Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Friday, September 02, 2011

Back To School Shopping ...

... on a budget.

Our youngest son Nathan (the possessor of an extra chromosome) heads back to school on Tuesday.  We put off buying his new shoes and clothes due to time restraints until today.  He's is and is not picky about clothes; insisting on wearing what he calls 'soft pants' (LOL).  Basically anything with a stretchy waist .. no snaps or zippers.  I suppose having as many abdominal surgeries as he's had (about 10) .. entitles him to wear only 'soft pants'.  Now my little four year old grandson insists on only wearing 'soft pants' ... it's rather a crack up how he imitates his big uncle .. and probably a little worrisome to his mother ;)    Uncle and nephew play together several days a week .. they shall be good life long companions.

We set aside $75 a month for clothes for our family of three.  This seems to be a good amount as we are not one to shop for labels.  Nathan's shoes were on sale .. and his pants were $5/ea.  He picked out three new character t-shirts and two packages of socks.  He often gets gift cards for Walmart .. so this helped.  My total for the outing was about $60 .. plus he had a little to spend on a gift card.  Thankfully he has a closet full of other shirts to add variety to his wardrobe.  We'll send him to school with the same backpack as last year.

Nathan ... a few years ago
I don't know how I shopped when all four kids lived at home .. but I do remember setting aside a limit and if they insisted on certain 'brands' that were out of our budget, they had to earn the extra money. 

$75 a month ads up quickly when you shop only a few times a year for clothing and shoes.  Sometimes we even pick up new and almost new items at garage sales and thrift stores.  What's your best money saving tip for clothes shopping?

6 comments:

Rebecca said...

Thirft stores are where I get almost every single stitch of clothing :) Glad you got Nathan outfitted within your budget. (I enjoyed reading that post of yours a couple of days ago - budget, I mean.)

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

I hate clothes shopping. I have several ankle length skirts in solid colors and some in colorful patterns. My favorite place to clothes shop is the Goodwill. You can buy almost brand new items there for cheap. Thrift stores, yard sales and flea markets are all places to find affordable clothing.

I don't blame Nathan for wanting to wear soft pants. They are definitely more comfortable. I hope he has a great year at school.

Have a lovely weekend ~ FlowerLady

Sandy said...

Shaun loves soft pants too. We
have a couple pair of jeans for
him but he always chooses his
sweats in cold weather and those
soft shorts for hot days. I love
shopping at thrift stores and
I find so many things at Goodwill.

The Professor's Wife said...

I like soft pants too!
We shop at the thrift store and garage sales for most of our clothes, but I buy shoes, socks and underwear at places like Costco or Walmart. I get a lot of brand names at the Salvation Army.

Pat said...

Let's just admit it, soft pants are the best for all ages!
I just got home from Sears, not even thinking about school starting in a couple of days. People were buying so many outfits for their kids, I wonder how they afford it. When my girls were young, they bought a couple of new things, and the rest came through the school year as needed. Sears does have great clearance though, if you can catch them.

Wendy said...

I hear the man on the soft pants. Nathan knows what he's talking about! I've found Old Navy has some really amazing deals. I got a pair of skinny jeans for my daughter (they are SOOO not soft pants) and a backpack for the other daughter for a total of $10!