Real Ways to Save Money on Clothing For Kids

From Everything Finance

7 Real Ways to Save Money on Clothing For Kids is a post originally published on: Everything Finance – Everything Finance – Its all about Money!

Summer is right around the corner, and at the start of each season, I spend quite a bit of time reorganizing my kids’ wardrobes and moving out-of-season clothes into storage. For a family with growing children, clothing expenses can be a costly expense. I’m always on the lookout for ways to save money on clothing for kids while also still having enough items and variety to mix and match throughout the season.

If you’re tired of spending a ton of money on summer, winter, or back-to-school clothes for kids only to see them outgrow those items in just a few months, below are some tips to help you save.

1. Start By Checking Inventory

Before you run out and buy new clothes, it’s always good to take an inventory of what you do have first. Go through storage from last season and see if your child can fit any of their clothes from the previous year. After the try-on session, keep what they can still fit to ensure you don’t get out clothes that they could still get wear out of.

For example, I often like to see if my son has any t-shirts that he wore during the winter that can also be used during the spring or summer. I also check storage and clothes that we might have forgotten about that are already hanging up in the closet. This is also a great time to pass clothing down from an older child to a smaller one and build their wardrobe that way.

2. Set a Goal

Whenever you’re getting ready to organize outfits for your kids for the season, it’s important to set a goal. This could be a goal amount of how much you wish to spend or how many outfits you’ll need.

I usually try to aim for 14 outfits for the season. Having at least two weeks of clothes helps me mix and match outfits better so that the kids aren’t wearing the same thing each day.

Let’s face it, children all have their favorite shirt or outfit that they’d likely wear every single day if we let them. So I avoid this by making sure we have lots of options. Whatever your goal is, it gives you something to aim for so you can really stretch your dollars. Now, let’s talk about some ways to really get more bang for your buck.

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Thrift stores can be a really great place to find affordable clothing for the whole family. If you’re looking to save money on clothing for kids, stop by the thrift store to shop as the season’s change and more people donate clothing.

Goodwill is a nice option to start with but don’t limit yourself to just one store. There are plenty of good local thrift stores to check out and you may even find better deals elsewhere.

RELATED: 5 Best Ways to Save Money on Back to School Clothes

4. Garage Sales

As the weather warms up, keep an eye out for garage sales and yard sales in your area. This is another excellent place to find everything from clothing and shoes for kids to toys and household items.

I often find that kids’ clothing at garage sales is sold for dirt cheap. You may be able to obtain several outfits for $5 or a pair of shoes for $1. Some churches also have huge garage sales where you can rack up a ton of clothes for cheap.

Check local garage sale sites to track down the best ones in your area. Some people may even list some items that can be found at their sale to entice buyers to stop by. Spending a few minutes doing some online research beforehand can save you time and help you get more bang for your buck.

RELATED: How to Find the Best Deals When Shopping Yard Sales

5. Stacking Coupons For In-Store and Online Shopping

Who doesn’t love coupons? To save money on clothing for kids, you’ll need to shop smart and use coupons and whatever savings tools are available to you.

You may not always want to shop secondhand and that’s perfectly fine. At the same time, you also may not want to spend tons of money on expensive department store clothes.

Using coupons helps you find a happy medium. Personally, I love using Old Navy and Target coupons for my kids because the deals are very good. Old Navy is constantly giving out coupons, rewards, and offering discounted prices.

You can also see if you can stack your coupons at certain stores to save more money. For example, if you’re shopping online and you have a coupon code, you can also use a site like Rakuten to help you apply even more discounts. Plus, with Rakuten, you’ll earn cash back on your purchase saving you even more.

Another easy way to ‘stack’ your savings is to use a store coupon and shop from the clearance section. I’ll never forget when I found my son a $5 pair of Levi jeans at Kohls. If you’re like me and love to save, you’ll know that this is an exciting moment. Just keep your eyes open and research which stores offer the best deals for your needs.

RELATED: Spend Less with Coupons When Shopping

6. Be Open to Accepting Freebies

I’ll never ask anyone to give me something for free. However, I’ve received a lot of free clothes over the years. One time, an old coworker of mine posted on Facebook that she had a ton of clothes to give away. The clothing was in my son’s size so I reached out to her and got a lot of nice items from good brands.

Other times, relatives have given me hand-me-downs or I saw that someone at church had something to giveaway that I could use. It’s not often that you might get free clothes for your kids, but it helps to keep an eye out and be open to receive items and things that you’ll actually use.

7. Trade Gift Cards

Do you have any gift cards for restaurants or other stores? Consider selling them or trading them for gift cards to clothing stores. Gift Card Granny is my favorite site for reselling gift cards you’re not using but I’m sure there are plenty of others to choose from.

How it works is you enter the type of gift card and total amount that you want to sell through the platform. Then you may be able to trade it for a different card or receive a cash value that’s a little less than the gift card value.

For example, let’s say you have a $50 Olive Garden Gift card that you sell to receive $40 cash. It still puts cash in your hand or allows you the opportunity to trade and obtain a gift card to somewhere else – potentially helping you save money on clothes shopping for your kids.

Summary: Save Money on Clothing For Kids With These Tips

As you can see, saving money on clothing for kids is not hard. It just requires a little strategy and creativity. If you are overwhelmed with closing costs as your little ones continue to grow, keep these tips and mind and start planning ahead for the next season.

Start with what you have, don’t be afraid to shop used, and be on the lookout for sales and deals from stores with quality clothes.

7 Real Ways to Save Money on Clothing For Kids is a post originally published on: Everything Finance – Everything Finance – Its all about Money!

This post was published on Everything Finance