I have always had the "thrifty gene" in me, but the last 2 years have really brought it out. Going from a family that could buy whatever we wanted, go on vacation at the drop of the hat, not use coupons and just go to the store and shop at the mall to having to watch every penny has been a HUGE change! The lessons I have learned have been priceless and the lessons I am teaching my children are even more priceless.
Being honest here, when Hubby owned his own company, we were able to just pick up and go on vacation whenever we wanted. I was also selling on eBay and making over $1000 a month that we used for "fun money" and just frittered it away every month. It's hard to look back now, after career changes and going thru Dave Ramsey's course, to see how much money we wasted. Yes, it was nice to be able to just pick up and go to the mall and buy everyone a new outfit for something, but now it's so much more fun finding treasures in resale shops. Do I still get the same brands? YES Is it quality clothing? YES...So now I see people buying stuff at the mall (I was only there because Miss Priss went to Apple camp at the Apple store. I don't even go to the mall any more!) and thought....how dumb are those people? They could buy an entire wardrobe for that! I guess I'm jaded now.
Some people would call that cheap, but I like to challenge myself. I am a smart shopper (that's what I am trying to teach my daughter) and the fact that I got that same White House Black Market pair of pants that you paid $60 for, I got for $1.49 just proves it! Now I didn't know I was going to find those capri's like I would have if I had gone to the store to buy them, but the thrill of the hunt is even better! You never know what you might find at a thrift store!
This brings me to school clothes...
Last year I challenged myself to only spend $200 on school clothes for the three munchkins beginning of the year load. I did well and most of that stuff held them thru the holidays. Then they grew. Of course...
So this year, my goal is to get the following items for UNDER $100 total. That way I can spend another $100 when it starts getting cooler and/or they have a growth spurt. They may have a few of these items left in their closets (jeans and shorts and such) so those will be checked off the list after I clean them out later today.
Here's my essentials list for this year:
Miss Priss:
- 3 jeans
- 3 non jeans pants
- 4 shorts
- 3 skirts
- 5 tees
- 2 sweaters
- 3 blouses
- 3 dresses
- 1 sandals
- 1 black flats
- 1 brown flats
- 1 new tennis shoes
- 1 boots
the twins:
- 2 new tennis shoes
- 6 jeans
- 4 non jeans pants
- 4 denim shorts
- 2 khaki's
- 10 tees
- 4 ss button downs
- 6 polos
- 4 sweatshirts
- 4 warm up pants
In my quest to become "living simply", I am striving to not have items that just hang in the closets because we have too much to wear. I know I have stuff that just hangs there because it's "too good" to get rid of, but I generally wear the same 4 or 5 outfits all the time. WHY keep that stuff??? It's just clutter! So...eBay here it comes!!!
This list should get them thru at least til winter. Here in Tx, it doesn't get that cold until after Thanksgiving.
This is starting to get to be a long post...sorry!!! I'm almost done....
So far, I have checked off the items I have purchased (15) and I have spent a little over $13! We have an awesome resale shop here that has a $1 rack of items that have just been there for their allotted time and you can find amazing deals there! I got Miss Priss an Abercrombie long sleeved top for 50 CENTS yesterday!!! SEE...name brand stuff!!! That's all I will buy unless it's something like a solid polo. Then it doesn't really matter, right?
So...as of today 7/21, I still have $87 to spend!!! I'll keep ya updated!
Now, my challenge for you is to set a budget and buy used!!! You will get so much more for your money!
Coming up, how I made my kitchen over for under $150! And, my revamping my eBay store. From hair bows to dinnerware and vintage items...it's been fun!
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