Clothing Your Family on a Budget

When I was young I would be mortified when my mother wanted to go shopping at Goodwill. I was so scared that someone I knew would see me and make fun of me so I would never go in the store and always duck down in the car. Silly, huh?

After I had a child of my own I still didn't want to think I needed to shop at a thrift store to find what I needed or wanted. I had it in my head that it just wasn't a good idea. Again, silly, huh? As my family has grown to one with 8 people my thoughts on buying clothes on a budget have changed drastically. Thank the good Lord for that!

For us, shopping for clothes has to be thought and planned out in advance. If we just go to town and start shopping we will end up broke in a matter of mere minutes. It's sad really -prices of clothes are just ridiculous! We all know kids will outgrow clothes in the blink of eye or they get torn, stained, or lost...the reasons are plentiful as to why we have to constantly buy new clothes.

Since I've been in charge of our finances I have tried really hard to stay on track with our budget so I've had to get creative in finding ways to save money. Although we have a large family our clothing budget is not equal in size -usually around $150 a month. That equals out to a little under $20 per person per month. It doesn't take a genius to realize that isn't going to get you very far in a clothing store. So I've had to get smart with my how I deal with clothes in our house.

1. Inventory what you already have. 
Since I'm the one that does the laundry in our house it's easy for me to keep up with who needs what and when. I try at least once every 3 months to go through the clothes that every one has and make note of anything I would like to buy for them. Sometimes it's just a package of socks but sometimes it might be a new pair of pants. By keeping track of what every one haves it saves me time and money when I'm out shopping so I don't buy things that aren't needed.

Also, when I'm going through the clothes I use this time to get rid of items we no longer wear or don't fit. I like to keep a box in each closet that I can throw things in to take to donate once the box is full. 

2. Set a limit on the clothing items in your house.
No one needs a ton of clothes and it's not practical when you have limited space to store them. I try to keep what we have on hand to a minimum number of items that can be mixed and matched to create multiple outfits out of a few pieces. Find what works for your family and stick to it!


3. Be a smart shopper!
a. Go garage sale-ing. Sometimes you can find really nice clothes for just pennies on the dollar of what you would spend in a store. Be sure to check for tears or stains too. While you are there look around for other things you might need at home. Notice I said need -unless it is just an amazing deal on something you want try to stick to your budget and buy only things your family really needs!

b. Shop thrift stores. Goodwill is one of my favorite stores now that I'm older and could careless what anyone things! Just last weekend I took McKenzie and we got her 1 dress, 2 tunics, 2 shorts, 2 shirts, and the boys 3 pairs of shorts for a little under $40. One of the tunics we got her was from Banana Republic which I'm sure would have cost $40 by itself in that store.  

c. Shop clearance/sale racks. If I can't find what I need at the two previous options and I must go into a store then I always go to the clearance racks first. Most of time I don't have to buy anything at regular price. Occasionally there are times when I have to and that's okay as long as I still stick to my budget. Unless it is something we have to have right away I can normally stick to my cheap plan! 

d. If you can't find what you need today at a price that makes you happy then WAIT. Save the money. It's likely that regular priced items will go on sale in just a few weeks. 

4. Keep hand-me-downs.
If you have more than one child of the same gender it's always a good idea to save their too small clothes for the younger child. My mom has kept clothes from when me and my sister were little and all of the girls in our family have handed them down again and again over the years. That's the best way to clothe family for no money at all -well maybe some washing detergent to keep washing them or thread to sew them so they stay in wearing condition.

5. Accept hand-me-downs. 
On more than one occasion I've had friends give us clothes that were too small for their children that will either fit our kids now or will shortly. I'm not ashamed to accept them. I'm very grateful actually. I tell everyone to send their too small clothes our way!


Clothing a family of any size on a budget can be stressful but with a little creativity and patience you can stick to your budget, have plenty of clothing options, and a happy family! 

Do you have a clothing budget? What are some ways you stick to it?    

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