We all know how expensive it is when you are buying allergy-friendly foods, or if you are wanting to buy more organic and natural foods. If you are looking to cut expenses in your budget so that you can increase your grocery budget, consider buying used clothing, toys, and books.
This weekend I managed to hit two garage sales and a local Goodwill, and check out my bounty! I spent a total of $8 on toys and $8 on clothing and got everything in this picture:
Garage Sale:
Doll Stroller, $1 (brand new)
Goodwill:
Leapster 2 Game System, $7 (AMAZING! These sell for $40 new if you can catch them on sale)
Sweater Dress, Old Navy, $2 (brand new)
Gray Leggings, $1 (brand new)
Sweater Vest, Children’s Place, $2 (brand new)
Button-Down Shirt, Children’s Place, $1
Button-Down Shirt, Genuine Kids by Osh Kosh, $1
Shorts, Children’s Place, $1
You can get quality items for next to nothing! My Goodwill has a “color of the week” tag where anything tagged with that color is 50% off. All of the clothing I purchased was the color of the week.
In addition to these items, I picked up several high-quality children’s books for less than $1 each at one of the garage sales.
Be sure to check out your local thrift stores and be open to garage sales. I use Craigslist and find out which local garage sales will be carrying the clothing sizes I need and the toys in my children’s age range. Almost any garage sale with kids stuff will have tons of books as well. You can really make the most of your time by hitting neighborhood garage sales.
I try to buy clothing that my children will be able to wear 1-2 years in the future. For boys I find this to be fairly easy since I tend to stick to jeans, khakis, and collared shirts in solids, stripes, or plaids. I avoid anything too trendy, shirts with images, etc. Boys clothes in these categories are fairly timeless and don’t look out of fashion from year-to-year.
I have a little more difficulty with girls clothing, and generally only buy one year in advance. Girls clothing is just a little less forgiving in my opinion with styles and trends.
If you need to cut expenses and are in the habit of buying clothing, toys, and books at regular stores, then these areas are a perfect opportunity to cut costs. Garage Sales are generally where you can get the best deals, then probably thrift stores, then consignment sales or consignment stores. Sometimes, I can catch the 75% off clearance at Target and score brand new items for deep discounts. This is especially true for shoes, I never pay more than $4 for brand new shoes thanks to Target.
Bargain shopping is addicting though, and once you see how cheap you can buy things, the thought of paying full-price will have you breaking out in hives!
Click here to visit my page on Facebook and "like" me to receive my blog posts automatically.
This weekend I managed to hit two garage sales and a local Goodwill, and check out my bounty! I spent a total of $8 on toys and $8 on clothing and got everything in this picture:
Garage Sale:
Doll Stroller, $1 (brand new)
Goodwill:
Leapster 2 Game System, $7 (AMAZING! These sell for $40 new if you can catch them on sale)
Sweater Dress, Old Navy, $2 (brand new)
Gray Leggings, $1 (brand new)
Sweater Vest, Children’s Place, $2 (brand new)
Button-Down Shirt, Children’s Place, $1
Button-Down Shirt, Genuine Kids by Osh Kosh, $1
Shorts, Children’s Place, $1
You can get quality items for next to nothing! My Goodwill has a “color of the week” tag where anything tagged with that color is 50% off. All of the clothing I purchased was the color of the week.
In addition to these items, I picked up several high-quality children’s books for less than $1 each at one of the garage sales.
Be sure to check out your local thrift stores and be open to garage sales. I use Craigslist and find out which local garage sales will be carrying the clothing sizes I need and the toys in my children’s age range. Almost any garage sale with kids stuff will have tons of books as well. You can really make the most of your time by hitting neighborhood garage sales.
I try to buy clothing that my children will be able to wear 1-2 years in the future. For boys I find this to be fairly easy since I tend to stick to jeans, khakis, and collared shirts in solids, stripes, or plaids. I avoid anything too trendy, shirts with images, etc. Boys clothes in these categories are fairly timeless and don’t look out of fashion from year-to-year.
I have a little more difficulty with girls clothing, and generally only buy one year in advance. Girls clothing is just a little less forgiving in my opinion with styles and trends.
If you need to cut expenses and are in the habit of buying clothing, toys, and books at regular stores, then these areas are a perfect opportunity to cut costs. Garage Sales are generally where you can get the best deals, then probably thrift stores, then consignment sales or consignment stores. Sometimes, I can catch the 75% off clearance at Target and score brand new items for deep discounts. This is especially true for shoes, I never pay more than $4 for brand new shoes thanks to Target.
Bargain shopping is addicting though, and once you see how cheap you can buy things, the thought of paying full-price will have you breaking out in hives!
Click here to visit my page on Facebook and "like" me to receive my blog posts automatically.