Where do you take your kids school shopping on a budget?

Question

I am talking about clothes, shoes, etc. How much do you budget for thier clothes each school year? My daughter will be going to kindergarten and I am starting to think about school shopping, thanks!

Answer 1

It's EXPENSIVE! They go through shoes and clothes like crazy! Mine is starting kindergarten too and our private school only allows her to wear skirts that cover her knees. They don't make skirts that long for little girls anymore.

JC Penney usually has good deals. Old Navy, Walmart, Payless, Target.

Watch for the sales and stock up when there's a good buy!

Answer 2

Seasonal wardrobes are very expensive, especially for growing kids! Try ebay, where you can buy a whole boxful of clothes in your child's size in one purchase (do a search using keywords such as size "X", girls clothes, lot). Also try garage sales and resale shops. If you have a friend or relative who has a daughter a year or two older than your daughter, ask them if you can have their hand-me-downs.

If you want new clothes, I've always found Wal-mart, The Children's Place, and Kohl's to have great deals on cute things. Buy only clothes that are on sale or clearance. The Children's Place and Kohl's usually have coupons for 15% or more off your entire purchase.

Instead of buying a bunch of coordinated outfits, where one particular shirt will only go with one particular skirt, buy a lot of mix-and-match clothes. Her wardrobe will stretch further if she can pair any top with any pants. I usually get my daughter a few pairs of blue jeans and a bunch of tops. I do buy a few nicer outfits, but 80% of the time my daughter just wears jeans and a top. Kids in the early grades don't care about designer fashions and brand names.

Buy clothes in a size larger than she needs right now. She can wear them longer. Try to find pants that have adjustable waists (The Children's Place and Target have some good ones).

For shoes, I usually get them at Payless during one of their "BOGO" sales. The styles are nice and the price is right. All you really need are a pair of sneakers and a pair of black loafers. I love shoes, so I tend to get a lot of different styles for my daughter, but sneakers and loafers are the basics.

Good luck and have fun shopping!

Answer 3

Wal-Mart, Target, Mervyn's, and discount stores. (Look for sales)

I found out the hard way, if your child has a good clothing then work with that. Just get her what she really needs and replace when it wears out. The clothing and shoes get out grown, damaged because of the activities or just warn out. If they don't mind you might as well enjoy it because it will matter soon enough.

I now give my son (11yrs) $100 for clothes (Which doesn't buy a lot) I will buy 1 pair of shoes, won't spend over $50. I will replace anything that gets worn out through the year if needed. I don't like buying a lot at one time because they grow so fast. ($250.00 is the max for clothes, shoes and supplies) I make my son re use anything that can be used again. He thought "a new year means start over from scratch", I don't think so. I stay under that price and use holidays and birthdays to buy more if needed.

I hope this helps, if I had a daughter I would probably spend way more!

Answer 4

Its' too late for this year, but my almost 90 year old mother started a tradition that I used on my kids and now also use on my grandchildren.... shop at the "nice" stores (Dillard's, Macy's, etc) during their twice a year 75% off sales... FOR THE NEXT YEAR. So, if your daughter wears a size 5 this year, go to the January sale and buy next years winter clothes in a size 6. In August, buy next summers clothes. I get almost everything this way, and the kids are dressed beautifully for less than you would pay at Walmart! I DO fill in with Walmart clothes, and since you can't catch the winter stuff for cheap this year, I would get everything at Walmart. There's not a darn thing wrong with the stuff there- if you can't find it at Walmart, you don't need it!!!!

Answer 5

Target and Ross. I will spend a bit more for 1 or 2 "cool" pairs of shoes and a nice backpack. My son is really into skater clothes. Target does have some cool stuff, and if you catch Ross on a good day, you can get some other name brand items. ...Don't know if this will work for me in a couple years when he gets to the teens, but for Kindergarten, this should help

Answer 6

The children's place has some awesome sales from time to time, and even though their backpacks cost more than a walmart backpack do, they hold up alot better, my kids are on their 2nd year with a Children's Place bookbag, and it looks brand new. The year before we went through 3 walmart bookbags for my son and two for my daughter.
Walmart is really great for school supplies ($0.25 crayons!!!), but wait and see what your daughter's school requires her to furnish (they may take care of it all). Walmart has cute clothes from time to time.
Check your area for a "Once upon a Child" store, they are a chain of second-hand name brand kids clothes, they only accept things in great condition and they sell them to you for $4-$8 per outfit, alot of times still with tags from the original store.

Thankfully while she is in the lower grades she (and her peers) won't know anything about name brands yet, so you don't have to get the most expensive just because the other kids think it is "cool".

Still even with all the sales I hit I plan on spending about $200.00 per kid for school each year. So good luck dear.

Answer 7

Try Value City, Walmart, and maybe look out for Yard Sales. Look in all the sales bills each week for sales. Look on the Clearance racks first. Also try Big Lots for costumes for Halloween. There really cheap there. Best of Luck! Just try to save up alittle. You don't have to get tons of clothes at once either. Shes young so she'll grow out of things quickly so save alittle money if you can so you can go shopping later.

Answer 8

The local thrift store usually has some really sturdy jeans & cute tops. You can get kids shoes at Target for $10 or so, if you just go with a basic style.

Answer 9

Hit up the clearance racks for clothing and just buy the size you think she'll need the next year.
I dont really budget for it each year, I just buy stuff here and there and get a collection going .

Answer 10

If you have one nearby, I would definitely go to Kohl's. Their clearance and sale clothes are so cheap, I recently bought a shirt for $2. That's even cheaper than Walmart clothes!