6 Ways To Save On Clothes

Do you ever wonder how you can save money on clothes for you, your spouse and your children? Here are a six ways that you can do just that.

• Garage Sales

This is one of my personal favorite ways to pick up inexpensive kids clothing.  You can usually find tons of little kid clothes for a very reasonable price.  The going price per outfit can range from $.50 to $2.00.  If you find a sale that has a lot of clothes that you are interested in, don’t be afraid to ask the seller if they would be willing to do a fill-a-bag sale. Fill-a-bag sale is where you fill an entire bag for a set price, say $2 dollars   Usually sellers are thrilled to have someone who wants to buy a large amount of clothing and you can get an even better deal by purchasing a larger quantity.  If you use garage sales as your primary source of clothing, be sure to plan ahead when there are no garage sales such as winter time.  If shopping for older children or adults and you find something that you are interested but the item is priced higher than you would like at a garage sale, just remember how much you would pay for that item new and consider the savings by purchasing it at the garage sale.

• Thrift Shops

Thrift shops vary from location to location.  You usually have to shop at these frequently to find what you want.  The inventory can turn over quickly and there is usually a larger selection than  at garage sales.  Shop on the days when the stores are having a sale.  One of my local stores has a senior day as well as certain color price tags are certain prices on certain days.  Become familiar with your local thrift store and by becoming friendly with the staff, they can help you find what you need for a fraction of the price.

• Friends

Consider hosting a clothing swap with your friends.  It’s a great way to get new-to-you clothing and give you an opportunity to clean out your own clothing and bless someone else.  

• Seasonal Sales

At certain times of the year, you will find that certain clothing items go on sale.  Right now during August and September, you can pick up great sales on children’s clothing.  I saw denim jeans for boys and girls just $6.00 a pair!  Spring time is the best time to pick up dressy clothing and Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday is a good time to pick up just about anything that you need.  Don’t forget to stack coupons with sales along with using reward cards.  

• Clearance Racks

If you are going to purchase new clothing, make sure you start with the clearance racks.  I frequently shop at Kohl’s, Target and Sears and have found that they have well advertised clearance racks.  Change of seasons is a good time to pick up items for the following year.  In the past, I have picked up a beautiful Chaps brand skirt on clearance for only $3.96.  Then I was able to stack another 30% off coupon on top of that.  I couldn’t make the skirt for that price! Every store is different and places their clearance racks in different places, so make sure you learn where each store places them before shopping at the full price racks.

• Reward Cards

Certain department stores send out coupons in the mail and have coupons that you can print prior to going out shopping when you carry their rewards card.  If you shop online, check out online offers from Ebates, MyPoints, Memolink, or your local credit card.  It’s worth a little bit of time to do your research before shopping online.  I recently made a purchase from Staples and found that Ebates was offering 2% cash back on my total purchase, where Discover Market Place was offering 5% cash back.  It only take me a few minutes, but in that time I was able to save 3% more.

With a little bit of planning and effort, it’s easy to cut you clothing bill down considerably! How do you save money when buying clothing?