by Frances Carleton-Shea

Created on: August 26, 2010

Most parents want their kids to look great.  But lets face it, we can dress our kids cute and the clothing item is either going to get lost or come home with a stain.  So, why spend a fortune on kids clothes?  I have a few simple steps that will help you dress your kids in style without making you cry.

I enjoy looking nice and I enjoy dressing my children nice. My daugher is (8) and my son is (19), yes he can buy his own clothes but once a mom, always a mom.

I feel a sense of pride in my clothes knowing that I am walking out the house, hand in hand with my daugther, and we are both dressed  for less than a total of $30.00, in brand new clothes.  There is nothing wrong with thrift or consignment stores, but once I discovered I could purchase NEW clothes for the same price, if not less, than used clothes, I started to have a hard time shopping second hand.

We all know that seasons change and with that comes end of season clearance sales.  So save your money to shop.  I will tell you how. 

My neighbors, friends and family used to think that I had a compulsive shopping habit. I would get out of my car with a few bags, a few times a week, and suddenly I was being questioned.  The proof was in my receipt.  Once I could show my nosey neighbors, friends and family that I purchased a nice $40.00 tank top for $2.00 and my daughter (4) polo shirts for 0.99 cents a piece, I was no longer hounded because I shopped, I was hounded to take people shopping.  Suddenly, everyone wanted to know my secret.  Word of mouth travels fast. 

I will be honest, I am not always lucky.  I do have dry spells.  During the dry spells I just have to feel satisfied with what I have and have faith that the next shopping trip will be the jackpot.

My husband likes to call me a change horder.  I also horde one dollar bills.  This is my little secret.  A great way to shop is knowing that shopping is not hurting your budget or causing your family to do without.  Responsible shopping is very rewarding.  Shopping smart takes discipline, patience and creativity.

I place all of my change, change that I find, along with my dollar bills into a large pickel jar.  Once in awhile, with the help of my daughter,  we count and roll the change and clip the dollar bills into groups of ten.  I like to think that I am helping my daughter

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