Sure you can send your children to Ivy League preschool, buy them every toy their heart desires, deck out their closets with brand name clothes, and sign them up for every activity possible, but that’s unnecessary.
It’s entirely possible to raise children to grow up to be capable adults without spending a quarter million dollars on them.
How do I know this? Because it’s how I was raised and it’s how I choose to raise my own children.
To start with the very basics of inexpensively raising children, here are four ways to save on kid’s clothes.
Buy Off Season
Buying off season for babies and toddlers can be difficult but once your child reaches age four or five it seems to be pretty easy to estimate their clothing sizes for the following year.
Buy off season. Buy summer clothes for your child when stores start putting out winter items. Buy winter items for your child for the following year once the clearance sales start.
Buy Used
If you don’t like the hassle of buying off season then buy used. I buy the vast majority of my own clothes used and because of this I’m able to get way nicer items for way less money.
Check out local thrift stores, online consignment shops (ThredUP is my favorite,) and Facebook yardsales.
Trade
Find people you can trade kid’s clothes with.
I have one family member who will often give me hand me down clothes that fit my girls and then I give her the clothes that my girls have grown out of for her youngest daughter. It’s a cycle that has worked well for us.
You can also check out community swaps if you don’t have any friends or family members to trade with.
Plan Well
The most important aspect is planning well.
Just like anything, you’ll spend way too much money on kid’s clothes if you don’t plan it. Decide what your kids will need for the year/season and then find those items. Without a specific list it’s sooo easy to go overboard. (I’ve accidentally done it before.)
Even when my kids manage to amass a larger than needed clothing collections they still wear the same few outfits over and over. If you can pinpoint what your kids like it will be easy to compile a budget friendly wardrobe that they actually want to wear. (And that costs you very little!)