Back-to-school-season is an expensive time of year for parents, but there are ways to save a lot of money!

1. Hand-Me-Downs. Hand-me-downs can be your number one weapon in the fight against expensive school clothes! Although hand-me-downs often get a bad reputation, children’s used school clothing is easy to find in great shape, since children grow out of it so quickly. Get hand-me-downs from relatives, friends, neighbors, or anyone who may be done with clothing that is appropriate for your child.
2. Go Secondhand. In addition to finding hand-me-downs, look in thrift stores, at flea markets, on eBay, and in secondhand or re-sale boutiques. There are some very high quality items of clothing out there for a fraction of the cost of new clothes. In addition, take advantage of the fact that very young children don’t tend to care as much about where there clothes came from.
3. Compromise With Your Child. When your child is very young, he or she may not care about the origin or brand of their clothing. If you child has reached the point of wanting brand name clothing, propose a compromise. You can offer to buy one or two items of new, brand-name clothing in exchange for picking up the rest of the clothes secondhand. Or let your child know that you will pay for part of a brand-name item if he or she earns the money for the other part. Just don’t forget that, as the parent, you have the final word.
4. Think About Wearability. No matter how much your child begs or how perfect the price, don’t buy something that doesn’t fit or will never get worn. Make sure the clothes you buy for your child are comfortable, appropriate for school or play, and something that will actually get worn. See the following two tips for more on this.
5. Get Organized! Before you buy new back to school outfits for your children, make sure you know what they already have. Sort and inventory clothing by size and occasion. Make sure that you are aware of what kinds of clothes you have and need. Are you looking for school clothes, dressy outfits, or play clothes? What have your children worn out, what have they outgrown, and what did they never wear? Also, bringing their good-quality clothes that are no longer being used to a re-sale shop may get you cash or store credit, going a long way toward those new outfits they need. eBay or craigslist are some other great places to sell those clothes for cash.
6. Avoid Impulse Buying! Being organized can help considerably towards avoiding impulse buys. If it’s adorable but your child has proven that she hates to wear dresses, don’t buy it. If those jeans are a great price, but your child already has 10 pairs of jeans, pass them up!
7. Make Old Clothes Cute Again. Whether it is an outfit that still fits your child but is out of date or hand-me-downs that your children are not excited about, children’s clothing can easily be given a different look. Use ribbons, iron-on patches, new buttons, lace, fabric paint, beads, or embroidery to give a whole new look to a tired or stained outfit.
8. Check Dress Codes. Make sure that what you are buying for your children can be worn to school. Have the dress codes changed? Do the schools require uniforms? Make sure you know what you’re looking for.
9. Don’t Forget the Sales! Target, Old Navy, Sears, Mervyn’s, and many other chain stores have great sales on back-to-school clothing. It’s usually a much better deal to go to these stores than to look at smaller stores in the mall. Watch for their advertisements and coupons, and check DealLocker for additional coupons, discounts, and promotions!

This entry was posted on Friday, August 24th, 2007 at 12:08 pm and is filed under Money saving ideas, Shopping Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.