Frugal Tip: How to Save 90% on Kids Clothes
How to Save 90% on Kids Clothes
We’ve got a frugal tip today that will cut your budget for kids clothes by 90%. Holy thrifty savings, Batman! We take thrift store shopping a step further and show frugal moms how to get the deep discounts that not many other people are finding.
That’s right, if you normally spend $20 on a pair of jeans for your little one at the department store (you can even expect to pay around $15 for kids’ jeans at Walmart), we’ll cut the price down to $2. Does it sound too good to be true? Keep reading.
Call me frugal, but even second-hand prices seem high to me, especially for pants your child may be able to wear for only a few months (or weeks – thanks to growth spurts) before growing out of them. There had to be a way to get better prices from the thrift store, I thought. That’s when I came up with this tip that changed my kids’ clothing buying for the rest of my life.
Buy Kids Clothes at Thrift Stores Out of Season
The big secret to thrift store shopping is to outsmart their pricing strategy. Even at thrift stores, the pricing is designed to mark prices higher on items that are in demand. A Batman Halloween costume for your little tyke might cost $8 at Goodwill during October, but if you found it there in April? You’d probably pay a dollar for the same costume!
Knowing the price strategy of thrift stores is key to deciding when to shop for which items. At back to school time, the “school clothes” (long sleeve tops, sweaters) will be at their highest prices of the entire year. Jeans and winter coats will be marked up significantly, because the store knows you need them, and your only alternative is to pay an even higher price at a retail store.
You will have a larger selection of clothes to choose from at thrift stores when shopping out of season. Think about it – when do you donate your kids old summer clothes? Most likely in the winter time when decluttering boxes of old summer clothes! People always donate things when they are not likely to be used, and for clothes, this means at the wrong time of year. Since thrift stores know that you are not likely to buy summer shorts in the dead of winter, you can normally pick them up for about 50 cents.
By using this handy tip to shop for a summer wardrobe of shorts, tanks and swimsuits in the middle of winter, you’ll be able to pick up kids clothes for up to 90% off retail prices. Check out our thrift store buying schedule with the optimal times to buy all types of clothes and other items for the best savings.
12 Comments
Kaye
Oh my- what a great idea! I have often shopped at thrift stores and gone home frustrated thinking, “I can get new clothes just as cheap if I watch the sales!” I never realized/thought about thrift stores having sales! I can’t wait to see the next article on this! Just signed up for the feed 🙂 Thanks so much! 🙂
TopazTook
And how do you achieve this when the thrift stores don’t actually put out of season clothes out when they are, well, out of season?
Nessa
We are blessed to have a thrift store here that often has $1 bag sales, all you can stuff into a bag for a buck. That is how I bought the kids school clothes this year. Deals like that really help!
Thanks for sharing your great tips!
Blossoming Skillet
We shop at goodwill and thrift stores all the time, but now I need to practice buying even my clothes of season. Thanks for the reminder!
Brianna @ Heart(h) Management
I agree that I find even second hand prices too high at my thrift store. Unfortunately, I’ve never noticed deals on out of season clothes where I live. I’ve found better luck with consignment sales here. However, every Sunday our thrift store reduces certain tagged items by 50%. I don’t do much on Sundays, but I might be able to snag some good deals that way!
Tiffany
We’ve done this. It can be iffy to guess on sizes that far in advance, but when you’re getting things so cheap there’s a little more room for error. We sort the clothes by size and store them in big totes at my in-laws house. Right now we’re set through size 4T for my son (and he’s only wearing 18-24 months right now).
Home Ever After
@Brianna – Our store has the half off sales too- and I buy the lowest priced items and get them for half off. I got my duaghter’s schooljeans for 50 cents a pair- no kidding – because I bought them in summertime. Our consignment stores are pretty high priced, but I’ve seen some great ones in the states (we’re in Alaska). Thanks for leaving a comment!
Barbi