Money Saving Tips-Clothes Shopping

I've been called a lot of words over the years over how cheap I am, especially from my husband who is not nearly as budget concious as I am. I am sharing my tips for saving some money on common things that we buy for our family. I would love to hear from you with your own money saving tips.

Todays post is about how to save money on new clothing. My kids are 18 months and 4 and go so clothing so quickly, plus I am am always planning ahead for the next season.

TOP 10 TIPS FOR SAVING MONEY ON BUYING CLOTHES

1.  Accept And Ask For Hand Me Downs.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I was fortunate that people handed clothes down to me. I accumulated enough clothing from 0-3 to 2t to last more then 2 years. I just bought some clothing and got some new clothing as gifts to supplement what I didn't get. Don't be afraid to ask others if they have any clothing to pass on and don't refuse if anyone asks if you want clothing from them.

2. Save Clothing and Buy Neutral Clothing When Possible.

If you have or plan to have multiple children, save the clothing that your children use in plastic tubs or bags for the next child. Buy neutral clothing, which is easier to do in the smaller sizes if you have or may have children of both sexes. We happen to have two girls so we save a lot of money by passing clothing down and just buying for the oldest child.

3. Buy Second Hand.


Why spend thousands of dollars on a new wardrobe? Go to Thrift stores, consignment shops, look on the internet sites such as ebay and craigslist, flea markets, yard / garage sales, estate sales and moving sales for great bargains.



4.  Buy in Bulk

Look for Lots and if you go to garage sales/ flea markets, ect ask if you can buy in bulk and make an offer, you may be able to find you can buy items in bulk for 75 percent less then what it would cost if you bought the items indivdually.  On craigslist, I look for key words such as bag, bags, tub, tubs, container, ect to find those that are selling in bulk. For ebay I look for the words lot or lots.

5. Look for Free Clothing.

There is a free section on Craigslist and Freecycle and you can pick up some free clothing on there by being lucky. Don't harass the poster though because there may be a lot of people writing for the same item and including your contact info and why you want the clothing always will help you versus the person that just writes, "Is this available?"

6. Barter / Trade Clothing that Doesn't Fit For Clothing that Does.

On craigslist there is a Barter section where people trade things that they don't want for things that they do. You can always offer a bag of clothing that you don't want and ask for a bag of clothing that does. Its the element of surprise that attacts people to this as they never know what they will get.

7. Have A Stain Stick and A Thread And Needle.

Some people don't like to buy stained or torn clothing. But honestly with a good stain stick and a small amount of sewing these clothing can be good as new so don't be afraid to buy or ask for these types of clothing.

8.  Look For Special Sales and Sign Up For Newsletters.

In Maryland we have a few semi annual sales such as the TotSwap and WeeCycle events where a huge amount of people consign their unwanted kids clothing, household items, toys, books and baby items. You can get fantastic deals and they have days where most things are half off or 1 dollar. Sign up for their newsletters. Also Thrift shops and consignment shops have newsletters and you can learn about great sales and deals they are having.

9. Sell Old Clothes To Make Money For New Clothes.

Like you, there are tons of people looking for a bargain so look on websites such as kijiji, ebay and craigslist and sell as lots or individually for nicer or new with tags clothing. You can make enough money to buy new clothing.

10. Don't Be Afraid To Look In The Dumpster.

You would be surprised what people throw away. Especially if you live near an apartment complex, where people are always moving out. Typically they will put these things on the ground with the hopes someone will come and pick them up, recycling is much better then these items ending up in a pile of trash.

Thank you everyone for reading and I encourage your great additional tips and responses!!

The changing table dilemma

I've been trying for at least a month to give away this changing table, first by selling it and then finally giving up and giving it away. We bought the table about 3 months ago for my mom to use at her house off of Craigslist. It was a vintage changing table , with thin wooden legs and 2 shelves. Not the most sturdy, but for $10.00 I thought it was a good bargain. My mom didn't agree and went out and bought a new one at Wal-Mart.

Now I was left with the dilemma of what to do with the changing table. We already have one in the baby's room. We decided to try to sell it for $20, which is still a pretty good price as I saw others that were the same design selling for $20. We even stated that we would deliver it. We had one lady that wanted the table and wanted us to deliver it, 15 miles away. We got there and she decided she didn't like the fact that the legs wobbled and it looked older then she thought. So back the changing table went.

I then put it up on Craigslist for $10 and waited almost 2 weeks. I didn't get one response, even with the picture. Today I listed it for free. I noted that the changing table should be on carpet to ensure the legs are stable. We received 3 responses. The trick is to make sure the person is serious about getting the table. WE list when we are available and state that we will leave it on the porch. We ask the person if the times listed works for them. Two of the three never responded. The last girl really wanted it for her baby's nursery. She said she was 6 months pregnant and could use it. We left the table on the porch and it was finally picked up.
It would have been nice to get the $10.00 back, but honestly it wasn't worth the hassle of re-listing and then having someone rejecting the table. When its free, it always seems like a better offer. Would the same person have picked it up if it cost money? Maybe , Maybe not. It wasn't broken or damaged in any way, it just wasn't the sturdiest table so it would have not been the first choice when browsing through the for sale ads.

Posting Free Items on Craigslist Tips

Who doesn’t like something for free? The question though is why do people give away things for free. People use Craigslist to sell things all the time but not as many people use it to give away things.

There are many reasons why someone would give an item of value away for free. They want it out of the house, either because its taking up space or they are moving and they don’t want to take it with them. They don’t want to bother to sell the item or it would not sell. It could be because they are charitable and want to give to someone who needs the item.

I have given away things on Craigslist for all of the above reasons. I have learned a few tips to help people giving away and those who want to get something for free.

1. Post first thing on a weekday. People usually are checking the free section at work and less frequently checking on the weekends or at night. If you want to make sure you are the first one to respond to a listing, contact the person early in the morning.
2. Don’t post items in a group titled “free items”. These will only be viewed by resellers typically. Post each item individually unless they are similar items or go together.
3. When you post, understand that not all the people that respond to your item are interested in it. Some responses are from scammers or spammers. Although usually not Nigerian scammers because no money is involved. Also if you listed several items as a group (like books) and the person refers to the items as “it” you have to wonder.
4. Specify in your posting if you want people to specify why they want the item or specify where the item is going (charity, themselves, friend, ect). If I get several responses for one item I won’t respond to the first person who wrote, I will respond to the person who seems to need the item the most. This applies specifically to clothing. I’m more willing to respond to someone who says they are giving the items to their church charity.
5. Understand that people who respond to these ads are from all walks of life, just because you can spell doesn’t mean everyone can. Don’t judge these people on their grammatical skills.
6. Never do curbalerts and if you have a porch put the items on your porch. Write back to someone requesting the item and give them your address or if you are putting it on the corner, the street intersections. Don’t promise the same item to 5 people at once.
7. Give the person a timeframe to respond back to you, if they had questions or if you gave them your address, give them a timeframe to pick up the item. I typically give 1 to 2 days. If they do not pick up the item by then, I offer it to the next person interested.
8. Usually people look at items within a 2 to 3 day timeframe, if its been more then a week, you may need to repost the item at another time.
9. To avoid questions, be descriptive as possible in you ad and include a picture. If there’s any defects or problems, state this. Yes, the item is free but no one wants to pick up something and find out that its in decrepit shape or not usable.
10. Look at the section, “Items wanted”. Respond to people who want the item you are trying to get rid of.
11. Understand that some items are much more popular then others. Items like furniture, clothing and children’s items seem to be the most popular. Items that are only used for a specific purpose and are not generic are harder to get rid of and may take some patience and time to get rid of.
12. If you aren't willing to deliver an item, make sure this is posted. Not everyone has a vehicle and even for smaller items, people may ask you to deliver them. Don't assume just because the item is free that people won't ask you to deliver them the item.
13. Don't post your contact information. Only give it out after you respond to someone.

Caught in the crosswalk

I wrote this blog originally in November 2008. I had just bought a pregnancy test and after I wrote this blog, I found out I was pregnant. This is significant because I almost got ran down by an arrogant driver in a crosswalk and two lives could have been lost that day.

Is it just me or has our country as a whole just become drivers that don't pay attention to their surroundings? The fact that people are texting and driving is just very scary. Just today I was out running some errands and I went to Target. Now most of us know that most Target's typically have a gigantic crosswalk section in front of them. I am ready to cross from the parking lot to the store and I see a black pickup truck stop for an older lady to cross. She crosses and I start to cross as well. Just then, the black pick up revs his engine and continues to drive. I jumped back and waved my hands at the man. He stops for a moment, just looks at me , shrugs his shoulders and drives off.

Now I am not a small person at 5'6 and even in a pickup , I am clearly visible. Thank god my 2 year old daughter was not with me. This is the third time I've been almost run over in a cross walk in the past month. The first two times occured at the army post where I work. The first time it was a teenage boy who almost ran me down while I was in the middle of a crosswalk and thank god I ran the other way because he never stopped. The second time I was walking across the parking lot (which is only about a 15 feet walk). When this middle aged women comes plowing down and barely missed me. Again, I threw my hands in the air and she just looked at me and shrugged her shoulders.

I just don't understand, do I have a big target on my belly or something? I can't blame it on age, as two out of three times the people were at least middle aged. I just think people don't like to wait, they are always in a hurry and aren't really paying attention to the world outside of their car window. Where I live, you need to drive down a heavily wooded area to get to my development. The speed limit is 25. I always see deer crossing the road or at least on the side of the road, waiting to cross. I've been lucky that I've been able to stop in time for the deer to cross. That is deer, in worst terms, there are also roads near my house where people cross, in the dark, typically not at crosswalks. These people may be with their families and include small children. I worry that if I'm not safe in the crosswalks, these people have a very slim chance of not getting hit, crossing a busy two way street.

My message to all is simple. Concentrate on the road and your surroundings when your drive. That missed call or unanswered text message is not as important as someone's life.

The domestic Goddess

I will never be labeled as a domestic goddess। I shun cleaning,cooking and organizing. I work 40 hours a week plus the 10 hours a week I spend commuting back and fourth to work. I come home I just want to crash and relax although really I can't. I have 2 children, one 3 and one newborn.

When people come into my parents house , it looks like a show house. All of the rooms are dusted and cleaned on a regular basis. The outdoor yard is perfectly landscaped. My parents do all of this themselves. My mom was a stay at home mom though and my dad is a guru with home improvement. I am lucky if I get my husband to touch up paint on the walls. He was raised in Brooklyn in a small apartment and doesn't seem interested in learning how to fix things on his own.

I come home from work and start cooking dinner, which is usually selected from a menu planned ahead of time. Sometimes I use the crockpot and start the dinner in the morning. I occasionally use cookbooks to find new recipes. I enjoy the cookbooks my mom has from the 1960s and 1970s as the recipes are simple and typically use ingredients I have on hand.

I then clean the kitchen stove, I don't do the dishes as my husband insists on doing them by hand even though we own a dishwasher. Usually the dishes end up sitting in the sink so long that I end up washing them in the dishwasher as he doesn't get home until after 7 and is also tired.

Laundry gets done once or twice a week and I do as much as I can at one time, I try to put all of the clothes away all at once and rarely iron unless the clothes look like a giant spider web of wrinkles has invaded them. Sometimes I pick up the clothes from the drycleaners.

I take care of my daughters and give them a bath before dinner. They are of mixed race and both my husband and I have very curly hair so washing her hair and styling my 3 year old's hair is always a long process (At least half an hour) as my husband refuses to let me cut her hair and if it were straight it would be waist length. It is so thick and curly now that I have to section off her hair and even with tons of conditioner its hard to get a comb through. I didn't even mention the tantrums and her being very stubborn. Getting her to do anything (eat, get dressed, go to the potty) is always a long task in itself. And then you have breastfeeding the baby.

Thats basically my week, other cleaning and organizing typically doesn't get done. Like vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, washing the windows, any yard work, organzing the closets and pantry, being able to spring clean. The weekends are typically spend running around and I'm lucky if I get any time to clean, plus being pregnant I don't use anything with chemicals. Sometimes I feel ashamed that I am not like my mother and don't have a house that spotless and clean. Some of my friends have resorted to hiring a maid, but that is not in our budget. I think I would feel guilty about hiring a maid when I could be doing the same work myself. I own a townhouse and even though we want to eventually move into a bigger house I fear all of the extra cleaning tasks and responsibilities that come with a bigger house.

Cheap is Chic

I've always been called "cheap" . Growing up I was always the one who saved her money. I would save but not for a short term reason, typically for a long term reason. I started to buy savings bonds when I was 13 and I used them to go on a trip to Europe when I was 22. I saved most of the money I earned from my job I had as a hostess and from babysitting since I was 15. That money went towards a down payment on a new car when I was 23.

Now my parents and my brother they weren't like this at all and always told me I was cheap. My dad I think is much more thrifty then my mom. MY mom likes sales but she also buys brand name items. My brother typically saved for short term reasons (this is why he had a car at 16 and was able to drive to school, whereas I was a senior still taking the bus). Although I think now that he is married he no longer lets money urn a hole in his pocket.

I would brag about the 2.00 dress I bought at 80 percent off at a brand name store or the deal I found on ebay or goodwill. My friends scoffed at this as they would go to the brand name stores. I looked for the cheapest groceries in the store when I went to the grocery store. I liked yard sales.

I would now be considered "thrifty" instead of cheap as the economy has soured and people are realizing "value" is very subjective. Items that used to have value such as brand name new clothes don't have as much value to the consumer anymore.

Now if only i could convince my husband to share my philosophy. He on the other hand likes to have nice electronics and is whining about me not buying him an i pod for our 5th anniversary gift, although I did take him out to a nice restaurant, with a coupon for a free entree of course.

Who wears short shorts, definately not my three year old

Women and teenagers are sexulized in the media and definitely by our fashion community. That we all know. However toddlers and preschoolers should not be. There once was a time when little girls clothes exuded femininity. If I go through pictures of my mother or grandmother as a young child I will only see pictures of a little girl in a frilly dress, even if it wasn't a formal picture. In the 70s and 80s that was changed with the invention of seersucker belly revealing shirts and sit on your hips jeans. I admit I wore the former at least by age 6. This was not my choice obviously. Other then this one shirt, it appears my mother came to her senses and dressed me pretty conservitely in the time that I couldn't pick out my own clothes.

Now that I have two girls; three and one month, I realize that the clothing for toddlers can be pretty hit or miss as far as defining cuteness. Is cute a frilly dress or a half shirt exposing the belly with dora the explorer. Is a one piece little mermaid swimsuit cute or a polka dot bikini that looks like it is a small version of what is in the Victoria's secret catalog cute?

For me, I want my little girls to look like little girls not little adults. They shouldn't necessarily be covered head to toe but exercise some decency at least. My husband and I watched Toddlers and Tiaras on TLC the other night and were horrified. The little girls wore more makeup then their mothers. They sashayed their hips and pouted their lips and wore clothing that should be on project runway. Come on people, your three year old should not be dressed like shes getting ready for the prom.