How To Save Money On Kids Shoes & Clothing

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How To Save Money On Kids Shoes & Clothing

It is easy for us to shop for clothes and shoes for ourselves because we know exactly what we want.

We all want to wear clothes and shoes that are cute, fit us well, and make us feel good about who we are. It’s even better if we can actually find clothes & shoes for way under budget too.

Now throw kids into the mix and it gets even more complicated when you have to not only account for their growing size but also your shrinking wallet at the same time.

Buying clothes & shoes for your kids should be fun and cheap and it shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg either.

Here are 18 ways that will help you save money on shoes & clothing for your kids:

1-Shop your closet first

       Are those hangers filled with clothes that no longer fit? Did that dresser drawer just seem like it’s seen better days because it’s filled with clothes that your kids no longer fit?

Time to get rid of them, either donate or sell them quickly to gain some room in your stuffed closet and some sanity back in your life.

Create a seasonal capsule wardrobe to allow for a handful versatility items as well as a couple of personality-centric items.

Buy shoes in neutral colors like black, brown, or grey so that they can be worn interchangeably between their dressy occasions like a school-wide choir performance to casual shoes for everyday wear, and sneakers for physical education days.

Tip: For shoes, I normally look for discounted gift cards like Famous Footwear $50 card for $35 online and combine it with their buy 1 get 1 half off sale and clicking through via Swagbucks or Ebates to save an extra 1-12% off the total price.

2-Purge like crazy

    Donate clothing that is faded or no longer fits.

This will also make getting ready in the morning so much faster when you are able to see everything you own rather than wasting time searching for that one particular silver skort buried under the massive pile of questionable laundry mountain.

Check your local area for non-profit organizations to donate your kids’ clothing to or drop them off at your local Goodwill or The Salvation Army for a Charitable Donation Tax Credit.

3-Make some extra moolah

   Sell your outgrown, unworn, gently worn, or extras on Poshmark, eBay, or Mercari.

Years ago, I used to sell my kids’ clothes and baby shoes on an app called TotSpot but they are no longer in existence.

Nowadays, I just keep a clean garbage bag inside each of our closets.

That way, they can just toss their once beloved pair of jeans that is now suddenly culottes into the bag and decide whether or not it will be sold or donated on their own.

It’s one less thing for me to worry about and it teaches them to be independent and take responsibility for themselves.

When the bag gets full, we sort them by type, label them, take a picture of the lot, and send it in to be sold via; Swap.com, ebay, PoshMark, Mercari, & ThredUP.com.

I can elect to be paid by being credited via Paypal or receive a credit for a future purchase.

4-Create & maintain a budget

 The clothing & shoes line item is often the forgotten line item for almost everyone on their monthly budget.

If you’re anything like me, you probably lump this in with your Fun & Entertainment money and forget to separate it into its own separate line item whenever you shop for your family’s clothes.

Set aside a reasonable amount, like a few bucks per month per family member for clothing & shoes so that you can anticipate this expense, if necessary.

But oftentimes, you may find that after you sell any or all of your unwanted belongings, you will have the funds you need to get the things you want and anything leftover is just icing on the cake after that!

4-Swap out clothes with family or friends

     This is a great option if you have lots of siblings in your family, relatives that live nearby, or even friends who do not mind your taste in clothing.

If you do not care about wearing the latest or greatest trends or brand names, not only will you teach your kids the value of sharing but you will curb their need to compete for attention and promote their empathy and value towards one another. 

5-Always Plan Ahead

      Be sure to buy ahead in anticipation of your kid’s sizes they’ll need eventually.

Buy discounted gift cards whenever there are amazing deals going on ex: Kroger’s 4x’s fuel points, buy digital e-gift cards on eBay, mygiftcardsplus.com, & raise.com for 25%+ off items around the holidays

6-Avoid the crowd and shop in peace

     If you tend to find better deals in stores, like @ JCPenney, Macy’s, and even Target in-store deals, shop in the early morning hours whenever it is possible for you.

JCPenney is known to give out $10 off $10 purchase vouchers for in-store only purchases to their early bird customers.

Macy’s often runs fantastic deals on name brand items including clothes & shoes on a quarterly basis, usually around major holidays.

Target also offers paper coupons, digital store coupons, as well as CartWheel offers seasonally, as well as the holidays.

I have bought several clothing pieces under $2 for kids’ shoes and clothing marked down in brand new condition from these stores, just out of season.

Tip: Try to go on a weekday morning in between running your errands, if possible to avoid the shopping crowd frenzy.

7-Stack It

     Combine with store’s sales coupons: Crazy 8, Gymboree, The Children’s Place, OshKosh, & Carter’s regularly send out 20% off or more coupons regularly.

You can even stack these to save even more money in your wallet.

8-ReBate-Able

     Always click through to Ebates.com, shopathome.com, Swagbucks.com – there are several participating stores included through these rebate sites.

Just do a quick search on their site or app before you click through & shop to earn cash back on your total online purchase.

This is the only way I shop online.

Otherwise, it feels as though I am just leaving money on the table.

9-Use Coupons (paper & digital)

Look for online promo codes with retailmenot.com, couponsherpa.com, or install the honey chrome extension.

These maybe stackable too depending on the store’s policies.

However, your store may limit you to just 2 stacking methods: a store coupon + 1 online rebate click through depending on the higher dollar value. 

It does not hurt to apply the promo codes at check out anyway just to see if you get an extra discount off of your total bill.

10-Always BOLO (be on the lookout)

Follow Deal Seeking Blogs to alert you of when local stores are having a great sale.

Since you only have so much time in a day, you cannot be everywhere at once.

These lovely ladies and their team have already done the work for you: Krazycouponlady.com, FreeStuffFinder.com, Passionatepennypincher.com, Moneysavingmom.com

Just check your email to see if your favorite stores are having a sale before you buy.

11-Compare Apples to Apples

If you are shopping for something very specific, like a certain kind of hiking shoe, do your comparison shopping online first before you buy online, using a chrome extension like PriceBlink to search multiple stores all at once.

12-Don’t waste time, money, or fuel

If you prefer shopping at your favorite local stores, check brickseek.com to see if they actually have the item that you want in stock before you waste time and fuel on a trip

13-Shop Out Of Season

Buy during 80-90% off clearance out of season when your kids’ don’t need it so that they will have it when they actually do need it.

A couple weeks after Christmas, I was able to score $1.47 per piece of clothing from crazy8.com shipped, during their end of season clearance combined with a rebate offer via ebates.com and a 20% off coupon via Parents magazine.

I was also able to find brand new pair Nike athletic shoes for my son for just $8.47 during a random visit to a JCPenney store on a Saturday.

Tip: for brand new socks and underwear, check Aldi, Big Lots, Ross, Burlington Coat Factory, Walmart, Target, & Kohls, great prices for kid and adults.

I can usually stack a store coupon with rewards bucks, or buy them on clearance for under $3 per 6 pack.

14-Check with your bank

Check your bank’s website (whichever bank that you have a checking and or savings account with) they offer monthly deals at your local stores for up to 25% off too including clothing stores, food, groceries, fuel, etc.

Just use your bank’s debit or credit card to pay for your purchases and you’ll be qualified for their promos.

15-Look in Unexpected Places

Check the clearance racks, end caps, top shelves, and bottom shelves of your grocery stores like Kroger, Meijer, and even Aldi.

Did you know that you can buy clothing and shoes at your local grocery stores now too?

I have noticed this within the last 10 years that more and more grocery stores are hopping aboard the Target and Walmart bandwagon to not only include groceries, but also clothing & shoes to make it more accessible to families.

Buying everything and anything they need in 1 place instead of driving all over town in search of something specific for their families makes it so much more convenient on us moms. 

Now, I can just head to Aldi to pick up a 6 pack of socks for $1.09 on clearance when we run out of milk and have to go out and grab a gallon same price for them anyway saving me much needed time and money, win!

16- Consider Gently Used

Sometimes I just can’t seem to find the right size, or color, or something so specific like rain boots that fit just right, in brand new store bought condition.

So I look for it online at eBay, thredup, and swap.com, and even Amazon as a last resort.

If I still cannot find it after looking everywhere online, I write it in my notes app in my phone.

So that the next time I am in the vicinity of a Once Upon A Child Consignment store or a Mom2Mom Pop Up Tent, or garage sale, I can keep my eye out to look for it.

This was how I was able to get through the first 5 years of my kids’ life while staying on a tight budget while saving money on shoes and clothing for my kids and boy did it help!

I was able to resell all of their baby gear, toys, clothes, and shoes, and bought the things they needed for pennies on the dollar, if at all, this way!

17-Order Online & Pick up in stores

If you are out and about anyway, this may be a viable option for you to choose from especially if you & your kids feel like you have cabin fever from being stuck in the house.

Lots of places like Famous Footwear, Target, Walmart, JCPenney, amongst many more are offering this service now where you order what you need online and pick it up later in stores, sometimes even within the hour if it is available, which is both easy & convenient.

18-Get it delivered

Or is the thought of your kid throwing a tantrum while you’re driving around town is enough to drive YOU up the wall to insanity land?

Try ordering online and getting it delivered instead.

Crazy 8 and Gymboree are two of my favorite online stores to shop for my kids’ clothes and shoes.

I am sad to hear that they will be going out of business this year.

Because it is not out of the norm for me to grab some fantastic deals at these stores for $1.77 per piece of clothing or even per pair of shoes, total shipped to my door!

Now is the best time to grab yourself some of these great deals for your kids as well.

Just buy their clothes & shoes a couple sizes bigger for the upcoming season and skip the lines and all the driving around town altogether and get it delivered straight to your door.

Amazon is a good option for this also, just check out their daily and lightning deals too!

In Summary:

Now that you know how to strategically save money on buying shoes and clothes for your kids, you can also just order it online to get it delivered straight to your front door instead, thus saving you time, money, and peace of mind by going through this list of 18 ways above.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Happy shopping!