Clothing budget

[alleycat]

Do you set a yearly budget for clothing for yourself and your DC? Or do you just buy and not worry about it as long as you get a good price? How much do you spend on clothing yearly for yourself and the kids?

[schrocat]

We buy and not worry about it as long as we get a good price. I have no idea how much I spend on clothing yearly for myself and the kids. I don't buy second hand clothes for my kids either because clothes are so cheap in the US.

I can pretty much resell my children's clothes for what I pay for them or pass them down to my husband's relatives who live in a country where imported clothes are expensive.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I actually started buying 2nd hand for the kids maybe 2 years ago. I started off just going for 1 off dress clothes and noticed the store was organized, the clothes looked like new and the prices were great. More and more, I'm going this route for environmental reasons. We are swimming in clothing, much of it treated as disposable. I'd rather continue the life of existing clothes. Last summer, I bought a huge stash of stuff for both kids for $50.
I splurge on great shoes and outerwear. But, for tshirts and knit pants, I'm happy not investing much.
I have no idea what I spend on myself. In the past year, I've started investing in better brands for myself- I'd rather have 1 really well made item than 3 blah ones. So, I'm not spending less but I'm buying less. ;)


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[JBaxter]

I do pretty good with clearance sales with my boys. I don't have a budget set just what they need.

[bisous]

I don't budget either. I've tried before but it is hard. Honestly, I buy everyone the minimum amount of clothes possible so I don't know what I would do if I had a budget and we exceeded it. Sometimes a certain kid just might need three pairs of the same shoes per year because their feet are growing! Not having shoes is not an option! I think a budget is really useful for people who enjoy shopping and buy for fun instead of for necessity.

DD is my first that I've bought a lot of second hand clothes and it has been awesome. Last winter she got an entire wardrobe for about $50! It is particularly nice for her because she is my only girl. She wears things and then we are done. By contrast I have three boys and so I feel like buying quality is usually worth it for them, though by the time DS3 gets things sometimes the styles are not so fashionable looking. There are eight years between oldest and youngest. :)

[specialp]

I have a monthly clothing budget. It keeps me in check because I am not going to bargain shop, hit clearance racks, or buy second hand. I do not have the patience and am always looking for something specific so it is easier for me to do online. I do sell my kids' clothes at 2x/year consignment sales, but I drop and go and do not stay to shop.

[bigsis]

I don't set a budget either. :bag I buy just enough; I really don't overspend on clothing. Before school starts, I get my kids 5 pairs of jeans each and maybe 5-7 shirts/tops and a pair of shoes. For myself, at any given time, I only have 5 pants for work and around 8 tops. I'm a major bargain shopper, but I don't buy anything used.

[essnce629]

I pretty much buy all our shoes and clothing online and decided a few days ago to figure out exactly how much I've spent in the past year. We recently applied for private high school financial aid for DS1 and I had to fill out how much we spend a month on clothes and shoes. I had no clue and just guessed! I figured it out the other day and it came out to $276 a month (so $3312 for the year). That's clothes and shoes for the kids and I, DH buys his own clothing and shoes. I have no idea if this is normal or what, although I did read the other day that on average women spend $250 a month on their own clothes and shoes, but that seems high to me.

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[WatchingThemGrow]

I'd love to figure out how much we spend! No budget for it, but Mint should tell us pretty well except that occasional Costco leggings or other items wouldn't be counted in our tracking.

To save on it, I but a LOT at consignment sales for kids. Usually hitting 2-3 consignment sales in the winter and summer (shopping ahead of the actual season) helps us a TON. Our thrift shop has great stuff for me, so I don't budget $3-5 items. Everyday shoes I buy quality and new. Extra shoes I'm fine buying used - like Sperry, Merrell, or Lands End shoes for DC to wear on dressy days. I'm SO thankful for those who donate or who sell stuff at consignment sales.

[DualvansMommy]

Don't really have a clothing budget per se. I seem to buy 2-3x a year for the boys each season, it also depends what they have currently. I.e. Right now DS2 has a ton of clothes in 3T so he's really set for the upcoming spring, summer and fall with some 4T outfits. Only thing he needs is more swim shorts, as he was wearing 3T last summer. Those won't fit him this summer.

DS1 will need quite few new spring clothes, basically new wardroom for later seasons. That's ok cuz I didn't buy a lot last year. Only shoes it seems. This winter both will need new outerwear as it'll be 2-3 years out of their current sets by then. I figure about 550 last year for both boys, and want to start hitting consignment stores soon.


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[cilantromapuche]

I just have a set of amount of stuff I get for kids (4 pants, 2 dress shirts, etc.) When they have met the quota that is it until they outgrow or wear out. I do tend to buy certain brands for environmental reasons but I think having a set quantity reigns us in because my kids were swimming in clothes and then wearing the same things over and over again.

[legaleagle]

I buy enough to get us through a week without doing laundry. Very much varies by age & kid, how many hand me downs, etc. Plus 2-3 pairs of shoes at a time - 2 sneakers or similar, plus sandals & crocs for summer.

[rlu]

We don't budget and only buy what we need when we need it. For DS we buy everyday shoes 3 or so times a year due to his foot issues. (Boots and water shoes are bought shortly before needed). He prefers athletic shorts and sweats and wears t-shirts so we tend to buy a few at a time and go for months without buying anything. He's buying men's small tshirts now so those should last a couple of years; still in boys for jeans/shorts/sweats but he's on a growth spurt so we'll see if the jeans/sweats last until next year or not.

I did buy DS a Giants sweatshirt for his birthday, but it was under $10 nwt from goodwill. Most of my clothes come from Goodwill although I splurged on several tops from Kohls last winter and buy Sweatheart jeans from Old Navy. Otherwise I buy my unmentionables from Nordstrom and wear those until the elastic gets too loose.

I don't shop for fun so it isn't hard to not buy things I/DS don't really need.

DH lost a lot of weight so he's been rebuilding his wardrobe a bit at a time. I don't track those costs as I want him to keep buying things that better fit so I can give away the too big items that he'll otherwise keep wearing.

eta: I did pay full-price for DS's xmas pj bottom last year without going back to see if it ever went on sale. He doesn't wear pjs and only wore those one day to humor me on xmas itself. that was a splurge. I do try to buy his jeans and sweats when they go on sale, but if he needs them, we just buy them. We're shopping Target not high-end so overall we don't save huge amounts by waiting for sales.