Saving Money When I Go Shopping

I learned how to buy cute clothes for my kids, myself and save money when I shop. As a single mom of two, I was struggling to keep up with clothes for them. My son was an infant and growing out of his clothes fast, when I discovered clearance racks. It was one of the smartest things I had discovered to do, as a parent.

I went to my local mall, to shop for baby clothes. One of the stores was having a great sale on clearance items. The problem for me then, they were all bigger sizes than what he was in at the time. I could not pass up the price, some were marked to $15 and take an additional 70% off that price. The clothes were for the winter season and we were going into summer, the stores were blowing out the old merchandise.

I bought the bigger sizes on the rack, took them home and saved them for winter. I started shopping the clearance racks at every store, in the town I lived in. The key is to set your spending limit, mine was $50 for both kids. I would hunt the clearance racks for clothes and shoes, that I would want my kids to wear. I would buy off  season, bigger sizes that I thought they would grow into and save them until that season.

In the fall, I would buy summer clothes for the next summer. I bought shoes that were sometimes two sizes bigger, if the mark down price was $4 for toddler Nike's, why not. Though our closets were always full, I was getting name brand stuff, for next to nothing. As soon as my kids out grew the clothes, I donated them to a local store that helped battered woman and children.

I have been shopping this way for 16 years, I have a hard time walking into a department store and paying full price for what's 'right now'. Now that my kids are grown, I like to challenge myself to buy a complete outfit for $25. I clean out our closets once in the spring and once in the fall, then donate what we don't want to a charity. I don't have credit cards so I have to set my spending limit, if I have more to spend, I shop for my home.

I have stood in line in store's and watched parents rack up a credit card on just a few items. It always made me happy that I stayed away from that kind of debt. I bought my daughter beautiful dresses, to wear to prom and other formal dances for sometimes $10, by shopping clearance racks. Today, when I meet a parent with young kids or teen aged kids, I always suggest the clearance rack method.

Happy Shopping!
XoXoXo

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