Not actually a Disney tip, but saves me lots of $$

[Pryncess'mom]

The Disneystore.com is having a huge summer sale. I just got pajamas for DD for $5.00! It's only online, but check out the great prices on licensed stuff!

 

[Abra Cat]

I'm so jealous of you people whose Sears stores carry Lands' End merchandise! I keep checking, but ours doesn't yet. I understand they plan to have LE clothes in all Sears stores by fall, and that's not a moment too soon!

 

[minnie mouse]

Thanks for the info and the Lands End sale at Sears.
I was just at the mall, Disney Store of course, but it looks like I will be going back to the mall for another shopping spree.

 

[donnsuz]

I've done this years! My mother told me years ago that she couldn't pay for my college but she could teach me to shop and save so that I could make it thru anything. She was right. It worked throughout my children's growing years and allowed me, with other things, to save for travelling, including WDW. Even as my kids got older and quit growing and got pickier I figured if 90% of what I buy works then I'm still way ahead. I agree and disagree with the poster that advised that cheaper stores had cheaper clothes. Not always. And thrift stores and garage sales can add great finds. For those serious on saving money (pinching pennies very tightly) I recommend Amy Dacyzyn's (sp?) books called "Tightwad Gazette". They advocate lots of very logical and doable ways to save lots of money to use as your heart desires.

 

[crazymomof4]

Originally posted by donnsuz
I agree and disagree with the poster that advised that cheaper stores had cheaper clothes. Not always. And thrift stores and garage sales can add great finds.

I think that was me. Actually, what I meant was that it's been my experience that some of the clothing at the discount stores are not as well constructed as most of what you find at dept. stores and specialty shops. After a number of washings I've had seams twist and buckle or come apart, material get thin and fade. Of course, there are always exceptions. For me, clothes are no bargain if I can't pass them down through my 3 boys (or at least 2 of them). I'm sure you can find good quality name-brand clothes at thrift shops and garage sales too. No matter where you buy it, if it's well made and lasts, it's a good deal!

[/B][/QUOTE] For those serious on saving money (pinching pennies very tightly) I recommend Amy Dacyzyn's (sp?) books called "Tightwad Gazette". They advocate lots of very logical and doable ways to save lots of money to use as your heart desires. [/B][/QUOTE]

I'll have to look for that one. I just returned "Miserly Moms" to the library.

 

[MrsPete]

I do agree with the idea of never paying full price for kids' clothing. I buy most of my kids things from yard sales, consignment stores, and ebay (great for school uniforms, which are difficult to find locally). I don't shop department stores often because I find that going to the mall ADDS more "I wants" and "I needs" -- often mine, not the children's -- and these must be weighed against the clearance savings.

On the other hand, I have not always been able to find EVERYTHING they need on clearance. Buying MOST things at used prices allows me to splurge on the few things that I can't find cheaply.

I have also found that buying cheap becomes more difficult as the children get older. It was a breeze up until size 7 -- that's when the kids' growth slows down and they start to wear things out (as opposed to outgrowing them).

I've heard some people say, "Oh, I never buy ahead. I don't know what size he'll be next school year." I have "missed" on a few items. For example, I've bought girls' white dress sandals that fit in the middle of winter but were outgrown well before Easter. However, the savings more than makes up for the few mistakes -- especially because I can resell them again at my own yard sale. Girls' dresses are easier to fit than jeans, so I'm more willing to "chance" an iffy fit for dresses.

I also agree that (in general) it's better to stick to name brand stuff rather than buy Target and Walmart stuff. On the other hand, if the item is really, really cheap sometimes I'll say, "Okay, this is a one-child purchase. I'm okay with that." I'll give you an example: We're going on our first Disney cruise soon, and my girls needed some nice dresses to wear to dinner. I found matching cute (but very cheaply made) poufy dresses at The Children's Place last week. They probably won't stand up to more than two washings, but they were 4.99 each. I'm okay with considering them "disposable dresses" for this one special occasion. On the other hand, when I buy school uniforms I always buy top quality Lands End stuff (though never new) that can be passed down to the youngest daughter.

I also agree with the person who said it's best to stick to classic styles. My girls are three years apart, and I don't want my youngest to be saddled with an entire wardrobe of "has been" clothing. Plain jeans, simple sweaters, basic tops . . . these won't go out of style. If a child must-must-must have a certain fad item, that's the time to buy a cheap-o Target version (and have her pay half so she'll appreciate it).

I have two new tips to add:

First, consider using Sears for as many children's purchases as possible. They GUARANTEE that your child won't wear out the clothing -- if it wears out, they'll replace it. So, you buy a pair of jeans for your oldest daughter; she wears a hole in the knee and you trade them in for new ones; then they're passed on to your younger daughter, who can trade them in as needed again . . . what a deal. Obviously, this is most useful for coats, jeans, and shoes. You must save the receipts and tags to "trade them in." They've always been very nice about this, and I've traded in bunches of stuff! When I buy things, I always cut the tags off immediately and save them in an envelope marked with the contents (size 10 jeans -- dark blue; 2 medium sweatshirts -- yellow flowers and solid red); makes it easy to find the receipts later.

Probably the biggest tip of all: DON'T BUY MORE THAN YOUR CHILD NEEDS. So many kids get new clothes all the time "just because." Kids don't NEED tee shirts from every place they visit, Halloween sweatshirts, more than three pair of jeans, etc. It's a waste of money and it sets up bad expectations for the teen years. My kids wear school uniforms, and they each have very small school wardrobes. For winter, each girl has two pair of ,khaki pants, one skirt, and one jumper -- total of four choices -- plus matching shirts. For summer, the girls have two skorts (and, of course, the skirt and jumper are still good).

In closing, I think that watching kids' clothing prices carefully is a GREAT way to save money. One last tip: Keep a small notebook with a list of kids' clothing you're saving for next season. This will prevent you from accidentally buying ANOTHER pair of size 3 sandals or a fourth pair of capris. I used to make that rookie mistake all the time!

 

[Chim Chiminy]

I too hit the 75% off sales at the end of seasons. Being a military family on one income, I have become even more creative. My husband hates this but...........I am so cheap that I buy most of my 10 yr old son and 4 yr old daughters clothing at the Salvation Army and Goodwill stores. I know a lot of other military families who do the same. I have a plastic bin in my daughters closet full of clothes waiting to be grown into. I find good, name brand clothes and never spend more than $2.00 on an item.(most I find are marked at .25 to .50) Things like Gap, Old Navy, Esprit, Talbots Kids, Osh Kosh, Mudd, LEI. I always find my son brands like Gap, Old Navy, Levi, Polo. You would be surprised at the clothing you can find in these thrift stores, especially if they are located in upscale neighborhoods. When my daughter was a baby, I even got all her toys at thrift stores. Saved a bundle.

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by crazymomof4
I

For those serious on saving money (pinching pennies very tightly) I recommend Amy Dacyzyn's (sp?) books called "Tightwad Gazette". They advocate lots of very logical and doable ways to save lots of money to use as your heart desires. [/B][/QUOTE]

I'll have to look for that one. I just returned "Miserly Moms" to the library. [/B][/QUOTE]

Actually there are three volumes of Tightwad Gazette. Volume I is more of a home economics type book, with recipes, organizing, and things like that. Most of Vol I was common knowledge to me. (Things like make from scratch, buy meat on sale, go meatless, buy stuff from garage sales, goodwill stores are great finds, etc...)

Amy Deczycyzn books can be a little off beat... they discuss things like making a halloween mask out of dryer lint, and "natural" (think tree bark!) um.. sanitary pads...

Some of her books make perfect sense, but some things are like well..

Volume II and III are where the first one picks up. There is a section in one of them (can't remember which one) which talks about basic appliance and car repair.

 

[crazymomof4]

Originally posted by Cindy B
mask out of dryer lint, and "natural" (think tree bark!) um.. sanitary pads...

My husband would have me commited, for sure. I'm not THAT cheap. Really.....tree bark???

 

[kfeuer]

I do this as well. One of my favorite sales to hit that I haven't seen mentioned is the Kids 'R Us 50% off clearance sale. They do it twice a year (Jan and they just did it over the 4th of July). I got $403 worth of stuff for $72 (a savings of over 82%). I got tons of Osh Kosh stuff for next winter dirt cheap. Most stuff was $2-$4 apiece.

I also love Talbots Outlet (although that's more for me then the kids), Baby Gap clearance, and select department store clearance (Parisians had an amazing winter clearance sale this year--got my toddler tons of Ralph Lauren winter items for $6.99 apiece, and those items retailed for $30-$50 apiece).

Anyway, I agree that this is a fantastic strategy. I also stick to name brands--why not when I can get them just as cheaply as anything in Walmart of Target? Plus, they have better resale value.

Thank goodness we have large closets, because I've got stuff put up that my oldest probably won't fit into for a couple years yet But hey, with 2 boys chances are at least one of them will get to wear it at some point.

 

[MrsPete]

I love The Tightwad Gazette, but I don't recall an article about tree bark sanitary napkins! There is an article on a product called The Keeper, which I can personally recommend. It cost $35 and should last as long as I'm likely to need such products, and I've been using mine for about four years now -- much, much cheaper than buying sanitary products every month. More convenient too once you get the hang of it.

If you're going to buy this book, I recommend going for The Complete Gazette -- it contains all three of her original books plus some extra information at the end. I think it's a great book because it emphasizes THE PROCESS of saving money -- not just examples of how to do it. She explains how she figures up savings on this and that -- something that elludes many people.

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by crazymomof4
My husband would have me commited, for sure. I'm not THAT cheap. Really.....tree bark???

Yep, tree bark... very strange. The other was boot liners made out of bread bags.. but I remember that as a kid, so that wasn't weird to me.


My husband thinks I'm nuts sometimes. He teases me when we get those throwaway table cloths at the $1 store..

(After we carefully put them away after a party...) He says, ok, do you want me to cut them into a small piece for under the highchair or for disposable bibs, or for under the carseat for the car?...

(Yes, we have done that!.. not for a LONG time though!)

 

[FergieTCat]

I'm not sure if this applies to kids clothes, but our local Sears has Lands End clothing. Every now and then Sears puts the Lands End on Clearance, and right now they are having a 50% clearance prices. They had Lands End sweaters for $9.99, and last week I bought 2 shirts (the "Izod" kind) and a pair of shorts for $22 TOTAL.

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by MrsPete

If you're going to buy this book, I recommend going for The Complete Gazette -- it contains all three of her original books plus some extra information at the end. I think it's a great book because it emphasizes THE PROCESS of saving money -- not just examples of how to do it. She explains how she figures up savings on this and that -- something that elludes many people.

That is true. Its one thing to put some of the things into practice (ie put thing on the line instead of the dryer), but to actually figure in the savings, is a different story altogether.


I remember reading something about tree bark and getting grossed out. I definetely read about the Keeper as well, and that made sense... I thought it was a camping part, or something like that... there are some definetely "out there" things in the book.. but some very very valid things.

If I was imagining it in that book, please forgive me.. maybe in another book?

I loved the Master Mix recipe
I love the clothing ideas
I love the part about "curbside shopping".. our family does this
I love the fact about the muffin recipe
I love the Salad Dressing for Pennies

 

[crazymomof4]

My interest sparked, I just placed a hold on the Complete Gazette at my library. The bark is staying on my trees, though. (OUCH!)

 

[poober25]

I know a few people posted about Gymboree on this thread, so I just thought I'd share this. Yesterday, some wonderful e-mailed the code for 30% off at Gymboree on July 11-13. This morning, they also sent me an e-mail from Gymboree stating that for the first time ever customers can print a copy of this e-mail and take it to the store to shop. They are doing Gymbucks now too, and from what I understand, the Gymbucks are calculated on the price BEFORE the coupon is applied. This allows to save 30% on everything in the store INCLUDING clearance items.

The code is SUMMER. Make sure to enter all caps. July 11-13. If you would like a copy of the e-mail to take to the store with you, let me know and I will be glad to forward it to you. Just PM me.

Hope this helps someone.