How Much Do You Spend On... - Saint Louis,MO

I buy stuff up to 2 years ahead when it is on sale. Most of the stuff in my son's closet was $1-2 each. The most expensive items are shoes, although I just got a couple of pairs at Children's Place outlet for $2.99 each. It is getting harder to find such great deals now that my son is out of the toddler range of clothing. I am on the lookout all year round, especially after the seasons change. Shoes are my biggest expense each year. Now that he is in the bigger sizes for clothes I will probably be hitting up the thrift stores more often.

I just spent 60 bucks @ Kmart on 4 boy shirts,2 cardigans,4 shirts 7 newborn sleepers this is my typical weekly spending depending on what is at the store i'm at and what they need.On average monthly basis it's $300 including shoes,now some months are less some more.I have 4 kids to buy for

I purchase them as I see them - especially if I see them on sale at the end of the season. I will buy the next size up for the following year. ie: My son is wearing size 4T or 5T. At the end of the summer, I may go buy him some new sleeveless shirts or a new swimsuit in size 6T to wear next year.

Also, THRIFT STORES can have great deals. I bought a $20 pair of brand new rubber rain boots last month for $4. They still had the store tag on them - never been worn! They don't fit my son yet, but you can be sure that he will wear them to go splash in the puddles or walk in the mud when he does fit into them!

So as to a dollar amount - I have NO idea. Not a clue. I may spend $5 on a shirt here, $5 on a pair of shorts there, get a jacket for free as a hand-me-down, get some shoes at a garage sale for $2..... I spend very very LITTLE on clothes.

We are a family of 5, I put $120 per month in our clothing envelope and buy as needed or when I find great deals.

I don't really have a budget for it. I don't buy unless it's on clearance or sale . So I usually buy for the next year when the season is over. Although for my daughter we have to purchase on an as needed basis for pants/jeans. She is so tiny that I hate to buy and then she never wears. Yes this happens.

Mostly I make sure to keep an eye on all sales for pants for her. I signed up for emails to Kohls, Old Navy (she will actually wear the pants that come from these stores).

I don't particularly like thrift stores myself, I never find anything...but I have tried and heard many others say they have.

I would have to pull receipts.

But not much...I shop at Goodwill for my boys clothes...I get GAP jeans with tags on them still for a few dollars vs the $40 in the store...and other thrift stores in our area...since we have a very expensive zip code - you would be amazed at what people donate...

No uniforms here...although sometimes I wish we did...

Shoes are the only thing I buy brand new if I can't find them at the thrift stores, and yes, there have been brand new shoes in Goodwill too...so on shoes (since I just bought my son boots and shoes for cub scout camp) I spent $70...

If you have a family neighborhood with kids of varying ages - talk to the other moms and get a clothes co-op going...you would be surprised at what you can do!! Host a party where people bring the clothes their kids don't fit into anymore and then start exchanging clothes!!! Everyone wins!!

For my 2 year old son:
Uniforms: $100 every 3 months.
Shoes: $20 or less per pair. I buy at least 2 pairs at a time because he outgrows shoes every month or so.
Everything else: $7 or less per item is ideal for me.

very little - we are grateful for family and friends who have given us hand me downs. In addition - they get a lot of clothes as gifts for their birthdays. My son is 5.5 and my daughter is 2.5 - I have NEVER had to buy either of them a coat as we have a family member who buys them one every year for their birthday!

If I am at Target, Walmart, or something and I see a cute shirt/pants that I know my kids would like I'll pick something out.

My son is starting kindergarten this year so I was out one day and saw these two super hero pants/shirts sets so I got them for him for the new school year.

I don't pay attention to what I spend monthly or yearly but I do try and watch prices. I tend to buy brand name but watch for sales and coupons. I love my Parenting magazine becasue it has the Gymboree and Crazy 8 coupons in there
Example today I wanted to buy snow boots for the younger 2. Zappos would have been 55 dollars per kid. Checked Amazon and got a pair of Sorells for 19.99 for DS and some Kamiks for DD for 24.00 (had a coupon). I could never go to Target and get crappy cheap boots for 30 bucks because I shop around to get good stuff at great prices.

In the summer I do hit rummage sales and will pick up some clothes. I only buy brand name in perfect condition. I got DS's Gap's Warmest Jacket for this winter for 1 dollar. It's in perfect condition. It's also a tiny bit large so it may fit again next winter - score!!

Got DD's school shoes at Marshalls for 19.99, they are brand name ballet flats.

Some things I do have to spend a bit more on. DS needed new school shoes and he really runs around so they needed to be pretty good shoes. Went to the sketchers store and got them for 40.00.

How much do we spend, as little as possible ;) Age does effect the price, just the nature of the beast. We don't really budget for clothing, just purchase as needed. No uniforms for our school district. And where we live, the kids can wear shorts almost year round.

I think broken down month by month it's not much (less than $100 for our family of 4)...but we, too, buy 'as needed' or when there is a really great sale and I can get stuff for next year! My son is still getting hand me downs from an older cousin.

Growing up, we used to get $500 for new school clothes and shoes and I did that for my daughter this year for Kindergarten (but most of her other clothes were hand me downs and older).

Winter jackets we buy either when on sale or if I forget - when we see a good price. Shoes are bought as needed.

I do not budget for the monthly - but do budget for the back to school shopping.

At the beginning of fall/winter we take a trip to the secondhand store where I spend slightly under $100. We do the same at the beginning of spring. Beyond that we may buy one or two other things during the year that are either needed. Other than that she gets brand new clothes for her birthday or Christmas (lucky for her her birthday is in the summer and Christmas is in the winter!).

We can't afford to do more. The secondhand store we go to is in a rich neighborhood and we are able to get name brand stuff and the "latest fashions" for very cheap. Everything is in great condition, some of it is even new! I can afford to buy her 5 pairs of jeans for $25. Otherwise she'd get two pairs brand new! It's a compromise she has agreed to, and she LOVES shopping secondhand.

We also get clothes from friends who are larger, and we always pass her outgrown stuff down to friends. Moms helping moms!

We went to Kohl's last week during their sale and clearance event and had an "extra 15% off everything" coupon to boot so we spent some money my mom gave us for back-to-school. The girls got $100 each and were able to get a couple of pair of jeans, skirts, several shirts, t-shirts, a dress, jeggings... most of it is mix and match stuff. Not only mix and match with what they bought, but with things they already have at home.

We won't have to spend anything else until this weekend for socks, shoes, and underwear and in Connecticut this is Tax Free Week on all clothes and shoes. I'm thinking we'll hit Kohl's again with another 15% coupon or maybe Famous Footwear (there's one nearby and I just received some good coupons in the mail).

When my kids were in school I had a budget set aside for each and the older had more money. The amount was around $600 for both which wold be like $1000 to $1300 in this day. I would not buy things to start the year off and we would add to it as we went along. No need to buy it all at one time as they could out grow it before it was ever worn.

Winter clothes were purchased about 2 sizes too big at the end of the year for $5 to $10 for down filled jackets (clothing sale seasonal twice a year) and they would fit and have room to grow into.

I made my son's pants for three years in a row because of his size and he would wear them all year long. They had long hems in them that were turned down after Christmas and after school was out they became shorts. Another time I made my daughter's back to school clothes. Since she didn't fit in with what the other kids were wearing I had to let her wear the same things as all the others (we lived overseas and AFFES, JC Penney and Sears catalogs were we bought clothes).

If you have clothes that are good and can be worn at the beginning of the school year use them and add to them as needed.

The other S.

My daughter is 17 and since high school started, she buys most of her clothes with her babysitting money and $$ I pay her from our company when she is working alongside me.

We typically buy things as needed and no set spree for shopping. She does go shopping with friends at the beginning of the semester to shop for new clothes. I think she spent about $500 last week on her shopping trip with friends. SHe shops about once every 3-4 months or so with friends and picks up maybe $100-$200 worth of clothes. She is paying for the majority of it. When she was shopping last week, this friend with her only goes once a semester and her spending budget was $1200, BUT, that was for the semester and no more shopping.

Every August I box up everything daughter no longer wears or does not like anymore and ship it to my SIL for her girls. This includes name brands, coats, etc.

We don't have much of a winter here but when Spring does begin, I ship all the winter items to SIL.

I have no idea what "normal" is because most of the time, we buy as we need it.

too much!! I just buy them things as they need them. I don't go out and buy a whole load of stuff for beginning of the school year. I buy a few new short and a pair of jeans and new tennis shoes and some shirts. Their shoes usually are about $100 ( I have two teen boys). The like Nike everything. My oldest son is liking to dress nice for school now, so that costs a little more, but that is OK he only has a few years left of school and I want him to be happy.

I just spent about $100 online for 4 polo shirts and uniform skirts for my 12 year old. She still has 2 sets from last year that fit. Still need to buy sneakers for both kids as well as sports short. The 15 year old buys her own clothes but it consists of t-shirts and jeans or shorts and she shops in the boys department for gaming-themed shirts, so they do not cost that much. Bathing suits we buy when we need them which is high summer when they are usually on sale because the fall clothes are coming out already! We also have a give-and-take shop in our town as well as consignment stores. Snow suits and winter boots come from consignment and are often barely worn. Underwear from Target probably twice a year since things wear out or they outgrow them. I am still wearing capris and jeans I bought 15 years ago and only have spent money in the last 10 year on dress pants and tops for work, which I get at Marshalls or TJMaxx. I really need to buy some new stuff for me one of these day, but HATE to shop. And hubby buys 5 new short sleeved dress shirts every spring and 5 new long sleeved button down shirts every fall plus about 4 pairs of pants per year (2 khaki, 2 black), either at Lands End or the Gap. I guess we are not fashion-plates but everyone is clean and comfortable.

Way too much. I don't know how all of the mom's on here who say they spend less than $100 per kid do it. I don't know ANY parent who can get a season's wardrobe for that. I'd love to know the trick!

I am getting my boys their clothes tonight, and will probably spend at least $150 for 3 outfits for each kid. But then one son and my daughter still need shoes, if they have winter coats out I may get those, if not at least fall ones, etc...it never ends.

If I go and get a full wardrobe for each kid, I spent anywhere between $400 and $600 at Khol's WITH my 30% off coupon.

I really have no idea! 95% of my sons clothing come from thrift sales. so its a dollar here & there. I always buy new shoes though, so thats probably $100 per year. My daughter probably find half of her clothes from yard sales, 25 percent on clearance, and pants and shorts we usually pay sales prices. I'd guess no more than 300 dollars annually for both kids combined. I am a thrift store junkie for myself, with new work pants and an occaisional clearance blouse thrown in. DH.... this is where our budget gets blown. he has been up and down sizes over the last 3 years. I would say he spends it easily 500 per year to accommodate this.

I really like the idea of the person who puts a set amount of money into an envelope every month. great way to budget. I know I would think twice about some purchases if I was spending cash.

Depends. I know I buy my daughter more than she needs. Generally, we shop Kohls, JCPenney or Children's Place for her clothes, sometimes Macys or Sams Club. Generally shorts/jeans I try to keep in the $10 or under range...I have to really love them to spend more. Early in the summer, I bought Levi's bermuda shorts of various design at Macy's for $8 on an extra $ off coupon. Cute t-shirt type shirts are in the $5-8 range usually....$10 at most. Dresses usually in the $20 or less range. I don't spend a fortune on her clothes because she's going to outgrown most of the before wearing them out, but she usually looks cute. At end of season and start of seasons, I go through her wardrobe for what to store and what to donate.

I will splurge on her everyday shoes....she got a pair o $50 Skeetchers from Kohls this weekend, but with being on sale and a 20% off coupon and tax-free weekend, they were more like $34. Dress shoes usually come from Target or Kohls, usually for less than $15. She doesn't wear them long enough to do otherwise.

My daughter does have to wear uniforms this year for the first time, and they are customized to the school. Ordering them on-line, I spent $230 for 5 uniforms. Each item was more than I would typically spend. I ordered 5 because she has to have an extra in her backpack daily, and I don't want to have to do laundry repeatedly during the week.

My daughter is 4, almost 5, and I think her clothes will only get more expensive. I buy most of the clothes for my teenage niece and nephew, and that's an incredibly expensive undertaking. Just keeping my niece in bras and underwear is expensive, and then there are shorts, capris, various types of shirts, hoodies, jackets, multiple pairs/types of shoes, etc.

I usually buy clothes twice year.. fall.. (school) and spring (summer closthes)

I spent about $75 on each kid for new school clothes.. but I bought them last spring on super duper clearance. Coats and boots still fit from last year.. so they didnt need much.

I also shop resales and mom to mom sales and pick up odds and ends whenever I see a good deal.

I have no clue, I buy things as needed. So it's done over time versus all at once.