My syndicated Super-Couponing Tips column for the week is entitled “Apply cost-savings strategies to kids’ clothes.”
Here’s an excerpt:
“Please tell me what you do when you actually need something right now. For example, my daughter grew out of her sneakers and needed a pair immediately. I wish I’d had time to get a good deal on them, but I didn’t. How do you handle shopping for clothes for children who might have unpredictable growth spurts?”
Read this entire column at the Savannah Morning News.
My Super-Couponing Tips column appears in newspapers around the country to a weekly readership of over 20 million people! Learn more about my column’s syndication at this link.
Miss a column? Here’s an archive of all of my past columns I’ve shared on the blog.
wolverine70 says
GREAT column, as always! I wish more newspapers would make themselves GREAT again by carrying the column. I really don’t understand why the NWI Newspaper is inconsistent in its carrying of the column. The Lacrosse, WI paper seems to consistently carry it though.
Coupon Maven says
I’m honestly not sure. I have noticed any time I mention a specific brand or retailer in the column, they don’t run the column at all. This is the reason I really try not to name specifics in the column for this reason. However, there are other times they just seem to stop running it for no reason.
seachicago says
Another great way to find off-season (or “during season”) items is to check your local thrift store. They tend to carry items for all seasons year-round, which is very helpful as kids have unexpected growth spurts, or you find yourself heading to a destination with a different climate.
I know a lot of people don’t like the idea of used clothes, but I can attest to the fact that you’ll find gently used and *brand new* designer items at any thrift store you check out. Take it home, wash it, and it’s good as new! And if it still grosses you out, remember: even if you buy clothes new, yours is probably not the first body to be in it—think about all the people who tried it on before you took it home! :-)
Coupon Maven says
This is a great tip too. And, you’re right — we find new clothes all the time at the Goodwill store! If you have a Target store near your Goodwill, it’s highly likely you will find brand-new Target items (clothes and household) in that store on occasion, as Target stores donate unsold clearance items to Goodwill stores. I’ve bought brand-new Converse sneakers at Goodwill, still in the box with the Target price tags on!
Thrift stores are indeed a fantastic place to score out-of-season items too, as you said.
Kristy M says
I think the most important thing to keep in mind when shopping for children is that there is no such thing as an “unpredictable growth spurt”. Children grow. It’s a fact. I plan for that fact by shopping for the NEXT TWO sizes of clothing. When a child comes down stairs to breakfast with pants ankles “suddenly” around shin length, or shoes that don’t fit, we simply go into the attic boxes and pull out the next size wardrobe, and I begin shopping for the next two sizes up.
Coupon Maven says
So true. I too have learned to stay at least two sizes up for my kids. The nice thing about that too is that if we travel to a warm climate in the middle of winter, and we find out that someone’s outgrown shorts or swim trunks, we just go in the closet and start going through the next size.