Kid's clothes
Okay, this is a little off subject for me, but today, I want to talk about kid’s cloths. When they are babies, is it really worth the money to buy that cute little pink “bunny print” shirt for $20.00, or that little “blue sailor” outfit for $35.00 dollars?
As we all know, babies grow at an incredibly fast rate, in fact, it’ll seem like they are hardly in that cute little outfit that you may have bought at Baby Gap, Carters, or Babies R Us. So to save money, we borrowed hand me downs from neighbors and friends. At least with my son we did. With my daughter, my wife buys here cute outfits more often.
Buying baby and kids clothes at neighborhood garage sales and using hand me downs from friends is the way to go. Trust me, for the first few years they go through the clothes so quickly, that you won’t even notice it… Besides if you look, you can find some really great deals at garage sales. Don’t be shy, ask for a lower price if it’s not marked low enough.
So when should you break the pattern of buying used clothes for kids? Well, IMHO, I think the best time to start to buy new clothes would be around the 1st grade. After all, this is the time the kids start to develop their own style. You don’t have to buy all new clothes, we mixed it, maybe 50/50.
Now some of you guys might be thinking… not me. Well, it wasn’t me doing the buying either it was my wife. At first I thought, don’t do that… until she explained to me how much she was saving us by going this. At a garage sale, you can buy baby clothes for .25 to .50 cents per piece of clothing! That a huge discount considering buying it new could cost $10 to $20 dollars per piece, please consider going this route.
My wife saved us thousands of dollars by buying baby (and kids) clothes!!!
I agree that new baby clothes are very expensive. Most parents that I talk to go all out on their first baby, and by the time kid number 2 rolls around….practicality sets in. Besides, an infant it too young to be concerned about what they’re wearing.
.-= Lakita (PFJourney)´s last blog ..Manners & Money: Gift Registries =-.
@Lakita (PFJourney)
We got lucky!
We had some close friends hand us down some great stuff that appealed to our taste, but not so much theirs. So a lot of our initial clothing for my son still had store tags still on them!
Especially since my children were boys and they didn’t care that much about their clothes, I almost always bought used. In fact, when I bought new, I was disgusted at how fast the clothing ripped at the seams or the colors faded. I could get nearly new, high quality clothing from Savers or Goodwill. When I was growing up, I had second hand clothes all my life. I’d encourage you to continue looking for used clothing for your children even once they get in school.
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@Michelle
Crazy the prices they want for kids clothing! I didn’t realize it until my wife pointed it out.
@Mrs. Accountability
Hmmm, that’s a great point! My son doesn’t really care what he wears. We might be able to go that route a few more years with him, especially with pants!
Now my daughter…., she’s 6 and already has her opinions about what to wear and what not to!
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I’ve often suggested to my fiance that we simply wrap our future kids in cloth for the first 5 years of their life….
she’s not too keen on the idea 😉
Even though you say this is “off topic”, it’s still very relevant to PF. And it can apply to anything: cars, electronics, or anything else that comes out with new models yearly.
What’s the saying, “a car loses $5k once you drive it off the lot”?
You could say, “Kids outgrow their clothing as soon as you hit the register”.
.-= FinEngr´s last blog ..The Best Defense is a Calculated Defense =-.
@FinEngr
LOL, the wrap is a great idea, I like it!
Good take on the kids clothes too… Although, I know people that will buy kids clothes, wear them for a while, and then return them to the store! A very unethical practice! Hmmm, that gives me an idea for a post!
I think a car losses a 1/4 of it’s value the minute it leaves the lot! doh! And to think my last 2 cars I bought new… Live and learn in my case 🙂
I’m glad you posted on this. I tend toward being frugal and I cringe at the idea of being unusually frugal with kids–people get more critical when kids are in the picture!
I wore used clothes all the time as a kid, and my parents gave my clothes to other parents, exchanged etc. They even dressed me in boy’s clothes in the early years to make it easier to hand down to my brothers. Hah!
I think used kids clothes are a great plan.
.-= Simple in France´s last blog ..Spring, sprouts, newborns and new creations. . . =-.
@Simple in France
Hi, and welcome to my site.
Thinking back now, as a boy, my clothes didn’t really bother me to much until I was in junior high.
But it is possible to find some great bargains out there!
There are so many used shops, some good and some bad.
Some places you just don’t want to shop in, I think that is the problem with the used stores.
But I love 2nd hand stuff! Why pay more, you get tired of them anyway!
I wanted to trade my kids used clothes, especially since I had twins and the stuff they outgrew was overwhelming my closets! I had a really hard time finding any place that made this easy. E-bay took up too much of my time. The local stores required packing up two kids and hauling them along. I looked for a website and found some where I could buy used stuff, but not trade in my things. So I started Zearly . com. We send a pre-paid shipping package. You send in your stuff and get points to buy other stuff. I made it exactly what I had been looking for. I hope other parents find it to be helpful.