As a stay at home mom part of my job (besides caring for my boys) is to make my husbands pay check stretch as far as possible!
I have 2 boys (4 and 6) and I like them to have nice (and clean) clothes! We are a single family home but we aren't bums!
There are a few items I splurge on each year and think it's worth spending money on! I think good quality shoes are a MUST! Good winter boots are important and so is a good warm winter jacket! I am lucky as I have 2 boys and can often get 2 years for each boy out of a good quality winter jacket! but here is how I save money on the other items that my boys always seem to need!
BUY OFF SEASON: buy next summers wardrobe at the end of summer! Clearance prices are usually 75% off in August, and if you can guess what size they will be in the following summer that is huge savings! The same goes for winter, last year in January I bought my 3 year old this winters jacket for $15 (regularly $89.99)!
BUY SECOND HAND: I don't go to places like Value Village or the Salvation Army often for several reasons 1) the smell really bothers me and I find it hard to find GOOD QUALITY clothing that my sons (or I) will like! BUT there are some great alternatives when shopping for second hand items! Check on Facebook for local bidding sites or kids swap sites! I have purchased books, clothing and toys for the boys off these sites and have found some amazing deals! A few words of wisdom when using these sites, ALWAYS check the item before you accept it! Not everyone is honest and if you are picky like me and want them to be in good condition CHECK! I have purchase $80 boots NEW WITH TAG for $10!
SIGN UP FOR STORE EMAILS: they will send you sales and coupon codes! Old Navy has their $10 denim sale 2 times a year! I delete the emails UNLESS the kids need something because buying things just because they are on sale DOES NOT save you money!
BUY PAJAMAS A SIZE (OR 2) TOO BIG: I always buy pjs for my oldest a size too big and he can wear them 2 years and then unless they have holes they can be passed down to his brother for 2 years! Because in reality who cares if your pajamas are a little too big! I do the same with winter jackets but ONLY a size so they don't look sloppy!
START CHRISTMAS SHOPPING EARLY: I budget for Christmas starting in August and allot a certain amount per pay check towards gifts and I spend time searching the internet to find the cheapest price and often wait it out for things I KNOW will go on sale! We also don't exchange gifts with anyone outside of family, and with other families that we are close with suggest a holiday activity instead of gifts! (Ice skating, Christmas craft play date, Christmas train, etc)! So we get to celebrate without gifts! This year we will also be following the "Something you want, Something you need, Something you wear and something you read" mentality adding in a "and something homemade just for me". You don't need to go overboard at Christmas with gifts, instead use the time to build family traditions and make memories for your kids.
ASK FOR ACTIVITIES INSTEAD OF BIRTHDAY GIFTS: while I realize you can't just come out and tell everyone who buys your children gifts what to buy, there are certain people that you can! We ask our parents to pay for things like a family pass for the local zoo or aquarium, family pool passes, skating lessons, swimming lessons, etc! This gives allows us to always have free things to do and keeps the unwanted clutter of extra toys out of our small home!
BUY IN BULK: We purchase ONLY the items that we USE/EAT ALOT in bulk! Buying in bulk will not save you money if 75% of the food expires/rots or the product sits in your storage room for 10 years and ends up at a garage sale or in the garbage! We shop at Costco and purchase the executive membership and our refund each year often pays for our membership! Deep Freezes are a great way to store bread and meat (label when it went in the freezer and use the oldest up first to avoid freezer burn)
BUY STORE BRANDS: Did you know that most store brands are manufactured by the same companies that manufacture name brand food items? Most items are so similar (except in price) that you won't notice the difference and some items may even be better! Drop the brand loyalty and price out your items to get the biggest bang for your buck! Try an item and if you don't like it you don't have to keep buying it! We have a few items that the name brand is worth the extra cost for us but most of the time we will buy what's on sale or a store brand!
RE-PURPOSE AND RE-USE: This is a new one for me! I have recently begun find second hand solid wood furniture for next to nothing (its garage sale season, hit the high end neighborhoods and you can score some amazing finds) and I will be re-purposing/re-finishing the pieces to suit our taste and needs! I may even have found a couple treasures in my mom's garage! (Blog post will be coming up when the kids are out of school and I start my projects).
DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WANTS AND NEEDS: In a society where we love instant gratification it is hard to make the distinction between wants and needs but once you can program your brain to stop "Keeping up with the Jone's" you will see that wants and needs are VERY different! I am not saying NEVER splurge but if you don't have the money STEP AWAY FROM THE WANTS! Remember that a HUGE percent of North Americans have a large amount of debt to have these wants, its just not worth it!
BUY IN BULK: We purchase ONLY the items that we USE/EAT ALOT in bulk! Buying in bulk will not save you money if 75% of the food expires/rots or the product sits in your storage room for 10 years and ends up at a garage sale or in the garbage! We shop at Costco and purchase the executive membership and our refund each year often pays for our membership! Deep Freezes are a great way to store bread and meat (label when it went in the freezer and use the oldest up first to avoid freezer burn)
BUY STORE BRANDS: Did you know that most store brands are manufactured by the same companies that manufacture name brand food items? Most items are so similar (except in price) that you won't notice the difference and some items may even be better! Drop the brand loyalty and price out your items to get the biggest bang for your buck! Try an item and if you don't like it you don't have to keep buying it! We have a few items that the name brand is worth the extra cost for us but most of the time we will buy what's on sale or a store brand!
RE-PURPOSE AND RE-USE: This is a new one for me! I have recently begun find second hand solid wood furniture for next to nothing (its garage sale season, hit the high end neighborhoods and you can score some amazing finds) and I will be re-purposing/re-finishing the pieces to suit our taste and needs! I may even have found a couple treasures in my mom's garage! (Blog post will be coming up when the kids are out of school and I start my projects).
DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WANTS AND NEEDS: In a society where we love instant gratification it is hard to make the distinction between wants and needs but once you can program your brain to stop "Keeping up with the Jone's" you will see that wants and needs are VERY different! I am not saying NEVER splurge but if you don't have the money STEP AWAY FROM THE WANTS! Remember that a HUGE percent of North Americans have a large amount of debt to have these wants, its just not worth it!
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