Cold weather is upon us. For those of us with children, that means digging through clothes drawers and realizing that many of the items that fit well last winter no longer fit — and that it’s time to pick up some new clothes.
[See: Prepare Your Finances for the Holidays.]
How do you find inexpensive winter clothes for your children, particularly at the start of the winter season? Here are some strategies that work well and can save you a pretty penny.
Hit secondhand stores and thrift stores. You might expect these stores to have been picked over, but that’s often not the case. Why? Parents of children who have outgrown their old winter clothes drop off those outgrown clothes at thrift stores and secondhand stores, which means that the offerings at secondhand stores are constantly being refreshed during the winter months, particularly early in the winter.
While you might happen to visit a secondhand store at a point where it happens to be low on fresh children’s apparel at the moment, don’t be afraid to stop in a few times. It’s likely that you’ll hit the store at some point when it’s refreshed its offerings with new secondhand arrivals, and then you’ll find a ton of bargains.
Utilize secondhand stores and consignment stores in pricier neighborhoods. While the actual sticker price on used children’s clothing might be higher in these areas, you’re more likely to find clothes that appear to be unworn or barely worn, as well as a wider variety of clothes from quality manufacturers.
Identify the neighborhoods near you with high property values, then look for secondhand stores that are close to those areas. Target those stores and you’re likely to find great value on high-end clothing.
[See: Your Ultimate Holiday Tipping Guide.]
Watch Craigslist and other online sales services. Sure, there might be many parents seeking out secondhand winter clothes right now online, but many parents are also refreshing their wardrobes and listing the undersized stuff on Craigslist. More customers, sure, but more listings as well.
What this means is that it’s worth your time to keep an eye on Craigslist offerings in your area and make quick offers when people post things for sale.
Of course, the two previous tips can work in your favor as a seller as well. Take the clothes that your children have outgrown and take them to a consignment shop or to Craigslist. You might just find that they sell quickly and provide you with money that you can use to refresh their wardrobes on the cheap.
Have a “swap meet” with other parents. Another great clothes strategy is to simply have a clothing swap meet, where several parents get together with the clothes that their children have outgrown and trade them with other parents. This works particularly well if all of the parents involved have multiple children of varying ages, so that a family might be trading clothes that one child has outgrown for clothes that fit another child.
A clothing swap is a free way to obtain clothes and an opportunity for a social occasion with other parents.
Buy them out of season. This is a key piece of advice that you can use in a few months in order to save a bundle on winter clothes for the following year.
At the end of winter, many retailers put their winter inventory on sale in order to clear out space for spring and summer items. So, in February or March, you can get large discounts on winter items if you plan ahead. When you buy a child’s winter wardrobe in March for them to wear in December, you’ll save a ton of money.
[See: 8 Big Budgeting Blunders — and How to Fix Them.]
Buy bigger clothes. If you do find yourself buying new clothes for your children at this time of the year, buy a size larger than they need. Yes, they might wear clothes that look big on them for a little while, but that comes with a huge benefit.
Next November, when you go through your children’s clothes, you’ll find a lot of clothes from the previous winter that now fit perfectly — or at least fit well enough to get another season of wear out of them. If you can get two years of wear out of a single item of children’s clothing, you’ve saved yourself a trip to the store, which can add up to a ton of savings.
Children’s clothes can add up in cost very quickly, so if you can use these strategies to trim that expense while still dressing your children well, you’re ahead of the game.
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How to Find Cheap Winter Clothes for Kids originally appeared on usnews.com
