Stockpiling Clothes - Spent $800 - saved $3000 - and have three years worth of kids' clothes to show for it!

[hotcouponmama]

Sounds crazy? Not so much when you think about it in the context of the big picture.

I have three boys ages 6, 8, and 10. My 8 and 10 year old are the exact same size. The US Dept. of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion published a study in 2001 that gave the estimate cost of raising an infant to adulthood - so 18 years. In it, the cost for clothing over that period for the median income bracket of a two-parent family earning $64K combined is a whopping $13,770 per child. So for my household, we're talking $2295 per year to keep clothes and shoes on my kids' bodies. That doesn't factor in any clothes that are either hand-me-down or gifts from family/friends.

So, when a good clearance sale comes on, believe me, I stockpile the clothes. A few things I take into consideration is the growth path my kids currently seem to be on, the "hand-me down" factor - what do I think is going to make it from one kid to the next, and the classic element - is what I'm buying going to still be relatively in style a few years from now.

This time of year is a particularly good time of year to make the investment into buying kids' clothes ahead. It's the collision of fall and winter clothes meshed with a hodge podge of left-over summer clearance from the previous fall that didn't sell before. At the clearance markdown is significant.

Normally, I don't advocate charging stockpile items, but when sales like this come around, the math actually works out. If I had charged my $800 purchases (I didn't - I paid cash) - and I paid it over 8 months at even a higher interest card like 16%, the interest charges would only be $55 for that period - nothing compared to the savings over retail.

So, knowing that for three years, I'd be looking at nearly a $7000 clothing bill for my kids, here's what I got and why I don't need to buy any clothes other than a few pairs of shoes for a long time.

The sale last week was 70% off the last marked price. Most of the items had already been marked down between 10-25% off. So when you factor in the addition 70% off, the savings could be as close to 90% off full retail. In my case, the total value of the savings over retail was 78.4% off. Even if I were to shop 2nd hand, over three years, I'd still pay more than $800 for clothes for three kids.

It's important to note, I've always stockpiled clothes. When Mervyn's went out of business three years ago, I spent New Year's Eve closing down the store. I spent about $800 then, and I am still pulling clothes out of the closet from that sale. I also stockpile little bits here and there as I find things like underwear 3-pks for $2 or less, or t-shirts for .98c.


Last week, my $800 bought me the following:

6 pairs PJ bottoms
18 size large shirts - long and short sleeve (three that came with mini skateboards!)
2 medium shirts
12 XL shirts
9 pairs of mittens
4 pairs ski gloves
1 ski hat
2 pairs size 8 (kids) pants
6 pairs size 10 pants
12 pairs size 14 pants
13 pairs size 16 pants
2 pairs size 18 pants
1 pair size 20 pants
13 pairs of assorted shorts/swim trunks
3 pairs hiking boots
2 pairs tennis shoes
1 pair soccer cleats
8 backpacks
3 pairs starter pants (for DH)
3 ski liners (for DH)
1 sweat shirt
12 fleece jackets - assorted sizes
4 light winter coats
3 heavy winter coats
1 pair of athletic pants (for me)

Combined with other stockpile sales, the only think missing to cover all three kids for the next three years is some socks (which I'll need to buy sometime in 2011), a few pairs of intermittent sized tennis shoes, and possibly some one off specialty athletic wear as one of the kids starts football this summer.

All the clothes are arranged by size in closets with certain closets that have the lot for everyone (like all underwear in the house is stored in one kids' closet by size).

The thing about stockpiling clothing is that it works whether you have one child or a dozen.

Last year, I spent less than $1000 on clothes for the entire family. That included shoes and outwear, plus a huge stockpile of winter ski gear that will keep the boys sized in ski clothes until middle school. And while this year, I'm already at $800, It's unlikely I'll need more than a few pair of shoes to get through the rest of the year. That means school clothes are already bought, at the price I was willing to pay for them.

It also means that for the next few years, my average should fall to less than a few hundred dollars for each of the next two to three years for the entire family.

The beauty of buying this way is that my cash is freed up over the long haul for other stockpile items. Any item I buy that doesn't work for my kids, or the occasional item that never gets worn and fits nobody, all those items can be passed on to my sister's kids, or for the pennies I paid for the clothes, I don't feel bad donating the item.

Stockpiling clothes falls into the "low finance" category of building wealth. The money I am not going to spend on clothes for the family for the next three years - about a $5000 over all savings, can go to lots of other things.

A mini-guide to clearance clothes buying and when to stock up:

* Pants less than $5 a pair
* Shirts long sleeved - under $5
* Shirts short sleeved - under $3
* Shorts - under $4
* Swim suits/trunks - $5
* Fleece jackets - $5-$8
* Winter coats - $10 to $18
* Ski pants - under $10
* Stretch Mittens - .30-40c per pair
* Ski Gloves - $5 or less per pair for the heavy duty type
* Winter hats - $3 or less
* Underwear - $2 or less for a 3pk for kids, $4 or less for an adult 2-3pk boxers or briefs (men), $1 or less per pair for women's (nice ones, not the cotton Haines variety)
* Shoes - $10-$18 for name brand athletic
* Flip flops/sandels - $5 or less for name brand like Nike
* Hikers/snow boots - $10 to $15 per pair
* PJs - $4 or less for jammie bottoms, $8 or less for kids' complete sets


Having done this now for more than 10 years, I can say with lots of certainty that the savings of stockpiling clothes is worth the time to chase the sales, sort the clothes and keep sizes organized and rotated, and yes, possibly even paying a little bit of interest on a card so that you don't miss the sale.

Important to note, everything I bought this past week was heavily branded - Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Columbia Sportswear, etc. So not only will you save, you'll be doing so on the branded gear your kids want.

It's one more way to get by for less in a recession....but like any good investment, you have to spend money to make money. In this case, buying ahead this month on the steep clearance sales might cost you some money in advance, but there's no stock market of financial tool that will pay back 80% on your money in three years time.

[to1drland]

Awesome job!

[foggierbard9]

Wow, awesome job. And thanks for the info. I have started to buy a season ahead for my son and I am buying ahead for our DD due in April...just never thought to buy any farther ahead than that....you have opened my eyes.

[momabrown3]

Great shopping.I hit walmarts yesterday they were doing 1.00 clearance racks.I got my son 3 jackets,10 tee's,Got my girls tons of miley tee's,flip flops,2 piece jogging suits,dresses,camies,shorts all marked down to a 1.00 each.I spent 100.00 (100 items)an got all there summer clothes for this year.The cashier almost freaked.I had a buggy full of clothes.I just love clearance sale.1 Dress alone was reg 20.00 .95% saving on the dress alone.I was doing the happy dance.

[3timesoccermom]

When my 3 girls were little I did this same thing, just not that far ahead. It was always a lot of fun for them to start opening the boxes of the next year's goods when they started needing it and oohing and aahing over everything. Plus it was fun for me to to remember what I bought.

One year Target had swimsuits on clearance and instead of having a bunch of mismatched pieces the selection was still in really good shape with plenty of variety in sizes and styles. I bought about 30 swimsuits all for less than $5 each and bought a variety of styles too since we often had other girls over.

[Mikki 316]

Great job! I do this for DS and it's saved me tons of money. We always have plenty of clothing, including underclothing and don't *have* to shop for clothing. I once found a killer deal at Target on khaki pants (he wore uniforms in his old school) for $2.48/pair. I got about 50 pairs in all sizes. Even though he doesn't have to wear uniforms in his new school, these aren't "uniform" type pants, and he still wears them. I also cut off and hemmed some and he has plenty of shorts to wear as well. I was also able to gift clothing to several of his classmates whose parents were having difficulty providing uniforms due to job loss, etc.
BTW, keep an eye on shoe clearance sales as well. I have a container in DS's closet with shoes in various sizes. When he outgrows a pair or needs a specific type of shoe (seasonal, football cleats, etc.) we always shop his closet first.
We also have a tradition of getting new Christmas pjs each year and wearing them Christmas Eve, for the early morning Christmas pictures. Of course, I buy them at a deep discount the previous year. Lots of great opportunities to stockpile clothing and save a TON of money.

[Cynthiabutterfly]

I've always bought clothes a size ahead when they go on clearance at the end of the season. The only problem I have is that DS #1 is growing too slow, so the stuff I bought a year ago one size bigger is WAY too big, and he's still fitting the same stuff he wore last year, which is starting to be too worn to hand-down to DS #2.

And, DS #2 is growing so fast, the new stuff I bought a size too big for him last year is already too small after wearing the stuff for 2 months.

Will #1 have a growth spurt? Will #2 ever stop growing? These are the questions that must be answered!

[Mikki 316]

Will #1 have a growth spurt? Will #2 ever stop growing? These are the questions that must be answered!

It seems that my DS has growth spurts on a fairly regular basis. His Kindergarten year, I was all prepared with his uniforms, found a great "deal" on the plain red polo shirts (couldn't have any kind of markings/tags present) and khaki shorts (again, with no brand names, etc) in an area where my Mom lives, and they don't have to wear uniforms. This was in May. By August, he couldn't wear one thing! I had to buy the uniforms again. That's when I decided to hit the clearance sales and really stock up for the next (few) years. I just donated the others to our church for distribution to needy families in the area. Since they don't really look like uniforms, someone will always find use for them.

[aCRaZyCoUpoNgiRl]

That is awesome that you stockpile clothes!! I am going to try that also!!!

[puakinikini]

I usually buy one season ahead, but last year when the garanimal t-shirts and shorts clearanced to 1.00 at Walmart - I bought several in every size (different colors) for my girls. I spent $36 and still have t-shirts/shorts for both girls for this summer and next. That convinced me to buy ahead.

I spend very little outfitting my family - I rely on hand-me-downs from family and friends. My brother gave my oldest son about 30 shirts this last year, so he is set for a while. I also shop consignment and clearance sales. With 4 kids it all adds up fast. My one splurge is stride rite tennis shoes for the little ones and a pair of his choic for the oldest.