What is your kids' clothing budget...

[Anonymous]

I can't find items at the thrift store for $1 each or at Tot Swap. I'm the poster buying Kohls and Target clearance. I can often get things for $1.50-$3 an item so I've been doing that since it's cheaper than the thrift stores and ds is still going thru clothes quickly at 13 months. HHI is 220k

[Anonymous]

I know all the thrift stores well and I call complete BS on finding Janie and Jack for a dollar.

[Anonymous]

HHI is $230,000. I don't budget, but I try to buy smart. Mostly Children's Place and Lands End for uniforms. For a 7 year old boy. I buy high quality outerwear, shoes, boots, hats, gloves, etc. And maybe one or two pieces from Boden every season, but certainly not most of his wardrobe. I spend about $500 a year on his clothes. I got $200 worth of clothes at Children's Place a few weeks ago for $35. So it's not hard to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know all the thrift stores well and I call complete BS on finding Janie and Jack for a dollar.

Unique has 99 cent days where certain colored tags are .99. A local church thrift store has items that are 1.99 and then has half price on certain colored tags each week. A prior thrift store (yesterday's rose) had 75% off the first Monday of each month. Definitely doable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know all the thrift stores well and I call complete BS on finding Janie and Jack for a dollar.

Unique has 99 cent days where certain colored tags are .99. A local church thrift store has items that are 1.99 and then has half price on certain colored tags each week. A prior thrift store (yesterday's rose) had 75% off the first Monday of each month. Definitely doable.

Unique also has most holidays (Labor Day, Columbus Day) as 50% off all items.

[Anonymous]

CList has items for $1 or less all the time:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/bab/4791310460.html

[Anonymous]

Yes, but I work. Who has time to hunt like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CList has items for $1 or less all the time:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/bab/4791310460.html

Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, but I work. Who has time to hunt like this?

As i mentioned, I work, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't find items at the thrift store for $1 each or at Tot Swap. I'm the poster buying Kohls and Target clearance. I can often get things for $1.50-$3 an item so I've been doing that since it's cheaper than the thrift stores and ds is still going thru clothes quickly at 13 months. HHI is 220k

I do this too but after 5t the deals are not so good. You can but just not as cheap or easy. I buy a few years in advanced.

[Anonymous]

THRIFT STORES ALL THE WAY!!!
Hate buying anything for DC that costs more than $10

[Anonymous]

I'm from a mid-sized city in the Midwest. When I go home to visit, I can buy much cheaper kids' clother at the local thrift stores and Once Upon a Child. I just went today to a thrift store where kids' clothes were all $1-2/piece BEFORE the 50% off sale.

Compare that to Unique trying to charget $5 for a used onedie or pajamas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you shop at tea, boden, etc. HHI 275k, different genders so no hand me downs. Thanks!

We have a HHI of $400k+, but buy nearly 100% of all items used from thrift stores. The max I'd pay for an item would be maybe $4-$5 for a coat. Everything else would be $1 and nothing more. My son looks as cute as can be in his $.80 Gymboree skeleton pjs that were brand new at the thrift store with their 75% off Halloween items as he would if he were wearing Xmas pjs. I figure one day they will HAVE to have this or that shoe/brand, but for now (age 6.5 for boy and 9 for girl) it works for us. So no budget per se but rather we don't buy any piece of non outerwear clothing that is more than $1 an item. I don't buy what I don't need - so cute or not I won't be getting shirts if we have shirts.

Oh - and we also try to resell our clothing for dirt cheap when we outgrow it (so maybe $.50/item) or $20 for an entire wardrobe and put it towards the next things we need. I just spend $5 on a brand new (tag on) ski suit for my 9 year old and I didn't even want to spend that on it for something used just on occasion. I figured if I didn't buy it now, however, if I waited until I needed it, I'd be spending $50+.

I remember this poster, she buys used undies. Trash.

I haven't posted before so you couldn't "remember" me. I don't buy used underwear, actually. Underwear and shoes are always new. I often buy socks new too, only because I can't find them used on most occasions. Think what you want, but I figure my kids will be much happier one day when I present them with college - and grad school, if they like - fully paid for. I'm not dissing you for your choices, so why dis me for mine? I will have no issue paying hundreds for a prom dress, but that will be a rare thing because we do want to prioritize things like retirement and college, over other things like clothing for our kids. Mine look no different from yours. Son is in Gymboree cords today with a Janie and Jack long sleeved shirt. He has a Gymboree coat on as well. My daughter has on her North Face coat over her Nordstrom dress. Trash? I think not.

I don't care wear you buy your children's clothing or how much you spend, but it's incredibly disingenuous (and obtuse) to pretend that with a HHI of $400K+ it's the children's clothing that makes a difference when it comes to college savings.

[Anonymous]

HHI $150K, 4yo DD. Disclaimer: I grew up wearing hand me downs and hated it. My parents could have afforded to shop, but were very thrifty and practical and didn't put a lot of thought or time into wardrobe since clothes were supposed to be practical & functional, not a personal expression. (I can see either side, I just felt the way I felt as did they.) As soon as I had independent money as a kid, I spent it on clothes because I hated not feeling like I looked nice.

For dressing DD, I don't go crazy with shopping, but buy things that suit her. We don't buy more than she will reasonably wear in regular circulation, but I do make sure that she has choices, and now that she's slowing down in growth a bit some things can be re-used another year. It doesn't bother me if she plays in "nice" clothes - I haven't yet met a stain that I can't get out, and she's not particularly rough & tumble so any rips or catches are rare and happen in the least expensive part of her outfit, her leggings.

I tend to wait for online sales since they seem to happen weekly on many of the places we shop - gap, mini boden, garnet hill kids, and some HA. We've gotten some really cute things from Zulily too where "designer" items sell for less than half of what they cost on their brand sites. I spend probably $2000/year on clothing & shoes for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you shop at tea, boden, etc. HHI 275k, different genders so no hand me downs. Thanks!

We have a HHI of $400k+, but buy nearly 100% of all items used from thrift stores. The max I'd pay for an item would be maybe $4-$5 for a coat. Everything else would be $1 and nothing more. My son looks as cute as can be in his $.80 Gymboree skeleton pjs that were brand new at the thrift store with their 75% off Halloween items as he would if he were wearing Xmas pjs. I figure one day they will HAVE to have this or that shoe/brand, but for now (age 6.5 for boy and 9 for girl) it works for us. So no budget per se but rather we don't buy any piece of non outerwear clothing that is more than $1 an item. I don't buy what I don't need - so cute or not I won't be getting shirts if we have shirts.

Oh - and we also try to resell our clothing for dirt cheap when we outgrow it (so maybe $.50/item) or $20 for an entire wardrobe and put it towards the next things we need. I just spend $5 on a brand new (tag on) ski suit for my 9 year old and I didn't even want to spend that on it for something used just on occasion. I figured if I didn't buy it now, however, if I waited until I needed it, I'd be spending $50+.

I remember this poster, she buys used undies. Trash.

I haven't posted before so you couldn't "remember" me. I don't buy used underwear, actually. Underwear and shoes are always new. I often buy socks new too, only because I can't find them used on most occasions. Think what you want, but I figure my kids will be much happier one day when I present them with college - and grad school, if they like - fully paid for. I'm not dissing you for your choices, so why dis me for mine? I will have no issue paying hundreds for a prom dress, but that will be a rare thing because we do want to prioritize things like retirement and college, over other things like clothing for our kids. Mine look no different from yours. Son is in Gymboree cords today with a Janie and Jack long sleeved shirt. He has a Gymboree coat on as well. My daughter has on her North Face coat over her Nordstrom dress. Trash? I think not.

I don't care wear you buy your children's clothing or how much you spend, but it's incredibly disingenuous (and obtuse) to pretend that with a HHI of $400K+ it's the children's clothing that makes a difference when it comes to college savings.

Amen.
We have an income of around 400k and guess what!!? We will pay for our 3 children's college educations AND we don't resell their $1 thrift store finds now! We buy their clothing at the Gap! Incredible!!