The average American family spent $1,846 on apparel and services in 2015 (according to this). I was pleasantly surprised that we came in well under this in 2015 and 2016.
We spent exactly $527.02 on clothing and shoes in 2016. Not bad for a family of 4, including 2 adults, a 14 year old girl, and a 16 year old boy. But, I should mention a few things about us before you start think I’m some frugal genius (frugal weirdo, maybe, but no genius).
First, my kids are no longer growing. Neither one of them changed clothing or shoe sizes in 2016, meaning they could wear most of the same clothes and shoes as they did in 2015. For comparison, we spent $908.12 on clothing in 2015. When you have kids changing sizes every 3 months, it’s harder to keep this spending down.
Second, my kids get a few clothing items for their birthdays and Christmas. They don’t get much, but each of them receives a couple of t-shirts or sweatshirts. My daughter also received gift cards to her favorite store and bought a few t-shirts with them.
Third, we are all most comfortable in a t-shirt and jeans. If it fits well, is comfortable and presentable, it works! And, thankfully, my teenagers don’t care too much about clothing brands (though my son is partial to Nike shoes). I think this is the main reason we don’t spend much on clothing.
Fourth, none of us have a closet full of clothes, though this didn’t used to be the case. In the past, our closets were full to the brim, until I did a massive declutter a few years ago. I narrowed my closet down to what I liked and what I wore on a regular basis. I helped my kids do the same. (Alan does have more clothes, as he has work clothes too).
Though we don’t buy too many clothes, I still try to save money on clothes we do buy.
How we save money on clothes
Consignment Store
I am fortunate to have a fantastic consignment store in my little town – full of clean, mostly fashionable clothing, organized by size and sections (juniors, misses, girls, etc.). The owner runs tag sales each month, with one color being $1, one at 75% off and one at 50% off.
I save a ton of money here by consigning the clothes we no longer wear and only shopping the sales. I receive 50% profit from my consigned items. When I combine my earnings with the sales, most of the time, I leave the store spending $0. So. much. fun!
Thrift Store and Garage Sales
If we are in need of certain items and I can’t find them at the consignment store, I shop the thrift stores. They’re more disorganized than my favorite consignment store, but I have found some great deals when I do some hunting. I’ve found 3 pair of designer jeans for less than $10 each (and one had a $20 bill in the pocket!). And, though I don’t always find what I need at the thrift store, it’s always fun to search.
Since garage sales are seasonal and have a limited variety, I don’t frequent them as much as I did when the kids were young. That said, I do think garage sales are the absolute best way to find awesome children’s clothing for cheap. From the time they were babies, all the way up to about 10-12 years old, I bought 90% of my kids’ clothes from garage/yard sales. Kids grow so fast and you can pick up great, nearly new items at these sales for a fraction of retail price.
Amazon and Target
If I need something and I can’t find it at the consignment or thrift store, I buy from Target or Amazon. I can get jeans for $20 or less at Target, and sweatpants, t shirts and hoodies for $10-20 each on Amazon. I buy multiples when I find a good deal in the right size. For example, my son likes a certain brand of jeans from Target, so I bought 3 pair in different colors (for less than $60 total).
Limited budget for kids
My 16 year old son likes to buy Nike shoes from the outlet store and my daughter has a thing for all things Hot Topic. When we do spend money in these stores, I set a limit on how much I will spend. For example, I’ll allow my daughter to spend $30 on shirts at Hot Topic. If she goes over the limit, she is responsible for the difference. She likes to get the most she can for the money, so she takes her time and shops the sales (and rarely goes over budget).
Limit Time to Shop
As I’ve mentioned before, shopping isn’t my thing. I don’t spend much time shopping for clothes (which is probably one of the reasons I don’t spend much). I would guesstimate I spend around an hour a month shopping for shoes/clothes (though this month it’s $0 and 0 time!).
This hasn’t always been the case. Though I’ve never been a mall shopper, I used to spend a few hours on Saturday mornings going to garage sales or thrift stores. I still love scoring a great item at a great price. But I realized I was spending to save and bringing items into the house that we didn’t need (and would ultimately end up donated to the thrift store a short time later).
More recently, I stay out of the stores as much as possible and am more intentional about purchases. I always ask myself if it’s really something I need and will use. I ask, “Will it add value or gather dust?” and “How long before this item gets donated back to the thrift store?”.
That’s awesome that you have that budget down so much, Amanda.
We spend about the same, almost all of it on Little Bit’s clothes. Even after weeding down, Jon and I still have a ton of clothes to cycle through. Little Bit gets a bunch of stuff from Goodwill, Kohl’s and Target sales.
My biggest issue is that Little Bit is just hard on her clothes. I went to our local kid’s consignment store last week, and though I sold a few items, most of it was too worn. And I guess that makes sense. I buy stuff big, and since she grows taller rather than out she can usually wear most things for 2 years. We had one pair of jeans that she started wearing as rolled up jeans as a toddler that finally became the shorts they were always supposed to be last summer. That’s a lot of time to get things stained (nail polish), frayed (hems), and faded.
Thanks, Emily! That’s awesome you got so much use out of one pair of Little Bit’s jeans! My son is still hard on his clothes at 16 years old. And he’s always been hard on them, so I understand. I have rarely been able to consign his clothes – except the ones that he never wore. Our biggest expense is typically shoes. Though I can find shoes for my daughter and I at the consignment store (we wear the same size! 🙂 ), I rarely find shoes for my son or husband.
I don’t spend too much on clothes each year. I don’t know the exact amount, but I’ve never been much of a shopper. I usually go to places like Target, Kohl’s, and TJ Maxx.
I’m not a shopper either, Tonya. That alone helps tremendously with spending! 🙂
We spent $1326, $1288, and $1309 respectively for the last three years for our family of six. Way under the average, and with more kids!! My middle girls LOVE Justice, and we get them clothes there by having people get Justice clothes as gifts and by buying clearance items.
Just this winter I got the girls two really, really nice winter coats -for $10 each!!! And their swimsuits (normally $30 – MUCH more than we spend), just went on sale ($15 and free shipping) so I got our youngest daughter a much-needed swimsuit that she absolutely loved. Oldest daughter gets clothes for gifts too, and then we buy a minimal amount of stuff for her each year since she’s done growing as well. Our son is easy; jeans and t-shirts – on clearance of course. I just got a pair of flannel lined jeans on clearance (they will fit him in the fall) for $6.59!!! Rick and I buy very minimally. We buy a few outfits that we can mix and match.
It really is easy to save on clothes if you’re willing to be creative!
Wow, Laurie! That is amazing! I love that you have been able to find so many great items on clearance! The gift cards are great, especially for the girls. Jake hates to shop, so he’ll just wear whatever is in his closet (except the shoes, he’s particular about the shoes!).
I love that you mention you and Rick buying a few outfits that you can mix and match. I’ve been trying to do this more and more with my own clothes over the last few years. Buying basic, classic shirts/pants that will last and be used for multiple occasions (though mostly we are casual) saves money.
Yes, me too on this whole post, ha! I don’t consider myself an especially frugal person, but clothes are something that I’m typically pretty good about saving money on.
We have an awesome consignment shop for kids clothing that I shop at about once a month, then supplement with things like leggings and things I can’t find there from Target or Children’s Place when needed.
My aunt used to tell her kids “I’ll dress you but I won’t decorate you.” I love this mantra for my kids.
Oh, I am totally going to steal your aunt’s statement: “I’ll dress you but I won’t decorate you”. Lovely way to put it. Thanks for sharing that gem, Kathryn! 🙂
We cruise the thrift stores and department store clearance racks. We don’t spend anywhere near the $1,000 mark. Although I will need to get some new work clothes in a few years and might have to buy those new.
When we go on vacation to our normal beach spot, there’s an awesome and reasonably priced thrift store there that we take time to stop at since they have really nice stuff for a fraction of what we can buy the same items from our local thrift stores.
I’d like to start going to thrift stores when we’re in different towns – just to see the differences. When we travel to my in-laws, there is one particular church thrift store I like to stop at that’s on the way (but the family is only patient and will only wait for so long).
Honestly I get most of my clothes from Target, which is usually relatively affordable. Overall I really don’t spend much money on clothes which is definitely a good thing!
Target is my go-to if I can’t find an item 2nd hand! It is affordable and they usually have decent sales.
Honestly, most of my clothing (even some shoes) is secondhand! Smart thrift shopping means i can score good quality labels for a fraction of the price – even less than cheap crap from a brand new chain store.
Same! 🙂 I totally agree with you – if you take the time to look for quality items 2nd hand, it is so much better than spending money on a cheap item at a chain store. I love hunting for those treasures.
My wife is a huge fan of thrift stores. She always finds incredible deals and the best part is after she wears them for a season. She’ll turn around and sell them on ebay so she can buy more clothes in the future 🙂
Really, if you do it that way, you can keep changing up your wardrobe with little to no money out of pocket. I love that method! 🙂
You’ve really got this down to a science. I don’t know if this is unique to the thrift store in my town, but we can actually double down on thrift store and Target. Here’s how: Whatever doesn’t sell at Target makes it way to the thrift store. I bought a normal oxford cloth blue shirt for work for $1. At Target the same thing was $30!
Wow! Really??? DJ – that’s an awesome deal. I’ve never seen anything from Target at any of the thrift stores around here, but that’s sweet. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
We also used the strategy of letting our kids pick what they wanted from their choice of store – with the understanding that we would give a limited amount of money and they’d make up the difference. Later, when our kids had part-time jobs, they bought their own clothes almost all on their own – with the exception of some outdoor wear. One of our daughters bought WAY too many clothes. But she doesn’t anymore. I think it’s good to give them the freedom to make mistakes – and not to protect them from feeling the Ugh! that results.
My 16 year old is in the process of trying to figure out how to manage his money. We’ve provided guidance and advice, but he continues to spend down to the last dime in his checking account. It can be hard to watch, but I’m with you on giving them the freedom to make mistakes. The best lessons are learned from experience.
This isn’t fair. I’m a guy who has a stable waistline and is retired. So I spent $0.00 on clothing in 2016. My twenty pair of socks, twenty briefs, twelve polo shirts, four pair of jeans, one pair of sneakers, one pair of shoes, one suit, and one casual outfit took care of all my fashion needs for the year. I think I will replace two polo shirts and add a pair of jeans this year, though. So my clothing expenses for 2017 might hit $75. The horror! Thanks for the post, Amanda. Thrift and consignment stores are godsends, especially for families with growing children.
We had a little scare with Mr. Groovy’s suit which needed to be cleaned for our nephew’s wedding. The dry cleaner phoned us after we brought it in to let us know there was a small tear in the back pocket of his pants, which they said they could fix although it wouldn’t be 100% unnoticeable. But his jacket hides the spot so we went with that. $20something vs $200something for a new suit. Maybe we’ll get him a new one for the next wedding.
That’s a great save, Mrs. Groovy! Thank goodness for the jacket. I say anytime you can postpone a large expense relatively easily, why not!?
Awesome, Mr. Groovy!!! It sounds like you have this wardrobe thing down to a science. 😉 My husband has had his suit for 22 years – since it’s rarely worn, it still works. But I’ve noticed the guys in my house go through socks lightening fast.
With our first son we got a decent amount of hand me downs. We had another boy so he’s wearing the same clothes. We haven’t gotten much hand me downs recently though. I do like Target and often check out the clearance racks which offer great deals. My wife also gets great finds at the Thrift store…often times, name brand clothes with the tags still on them. I haven’t bought clothes in awhile as I hate shopping…but might need to upgrade my wardrobe as many of my work clothes are getting worn down! There’s a Van Heusen outlet which has great deals…combined with coupon and the fact that I shop the bargain boxes…the damage isn’t too bad =)
Clearance racks at Target for kids’ clothes is a great way to score some deals. The outlets are great places to save too. I’ve had to search my area, but after visiting a few different thrift and consignment stores, I’ve found a handful that have the best items at the best prices – and I love it when I find brand new items there. I don’t like shopping either, Andrew, so I hear you. And no one else in my family does either, so when we have to shop, it’s a chore.
My Mom could probably start her own blog based on her Thrift store prowess….come to think of it, maybe I could have her write a guest post for me haha. She also takes my daughters whenever we visit, and they absolutely love it.
For myself, being a jeans and tee shirt guy, I find Old Navy is a good option. Often, their tee shirts are less than $10. I buy my jeans from American Eagle though…personal preference. They’re a bit pricier, but I rarely need to buy them, so it’s inconsequential.
I’d love to read that guest post, MMM! You should convince your mom to write it.
When you don’t hardly ever buy clothes, spending a little more on comfort and quality can be worth it in the long run.
My husband and I also wear free T-shirts we got from random events. It saves us lots of money on clothes.
That’s a great way to save! Love it! 🙂
Concerning Target, Hot Topic etc: Please don’t forget that you’re saving on someone else’s expense here. It is obviously impossible to pay the workers a living wage and safe workspace at $3 a shirt.
And yes, it is possible to be ethical and frugal.
I love the Savers chain of thrift stores since they’re organized so well, and I recently discovered (what took me so long?) the benefit of seeking one out on vacation. I’ve been kinda-sorta looking for KU gear since I met my Jayhawk husband 7 yrs ago, but I didn’t want to buy it online because most of it is expensive and ends up being too big.
So, on our last trip back to visit his family (in the midst of March Madness), I hit up the local Savers and found two kids’ sized KU t-shirts and a sweatshirt for a total of < $20. Now I'm set for life!
That’s awesome, Julie! Congrats on the finds! Love that idea. We don’t have a Savers around here – mostly Goodwill, Salvation Army, and local stores. But, now I want to check them out – I’ll keep an eye out for one next time we’re traveling. I also love the idea of checking the kids section – you just never know what you’ll find.