Recipes and Tips for Healthier Living and Smarter Budgeting

Friday, February 25, 2011

Budget Saver Tip #20: Shopping Clearance

I'm always surprised by how many parents do all their children's school clothes shopping at once, just before school starts. Maybe that's because I never experienced that as a child, I don't know. But, while less exciting, the way my mom has always done it and I do it now makes so much more sense for someone living on a budget. Budgeting in, say, a possible $20 every month for your children's clothing, is a lot easier to manage than hundreds of dollars in August. (Of course, this amount will vary depending on your resources and the number of children you have.)

I have recently been reminded of this concept again as I have noticed so much clothing going on clearance after the holidays and toward the end of the winter season. In a two week time period I found two excellent sales: First, a friend of mine told me about an online sale going on at a children's store I really like that had many items for $2.99, and then at my local Wal-Mart I noticed rack after rack of children's clothing on clearance for $2-$5. (Of course, the 75 cent Christmas shirts I picked up a couple weeks before that for my youngest daughter for next winter were the best deal, but you don't often find steals quite that good.)

If you can budget a little each month for the possibility that you may find good deals--and then look through clearance racks any time you are at a store with children's clothing (which includes shoes, boots, coats, etc)--and plan for the future, you can stash away some great deals that will save you money (and stress) down the road. And, of course, this habit has to be a continual one because children never stop growing...

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