How much did you spend on your tweens back to school clothes?

[McGreezy]

Oh yes! I definitely will stock up during end of season in bigger sizes for my 8 year old daughter (my 14 year old son is 6'4" and I don't even try anymore to anticipate what size he will be in next week let alone months from now!)! The start of spring this year I got her 2 $20 (originally) sweatshirts at Target and 2 pairs of jeans for this coming Christmas (we do 4 gifts each --- Something You Want, Something You Need, Something to Wear, Something to Read -- Saw that on Pintrest and they LOVE it! I highly recommend this for those with littler kids. We also do 1-2 gifts each from "Santa" as well.) and spent a total of $15! Like, seriously!? I LOVE a bargain!

 

[eolian]

For back to school shopping I buy new sneakers (her old ones are usually outgrown and/or in dismal shape) and a 1st day of school outfit, that's it. This year DD, 12, liked a $50 pair of sneakers, sometimes it is closer to $75. The outfit will be $50 tops. We will fill in any gaps in her wardrobe for the colder weather as we see stuff on sale/things she likes.

 

[DawnM]

Well, mine is a teen, but he is the only one who has gone to school yet.

5 pairs of chino shorts, $100 total
shirts, about $80
Shoes, $50
Underwear, $15
Backpack, $70

So, not counting school supplies, a bit over $300.

 

[kiramay]

I have 3 kids. DD just turned 13, DS is about to turn 12, and youngest DS is 8. Usually I take them back to school shopping and let them pick out new sneakers and whatever clothes they want (within reason). I don't like to buy too much as we live in MA and by early Nov its usually too cold for some of what they have picked out. This year I'm thinking of giving the older two a set dollar amount to spend for their shoes & clothes but am struggling on what a good amount would be. DS11 likes Nike & Under Armour but is also starting to like the "Vineyard Vines" preppy look. DD13 likes Kohls, Target, American Eagle and occasionally Abercrombie or Hollister if things are on sale. Thinking $150 each but not sure if that is enough.

How much did you spend for back to school on your tweens?

My kids are 10, 10, and 5. One of the twins needed new sneakers and basketball shoes. $95 for 2 pairs Nikes at Kohl's. He also needed new pants because he won't stop growing. $14 each x3 at Costco. He's the biggest, so his stuff gets handed down to the other boys. All 3 boys got to pick one new tshirt at Kohl's (free with Kohl's cash from buying the shoes). The youngest got a new fall coat $20 Costco.

I'd rather buy what they need throughout the year and for Christmas and birthdays rather than a bunch at the beginning of the school year.

 

[havaneselover]

I live in VA so my kids wear shorts in September. DD turns 12 next month so I can get away with giving her clothes and shoes for her birthday (she's getting a pair of Tom's and Gap gift cards). DS is 10. I got him two pair of Nike pants ($33 for both on sale) because his ones from last year are too short. But he won't wear them until December is my guess. He needs new sneakers eventually (men's size 8.5!) but I'll wait until he asks.

 

[texasroni75]

We tend to do year-round shopping when we see things on sale. Plus, living in Central TX, the weather stays "summer" hot until nearly Thanksgiving. Back-to-school shopping for us is usually a handful of tops and new athletic sneakers and socks.

DS(11) still fits in all his summer wardrobe. We will have to buy a new school gym shirt ($15 and mandatory at his middle school). He doesn't want a new backpack.

DD(14) gets lots of hand-me-downs from her older sister who works and buys her own clothes. We did have to buy a few more items than we normally do because of the stricter dress code for high school this year - she is 5'5" now but all legs so all her skirts and shorts wouldn't pass code.

So, new sneakers were $50 each at the local Outlet mall. Socks and a handful of clothing items added another $85. And a new bigger backpack for DD to fit binders was $15.

Once the weather turns colder I know we are in for a big hit - both kids grew like crazy since last Spring and I am positive that none of their jeans will be long enough.

 

[puffkin]

Just a new pair of sneakers! DS9 wears athletic shorts, hoodies and tshirts almost year round so I only buy them when he starts outgrowing, but they last awhile. I did not grow up in a back to school shopping household either (aside from sneakers). My parents bought us stuff throughout the year as we out grew things or needed them.

 

[Juliet25]

I spent about $175 on my 12yo DD. $70 of that was shoes. She pretty much sticks to jeans and t-shirt, so I just bought her a few things from Target and Old Navy, plus some new socks and underwear from Kohl's. She's easy to shop for as she's cool with wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I spent more money than usual on shoes since she wears them every day. We had tax free weekend a few weeks ago, but otherwise I just buy throughout the year as the need arises. I also pre-buy for all my kids when I find good stuff at Goodwill in anticipation of growth spurts.

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

I think I spent too much and I tried not to, I really did. The sales and deals although great really add up. My kids are 8 and 10 and neither one requests anything in particular, which is great, but then not really because I do all that damage on my own!

 

[kathy884]

$0 for us usually. Sometimes, though, we have bought some new tennis shoes at that time.

Our weather in St. Louis is warm and till mid October, kids here wear the same clothing that they wear in the summer. And with school starting so early, we are talking almost two more months of wearing nice shorts. Just me, of course, but I prefer to wait and get the clothing closer to the time that it's needed. Kids grow. Also, it's kind of nice sometimes too to have your kids see what other kids are wearing before making their selections. I'm the opposite of CalDisneyMomof2. I don't stock up when things are on sale, but buy when needed. Maybe it's just that I've never had good luck predicting future sizes and style preferences. There's no wrong or right way. Just mentioning what I do.

A specific dollar amount is really tough too. Often if sizes haven't changed, not all that much is needed. And things like a new coat, snow pants, boots, etc. can be budget busters that I think my tween needs, but wouldn't be what they spend their money on if I just give them some $s.

 

[mom2t]

Oh yes! I definitely will stock up during end of season in bigger sizes for my 8 year old daughter (my 14 year old son is 6'4" and I don't even try anymore to anticipate what size he will be in next week let alone months from now!)! The start of spring this year I got her 2 $20 (originally) sweatshirts at Target and 2 pairs of jeans for this coming Christmas (we do 4 gifts each --- Something You Want, Something You Need, Something to Wear, Something to Read -- Saw that on Pintrest and they LOVE it! I highly recommend this for those with littler kids. We also do 1-2 gifts each from "Santa" as well.) and spent a total of $15! Like, seriously!? I LOVE a bargain!

My 13 year old who has always gone up one size each school year went from 12 this time last year to 18s. I did have some things stock piled. We bought 2 pairs of Nike shoes using Coke Rewards gift cards and I paid a total of $16, Gap jeans 5 pair $90, pack of Nike socks used coupon $9. The rest I could pull from what I had bought up and was stored in my spare closet when I saw things on clearance. He usually just wears last springs clothing until it gets cooler in Oct. but not this year.

 

[Immadismom]

I have spent about $280 for DD12. She is going to 7th grade this year. However, I have only spent about $120 out of pocket, which included a haircut & supplies.

I got a pair of Converse & a pair of sandals on Amazon using gift cards earned from Bing, Recipt Hog and Swagbucks. I was able to get new underwear at Aerie using gift cards from Swagbucks and Shop Kick. And I was able to get two shirts, and two 3-packs of socks at Aeropostle using gift cards earned from Ibotta and a coupon. The rest I was able to pick up on sale at JCPenney and Kohl's, using coupons. She got 7 shirts, 4 cami's & 2 pair of leggings.

DD is using her same backpack from last year. And, the weather here is still warm. So she will need some jeans in mid to late October, so I am currently saving up for a couple more American Eagle gift cards to get 2-3 pair then.

 

[aprilgail]

DD13 likes Kohls, Target, American Eagle and occasionally Abercrombie or Hollister if things are on sale. Thinking $150 each but not sure if that is enough.

How much did you spend for back to school on your tweens?

My daughter just bought 4 pair of American eagle jeans on sale and the came to 130.00. All her jeans from last year had holes in the pockets where she keeps her cell phone so she needed all new ones. My daughter is 15 so she is a bit older but I have really not shopped for her in the past 2 years, I transfer money over to her checking/visa account and she goes to the mall with friends or shops online. This year I transferred 1,000 into her account and that is for school shopping, school supply shopping, and any checks she needs to write out for clubs etc. in school. She only has this year and next until she is off to college so now is the time to make sure she knows how to write checks and budget the money like she will have to do when she is away at college.

 

[Mickeyrookie16]

We're in New England as well. My daughter's birthday is in mid-September so I didn't buy her any fall/winter stuff. My two are at camps all summer and their shorts and some of their t-shirts were pretty rough looking, so I bought some decent looking things to wear for the first few weeks (all a bit big in hopes they fit in the spring when we go to Disney lol) all on clearance. And they both needed new sneakers. I did buy my son two pairs of jeans and as it get cooler I'll have to pick up some long-sleeved t's for him. We'll see what my daughter gets for her birthday, but I think she'll be in good shape. Counting school supplies including a new backpack for my daughter, I probably spent $400 on both kids. If it wasn't for the school supplies and underwear (OMG the socks and undies kill me) it would have been about $200.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My DD needed a pair of shoes for the start of school and I was able to spend 60.00 and got 2 pair since they were buy one, get the other 1/2 off.

She didn't need any clothes at all and even my College son didn't need anything so I got by cheap this year.

Now when they were in elementary school - that was a whole different story. I swear they would just look at an item of clothing and it would be ruined. LOL

 

[BLAZEY]

My DD is only 6 and going into grade 1. She needed 2 new pairs of school shoes (One for gym, one for everyday) as she has out grown her shoes from last year. I bought her some new leggings ($4 each x3). I need to go through her clothes and pull out all the sized 5 stuff, but she should be good for a while. I have some outfit she got for her birthday in March that was a size 6X/7 that will now fit her. She will need some more socks, but in total including supplies I will have spent about $150.00.

 

[scrapquitler]

I don't buy "back to school" clothes for my kids and never did (2 in college this year, 2 in high school). I bought clothes for them when they needed clothes, not because school was starting. Two of them have birthdays in November, so my Mom would buy clothes as gifts. Christmas is only a month later, so "wants" could be addressed by various family members. After all, how many toys do 4 kids need? (I think I had every Fisher Price/Mattel baby toy they made!) I found it much easier on the budget to buy when the needed something rather than take the hit in August/September.

I do the same thing. My kids usually wear shorts until the snow flies anyway, so I wait to buy clothes for the cooler weather until Oct/Nov when things start to go on sale. My DD has an October birthday and always got clothes as gifts for that, then they both always get clothes for Chistmas as well. I wait until sales for most of the rest of their things.

I do like that my kids are easy going and don't care too much about what they are wearing. They are perfectly happy to wear no name clothes and shoes from places like Old Navy, Target, Walmart and JCPenney (where I often find great deals!). Their friends whose parents always bought brand name things now find that the kids aren't happy with anything less than the latest and greatest styles and name brands, and now they seem to wonder why their kids are so brand conscious. Um, because you trained them that way? My DH has a friend whose son is starting Kindergarten this month...and the friend was lamenting the fact that he had spent almost $800 on clothes for the boy for back to school, and still needed sneakers and a coat.....but he bought ALL Under Armor brand. For a Kindergartner. I don't think I spend $800 a year on clothing for my family of 4.

 

[NewmanFamily6]

DD 18 has a job and shops for herself. She is starting Community College. DD 14 was expensive but she needed basically everything because she has grown so much. We gave her $200 and she shopped with her friends and then I spent probably another $150 on her backpack, gym shoes, and some other items she needed. The twins both needed new tennis shoes which is about all they wear. I hit sales and was able to buy each of them 2 pairs for a total of $300. The taller one will need pants but he doesn't want to shop for them until the weather changes and I spent $30 on a new backpack for him. His twin didn't want any new clothes or need a backpack so really just shoes for him. I was thinking not too bad until I read this thread

 

[pweyl36]

$50 for clothes for both kids. We are Salvation Army fans. I have a 14 year old son and an 8 year old daughter. You can find some almost new looking stuff for pennies if you are dilligent! I literally found t-shirts that my son passed out with joy over for less than a dollar, and no I'm not kidding. He's a total t-shirt and jeans kid so it's easy. My daughter isn't that into clothes so she almost doesnt even care. It's pretty fab. Shoes were about $50 total as well. I just love a bargain! (which is why we are able to do Disney this year!!) And it's helps having such easygoing kids.

Same here,my son wears uniforms which is great. He just needs new shoes. His back pack is still in great condition. My DD17 just said that she will buy her own clothes and that I can just buy her new sneaker and a back pack. My kids love the thrift stores, they get alot for so little money. My kids wear the designer clothes with out the expense.

 

[100AcreWood]

I usually wait until September when things start to go on sale for Fall/Winter. I agree though, the kids' clothes are way more expensive at that age.