With the summer about halfway over, it’s time to start thinking about going back to school. Even if you think you have a few weeks of summer fun left, the sooner you start gathering the necessities like back to school clothes, the better. This is no different with the traditional back to school clothes. But this back to school shopping can get expensive! So what are some of the best ways to save money on back to school clothes?
Consignment Stores
Consignment stores have been pretty popular lately in our town. Not only do you have the good old fashioned Goodwill Community Foundation (GCF), but there are a lot of trendier consignment stores around now too.
Around us, we have Kid to Kid and Once Upon a Child for babies through young teens. If you have an older or larger teen, Plato’s Closet is a really good place to hit. In fact, I purchase a lot of my clothes there now instead of purchasing them new.
These stores are definitely picky about the quality of clothes, and sometimes the brand, that they choose to take. So I know when I go in there that I will have a ton of choices that will be in good condition. Plus, everything is placed by size and color coordination, most of the time, which really helps me save time.
Since the clothes are consigned, the prices are much lower than purchasing new clothes for my kids also, which I happen to be a big fan of. Especially because they seem to outgrow their clothes so fast these days!
Bigger Discounts
Sometimes the consignment stores will send out digital coupons via email during certain times of year also. And they seem to know when parents are back to school clothes shopping, because I almost always see coupons in my inbox from these stores around now.
Most of them also have a customer loyalty card that they will punch or mark off whenever you make a purchase. So that after you have bought a certain amount, you then get an even bigger discount the next time you come in. I do my best to work this out so that my bigger discount happens when I am back to school clothes shopping with my kids. But it doesn’t always work out that way.
No matter what, this is my favorite way to buy back to school clothes because I have found it saves me the most amount of money overall.
Store Sales
Store sales this time of year can really be a good deal. Some stores run a percentage off on everything in the store, but that is not always the case.
Sometimes the stores only put certain items or categories on sale. Such as:
- Dresses
- Graphic T-Shirts
- Hats
- Pants
- Sandals
- Tennis Shoes
It is best to take a close look at what the store sale is offering first before you drive down there. The last thing you want is to pack up the kids, get to the store, have them try stuff on, only to realize that the things they like aren’t part of the sale.
I have made that mistake before and it was no fun for anybody involved. Therefore, I am much more attentive to the fine print on the store sales ads these days.
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Coupons
Even in today’s digital age, a lot of stores still send out physical coupons. Two stores that are notorious for it, especially during back to school shopping, are Kohl’s and Old Navy.
I don’t get physical coupons from these stores much anymore, but inevitably around this time of year, they still seem to magically show up in my mailbox.
These coupons may not be for a lot of money off, but every little bit counts, no matter how many kids you have. Most recently I have received coupons for 15% – 25% off, depending upon the store.
Sometimes they are only for certain items in their store though, so that is something to keep in mind.
But either way, I am more than happy to combine these with the store sales they are having already. This just makes my money stretch even further, which makes me and my kids pretty happy.
Consignment Sales
I just love kids consignment sales! These aren’t as readily accessible as the other options I have mentioned. But, if you are able to find one during the summer, then it can save you a ton of money.
In fact, we were able to get two seasons worth of clothes for our 5 kids for next to nothing at the last sale.
They were all thrilled with the clothes and shoes they got, plus there were quite a few of the clothes that still had the tags on. I have seen this more times than I can count and it is one of my favorite things about these sales.
The trick to these sales is taking your kids with you. Which isn’t fun a lot of the time, but they really need to try the clothes on since there is a no return policy.
But if you are able to swing finding one of these and bringing your kids along with you, you could save hundreds of dollars on clothes. So why wouldn’t you?
Back to School Clothes Shopping
Overall, there are many different ways to save some great money while doing back to school clothes shopping.
First, start with consignment stores to see what you can find. Then fill in with what you can find at store sales and combine store coupons. And if you are lucky enough to have a consignment sale going on during the summer, then take full advantage of it. In fact, that is where I prefer to go first if one pops up.
No matter how you do it, hopefully, these tips will help you save a bundle on back to school clothes shopping for your kids this year.
What are some of the best ways that you have found to stretch your back to school clothes budget?
