Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

Ways to Save When Back-to-School Shopping

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After the long days of summer, many parents look forward to their children’s return to school.  Unfortunately, preparing for the return to school often includes a large financial outlay for back to school supplies and clothes.  However, there are several strategies you can employ to limit how much you have to spend.

Back to School Supplies

-In late July, try to obtain your child’s back to school supply list from the school.  Scour the ads for great deals and look at sites like A Full Cup to learn which items you can get for free.  It may take several weeks for all of the items on your child’s list to go on sale, which is why you want to start shopping in late July.  I employed this strategy last year and got all of my son’s school supplies for $12, and I bought extra to give at Christmas too.

glue army-Keep in mind that stores such as Staples, Office Depot and Office Max have a price matching policy.   If you find a lower price at a competitor’s store, bring in the ad, and the store you are shopping at will match the price.  You can save gas by taking advantage of this policy, but beware that most have a 7 to 14 day window for the competitor’s price, and a few stores exclude prices advertised on websites.

-When you can obtain items for free, try to buy more than you need.  Then, if your child runs out of some of the supplies mid-school year, you won’t have to pay full price to buy more.  You can just shop in your supply you got for free.

Back to School Clothing

-Before going out to shop for clothes, first go through your child’s closet to see what clothing they already have that still fits and is in good condition.  Make a list of items and colors so you can look for matching pieces when shopping.

-Check out stores like Once Upon a Child.  They often have new designer clothes for 1/3 to ½ the retail cost.

-Buy on eBay.  Many people list their children’s gently worn clothes on eBay, and you can find many auctions in late July and August.  To make sure you get a good deal, read the description thoroughly.  A good seller should specify how worn the clothes are and any flaws in the clothing.  To make sure you are dealing with a good seller, check their feedback.  It should be 100% positive.  I never buy from a seller with lower than 98% positive feedback.  Also, the more feedback a seller has, the more experienced they are.  Finally, feel free to ask questions about the clothing before you bid on it.  Consider buying several auctions from one seller who combines shipping to save on shipping costs.

-Check out Craigslist.  People often list their children’s clothes for sale and when they are having garage sales.  You probably don’t want to buy all of your children’s clothes used, but you can find some high quality clothing at a fraction of the cost by considering used clothing markets.

-Buy mix and match clothing.  Try to buy 3 to 4 pairs of pants and 5 to 6 shirts that can be interchanged.  This dramatically extends the variety of outfits your child can wear.

-Stagger your buying.  Buy some lightweight fall clothes early in the season, and buy sweaters and warmer clothes later in the fall.  This can help you distribute the money that you spend over a few months.  Wait for seasonal sales such as Columbus Day.  Also, the stores frequently reduce the fall merchandise to make way for the winter items; try to buy more clothes when they are on clearance.

The average American spends $600 on back to school shopping.  You can reduce that amount by half or more by following some of these strategies.  If you take the time to plan ahead and wait for the sales, you can dramatically cut your back-to-school expenses.  Happy frugal shopping!

photo credit: me and the sysop

Raising a Child Does Not Cost as Much as the USDA Estimates

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According to the USDA’s 2010 report, raising a child born in 2010 to the age of 18 will cost on average $226,920.  This cost is the average cost a middle-class family pays for shelter, food, health care, clothing, transportation, child care, education and other expenses.  They further break down the average cost per child per year as $11,800 to $13,880.  Yikes!  If you are on the fence about having kids, this report will certainly sway you in the direction of remaining childless.

However, as a mom to three kids, I can attest (as many other parents including Beating Broke can), that it doesn’t have to be this way.    My husband and I have three kids, which, according to the report, should run us a minimum of $35,400 a year, not including our other expenses.  My husband is just completing his Ph.D. and starting his career.  While we count on him being able to make a large salary in the future, right now between his job and my part-time work from home, we are making a little less than $40,000.  We are most definitely not spending $35,400 a year on our kids.  Here is how we cut corners:

–Shop for clothes at garage sales.  Babies and little kids don’t really care about their clothes; you can find fashionable, barely worn clothing at garage sales for less than $1 per piece or outfit.  Save money this way.  I know it is tempting to buy those adorable, brand new baby clothes, but babies outgrow outfits in weeks.  Let someone else spend their money buying those clothes so you can snatch them up for pennies at a garage sale.  If you don’t go to garage sales, check out Craigslist or eBay.

SAM SAJAN THOMAS–Breastfeed if possible.  Not every woman is able or willing to breastfeed, but if you are, breastfeeding can save nearly $1,000 that would have to be spent on formula for the first year of the child’s life.

–Use cloth diapers.  Cloth diapers do require a large financial investment upfront, but they will last for the two to three years your child is in diapers, and they may even last for use by your next child.  If cloth diapers make you squeamish, make sure to never pay retail for disposable diapers.  By finding deals and using coupons, you should be able to reduce your diaper cost significantly.

–Accept all hand-me-downs.  If you are the lucky recipient of hand-me-downs, please take them.  Honestly, for a newborn, the only thing you need to buy brand new is a crib mattress and a car seat, for safety reasons.  Everything else such as strollers, toys, cribs, clothes, etc. can be given as a hand-me-down or bought second hand.

There are some costs that you can’t save money on such as day care and health care.  In all the other areas, there are ways to cut corners.  Get in the practice of cutting corners when children are small and save the difference.  Forgo the brand new outfits and large ticket items like a crib and instead go secondhand and save the difference.  Bigger expenses loom ahead such as college.  As Beating Broke stated in an earlier post, Stop Adding Up the Cost of Raising Children.  It is possible to raise them for significantly less than the government suggests.

What are your suggestions for saving money when raising children?

photo credit: Sukanto Debnath