Cheap Kid Clothes: How To Dress Your Kids on a Small Budget!
I’m a minimalist when it comes to clothing. When I shop, I look for items that I can get the most use out of and with very little accessories.
I don’t like fuss and it translates into the way I decide to dress my kids. I value quality, but I also value finding cheap kid clothes that don’t bust my budget.
My mom always teases me because if I find one shirt I like, I’ll more than likely buy 2 or 3 colors. Then I’ll find one pair of pants that go with all of those tops and BAM! There goes my wardrobe. Needless to say, that principle applies to my daughter (and now my son) as well.
They say kids are expensive and while they can be, you have control over your clothing budget. Let’s get into how you can get cheap kid’s clothing on a budget.
How to Find Cheap Kid Clothes on a Budget
One of my favorite places to shop for my girl is Children’s Place. During a good sale, I often get an entire season’s wardrobe for less than $80.00. This includes leggings, church clothes, shoes, shirts, and jeans!
I purchase several tops that can easily go with ALL of the pants I purchase. For my mom, my efforts are worth teasing me about, but my pocketbook and I could care less about what anyone thinks of this method.
Using the idea of a capsule wardrobe, I want to give you an example of how I would pull together a winter wardrobe if we needed to purchase on this year. (Note: I got lucky this year and don’t have to replace the majority of her wardrobe because she can still wear a lot of items. I’ve only had to replace jeans!)
The most important aspect of creating a capsule wardrobe for your kid is to make sure everything you purchase can be worn together. Take a look at the tops I found on clearance and sale at Children’s Place. All of these tops were on clearance for $3.99.
Choosing similar colors gives you the option of selecting one or two bottoms that will go best with each top. You could choose a skirt that goes with each top and a pair of pants that goes with each top.
With these bottoms, 8 different outfits can be created with the four tops above. There also were a pair of dark denim skinny jeans that were on clearance for $7.20 that would go with all four tops (for those of you that aren’t into the bright colors).
I also found a cute pink dress for $7.20.
Finally, let’s not forget about the finishing touches. I found a moto jacket for $10.20, a pair of pink shoes for $10.99, and a headband for 90 cents. These items go with at least one of the tops and bottoms and if your kids are anything like my daughter, they could care less about matching!
Cheap Kids Clothing on a Budget – How I Saved 75 Percent Off of Kid’s Clothes
So, let’s do a tally on all of the items mentioned above:
4 tops: $3.99 each – $15.96 (regular price $10.50×4=$42)
1 pair of leggings: $3.60 (regular price $12.95)
2 pairs of corduroys: $7.20 each – $14.40 (regular price $24.95×2=$49.90)
1 dress: $7.20 (regular price $24.95)
1 jacket: $10.20 (regular price $34.95)
1 headband: 90 cents (regular price $3.95)
1 pair of shoes: $10.99 (regular price $22.95)
Total: $63.25 (regular price $191.65)
With 20 percent off online coupon and 5 percent savings for using Place Card, the grand total is $47.44!!! That’s around a 75 percent savings off regular price! If you have My Place Rewards saved up the price could come down even more! Now, how’s that for cheap kid clothes?
Other Helpful Tips For Finding Cheap Kids Clothing on a Budget
Use cash-back websites and apps.
Utilize free apps and websites like Ibotta and Ebates. Check both to see which will offer you a better deal. Ibotta sometimes has bonuses for mobile shopping that can’t be beaten.
On the same note, Ebates offers awesome cash back deals during back to school and certain holidays as well. They have a bunch of different retailers, so check there often! But get this… if it’s your first time using either, you get a sign-up bonus.
Sign up for Ibotta using this link and you’ll get a $10 welcome bonus when you redeem your first cashback offer.
Join Ebates using this link and you’ll receive a $10 welcome bonus when you make your first $25 bonus through Ebates.
Shop Consignment.
Look for filler items at other stores. I often use the children’s consignment shop, like, Once Upon a Child, to sell clothing my kids no longer wear. Sometimes I take those funds from and purchase items that are for sale at the consignment store. If you don’t have a local consignment shop, try ThredUp. I’ve made a few purchases with ThredUp for my daughter in the past when I couldn’t find what I was looking for at my consignment shop.
Sign up with ThredUp using this link and receive a $10 credit to start purchasing cheap kid clothes.
Shop at off-price retailers.
I’ll also use the funds from selling at consignment and check the clearance section of TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Ross, and Target. I never have to pay full price for anything I purchase my kids and as you can see above, there is no reason to!
Other Children’s Place pro-shopping tips!
To get the best deals at Children’s Place, I usually wait for a holiday or seasonal events. For example, Back to School, Black Friday weekend, End of Summer sales, etc.
Most of the time I purchase from Children’s Place online vs the store. They have free shipping over certain price points (or it’s $5). The deals are typically the same; however, I always save more money when I don’t have to step foot in a store (or mall)!
Combine with online coupons or mailed coupons. There is ALWAYS a coupon for Children’s Place and if there isn’t, it’s not a good time to be shopping there (aka, there isn’t a good sale). Children’s Place has a very good coupon policy that allows you to save even more on top of their sales.
I applied for the Children’s Place card for the extra 5% off. You can also sign up for My Place Rewards to save up your rewards for future purchases. I’ve never paid interest on this card because in doing so, it would defeat the use of coupons and waiting for a good sale. I pay the balance off so that I can maximize my savings.
Wrapping Thangs Up
There is nothing fancy about my method of finding cheap kid clothes, but I sure feel fancy when I keep my money in the bank and still manage to have decent clothing to put on my kids’ body. If you’re tired of paying retail prices for children’s clothing, incorporate some of these tips into your next shopping spree.
So, how do you find cheap kids clothing on a budget?