Back to School Wardrobe Budget

[RitaE]

I admit that I tend to dress much nicer than my children.

But then again, I have a job. When they get jobs, they'll be able to choose whether or not to spend the money on clothes too. And also - when I buy a $70 shirt for myself, chances are pretty good I'll wear it for years and it won't be found 3 months after purchase wadded up into a tiny ball and shoved into the corner of the closet.

My children have plenty of clothes. They even have plenty of name brand clothes. I just don't see the point of paying $30 for something that will be on sale for $18 in 6 weeks.

 

[QVCshopper]

My children have plenty of clothes. They even have plenty of name brand clothes. I just don't see the point of paying $30 for something that will be on sale for $18 in 6 weeks.

See, and I wouldn't buy that shirt until it reached less than $5 (but my kids are young yet). They wear mostly Gymboree and Lands End because those two brands seem to hold up well for us. And, I do need to pick up some winter stuff, but I'll do that as it gets colder.

Really, this whole thread is about what you want to do/how much you have to spend/where you live. Everyone is different. Where I live, we have cold winters and hot summers, so we need various types of all weather clothes. But, I like buying used and shopping on super sales; I don't spend much on myself or my kids clothes (except shoes/winter coats). In fact, I just got the majority of my materity "wardrobe" for about $30 from a tag sale, Goodwill, and Target clearance. To me, clothes like that are hardly worn and not worth investing in.

As for my part-time job (which money we use primarily to save for retirement and college), I work from home in my pjs... no expensive clothes needed there. But, I will fully admit that clothes are not important to me. So, like I said, to each their own.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Gees people nothing like micromanaging everything I say. Guess I should know better.

If I came across as not wanting to spend alot of money on my kids wardrobe, that not what I meant at all. I work for the fun things we do including vacations, clothes and whatever else. DH's salary is for essentials plus savings and college funds. I like spending money on my kids clothes and they enjoy (even 13 yo DS) going clothes and shoe shopping with mom.

I work hard at my job. I'm an RN and have been for 23 years. I make descent money. We can survive on 1 income easily but as the kids got a little older I decided to go back to work so we can buy nicer stuff, drive nicer cars, go out to eat more often and go on nicer vacations and more often.

I will be the first to admit, I'm materalistic. I would never deny it. I love my name brand expensive things and want my kids to have the same. I love my "statement" car and the neighborhood we live in. If in your eyes , its spoiling so be it. Thats what I choose to do.
My kids are respectful, get good grades and do volunteer work quite often.

As far as the area we live in DH and I grew up in a diverse area which has gone done hill fast. When we married we couldn't run fast enough. We both didn't want our kids to endure the type of environment we grew up in.

 

[lisaross]

that is a hard question. i love shopping and always try to buy on sale. i usually buy a year ahead.

Example today i bought my 11 year old - 6 pair of shorts and about 6 t-shirts. I buy a size bigger than he is currently wearing...now he is set for next summer and can wear it at he start of school. i always buy the end of the season on sale.

Got everything on sale at GAP and Lord n Taylor total cost was $60.00! i have some longsleeve t-shirts that i bought end of winter that he has to start school then after x-mas everthing is on sale so i just keep on adding....

I would suggest just buying a little at a time - obviously enough to get them thru 1-2 weeks and add gradually! i never have a budget for cloths funny for everything else i do - but i buy on big sales and stock up!

Okay, so this is my first time having to go back to school shopping for kids. Heck, it's the first time I've really had to shop for the kids (new stepmom duties). I'm looking for about how much we should spend. One girl, 9, and a boy, 5. They both need essentially everything jeans, shoes, shirts, zipper hoodies, light jacket, pjs, skirts and leggings, well, for the girl only obviouslySo how much should we be spending? Any input is greatly appreciated.
TIA

 

[punkin]

I admit that I tend to dress much nicer than my children.

But then again, I have a job. When they get jobs, they'll be able to choose whether or not to spend the money on clothes too. And also - when I buy a $70 shirt for myself, chances are pretty good I'll wear it for years and it won't be found 3 months after purchase wadded up into a tiny ball and shoved into the corner of the closet.

My children have plenty of clothes. They even have plenty of name brand clothes. I just don't see the point of paying $30 for something that will be on sale for $18 in 6 weeks.

I don't. I tend to live in jeans and t-shirts. My DD18 goes out frequently and needs nicer clothes (she pays for most of them herself at this point) and my DD12 is in middle school where the "right clothes" are everything.

My mother used to say that if you can't indulge your children when they are little, when are they ever going to be indulged? Heaven knows life doesn't indulge anyone for long. It beats us all up pretty badly eventually.

None the less, I buy pretty much everything on massive sale. A good shopper can always find deals.

 

[rentayenta]

It depends where you shop honestly. We really like Abercrombie for BTS clothes shopping. Their jeans are 50% right now and some hoodies are 40% off. Lots of SS shirts on sale too. They are giving out a coupon for next week for an additional x amount off. Each coupon differs.

 

[delmar411]

Costs can be across the board depending on the kids' styles and the area you live in.

I got some excellent deals and managed to get away with just a few hundred dollars to outfit 4 kids in uniforms for the year. They each get 5 pants, 5 shorts, new shoes, cardigans/sweaters/sweatshirts, 6-7 s/s polos & 6-7 l/s polos.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I've been buying stuff all summer. We buy everything on sale and use coupons for justice, $10 coupoons and khols cash and coupons at jcpenny.My DD is 12 1/2 and thankgod she's not into name brands. She says she doesnt care what people think if she likes it , she will wear it. She even found some cute tanks at wal-mart , thats why she made the comment i typed before this one-lol! One thing we do spend money on are shoes. She's into Vans right now. She found one pair at famous footwear for $30-$35 but her black vans will end up being full price :/


My sis called and wants to take my dd shopping and buy her a few outfits for school. I told her she doesnt need anything but she insisted. Her two boys are in college so she said she's excited togo girl shopping-lol!


Next year I hope to have 200-300 saved for dd's clothes, bras, shoes.

 

[NotUrsula]

...
If in your eyes , its spoiling so be it. Thats what I choose to do.
My kids are respectful, get good grades and do volunteer work quite often.
...

JFTR, I don't have issues with "spoiling" -- I spoil my kids in a lot of ways.

This issue of "dressing to fit in", I feel, is much less about spoiling than it is about preparing your kids to know how to budget and to have the tools to know when it is time to make hard choices. Being respectful, or academically successful, or even charitably-inclined doesn't necessarily give you those skills. Furthermore, I also consider it to be a good and relatively painless exercise in learning to push back on peer pressure, which is something that I feel that all kids really must learn.

My kids don't dress like ragamuffins. They are quite nicely dressed, and they have enough clothing that I don't have to spend my entire life doing laundry.

I grew up very firmly working class, but I have family who happened to marry into very old money, and I learned from that experience. My mother's family are tailors from way back, and I know good quality clothing when I see it. I use those skills to be sure that I don't overpay for what I am getting. (Labels are not always synonymous with quality when it comes to garment construction.)

 

[ameraumi]

OP ~ I have to ask, do the kiddos live full time with you or are you buying the clothes to be at mom's house? I hate saying it, but it makes a difference to me. I also have future step children and while we make sure they do not go without, we also feel like the CS my SO pays should also buy these things. We make sure they have clothing for our house so we should not have to go out and buy double the clothes.

That said, we did not buy a new school wardrobe for anyone. Everyone got $75 and were encouraged to look at sales and clearance to make it stretch (clothing only, shoes not included). STBSS12 was able to buy 3 shirts and 2 shorts. STBSD13 only got capris and 2 shirts. DD10 walked away with leggings, 2 skirts, and 4 tops. DS17 only bought 3 shirts. Can you tell which one was pickier? LOL!

We will wait and buy fall/winter items as they need it. DD is growing like a weed so I know she will need new jeans and shoes soon, but I will wait and hit sales as much as I can. Since she is not picky about brands, I get her the "mart" jeans and she is happy.

 

[kkmcan]

My kids got practically nothing for the upcoming school year. They have at least 3 nice backpacks each from past school years so they'll just use those. Same for lunchboxes. I have picked up a couple pairs of jeans for them but will buy a few more pairs when Old Navy has their jeans sale in a month or two.

They do get new socks and shoes and their needed school supplies. That's it.

They both have plenty of nice short sleeved shirts and shorts to last them until November which is when we break out with the jeans. We don't even wear long sleeved shirts until Dec or sometimes even January. So I'll start picking up long sleeved shirts in the fall or earlier if I see a huge sale somewhere. They are both good on underwear right now.

They get new fleece sweatshirts (no need for big coats here in Az) and new pjs for Christmas every year.