Saving: On Clothes

Go shopping for clothes and save money – and time!

 

Can that happen? We think so! And I’m sharing ways we’ve been able to save (a lot!) when buying clothes, especially for the kids.

 

 

I now (almost exclusively) shop at seasonal consignment sales. Our favorites are:

• Here We Grow Again!
• Trunk Treasures

I’ve also shopped at WeeCycled Wear once and was very pleased with my finds.

 

These sales are well-organized. (I’ve even gotten my dear hubby to go with me!) And we’ve found great (name-brand!) clothes for the whole family. The links above are for sales in my area, now gearing up for spring and summer clothes sales in the next month or so. If you don’t live in the Upstate, do a quick “Google” search for local consignment sales in your area.

 

If the dates for the seasonal sales don’t coordinate with our (travel) schedule, I shop at local consignment shops. My favorites are:

• Kids & More
• The Nearly New Shop

 

Again, the links are for sales in my area, but do a quick online search for similar shops in your area. Or ask other moms at church, etc. That’s how I found out about Kids & More!

 

I shop online to “fill in gaps” for items still needed but not found at consignment sales or shops. My favorite online consignment site is:

• ThredUp

 

Right now (through January 18 extended through January 21!) use coupon code SAVE10 at check-out to get $10 off your first order at ThredUp!

 

Whenever possible I shop through either Ebates or ShopAtHome to get a percentage of cash back. Every little bit really does add up! I’m currently expecting over $30 in cash back from ShopAtHome and about $7 from Ebates. (You can read about Ebates in an earlier post: Get $5 plus a $10 gift card when you place your first order!)

 

 

I click through either Ebates or ShopAtHome (whichever is offering a higher percentage of cash back) when I shop online end-of-the-season clearance sales, especially at The Children’s Place and Gymboree.* These are typically quality clothes that wear (and resell!) well. I’ve found clearance sales to be a great way to shop ahead for birthdays, too. Just this past summer I found Olympic t-shirts for the nephews for an average of $2 to $3 each! And I’m excited that online-clearance-sale-shopping-for-birthdays is something I’ll still be able to do when living out of the country!

 

*Clearance at Gymboree is especially good when you can pair sales with GymBucks, and The Children’s Place has recently developed a rewards points program.

 

You might want to check out the clearance sales going on right now at The Children’s Place and Gymboree!

 

I shop at outlet malls for items typically not found at second-hand sales (i.e. underclothes and socks).

 

I include needed clothing items on Christmas and/or birthday wish lists. Admittedly, said lists are right now authored mostly by me, and I can take advantage of the fact that our kids are still too young to object to getting undershirts from grandparents for Christmas!

 

And some practical tips I’ve picked up along the way...

 

Before going online or to a sale, make lists of needed items. Then look for items that will coordinate with other items on your lists or with items you already have. I learned this lesson late (as I was “buying ahead” for our move overseas), so I’ve been especially thankful for current online sales that included some child items needed right now!

 

Unless you’re saving clothes for younger little ones, resell clothes (as your kids outgrow them) through local consignment sales (where you’ll get a higher percentage by doing the tagging yourself) or take them to a local consignment shop (where you’ll get a lower percentage by simply dropping them off). Save and then use the profits to offset future clothing purchases.

 

Avoid going to the mall to “just look!” This probably goes without saying. And I admit that it’s easy for me to say because I just don’t like going to the mall unless I’m going for a specific purpose (like taking a specific list and going to spend GymBucks I’ve already earned). But avoiding the mall is probably the top way to avoid becoming discontent.

 

What are your ideas? How do you save when shopping for clothes?