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Posts Tagged ‘family’

Found on the Racks of Crossroads Trading Co., July 11 in Sacramento: "Anchor Blue" shirt: $10.50; "BDG" shorts, $11.50; Herringbone hat, $8.50; Nike Dunks shoes, $26.50.

Unless your child attends a private or parochial school with mandatory uniforms, you’re probably clothes shopping right about now to find new outfits for the kids to wear this school season.

Discount stores such as Target and Wal-Mart are a good place to head, however, consignment and resale shops are even better if you’re looking to save a buck. Here’s how to get the most for your money in three easy steps.

1. Get Rid of the Old. If your children are need of new clothes this Fall, that could be in part because they outgrew last year’s clothes. Raid your child’s closet to find those items that are too small, but don’t contain tears or several missing buttons or broken zippers. The same goes for shoes. Pile as many of these items into bags and boxes as you can.

This "Moth" sweater was priced at $13.50 on Aug. 6 at the Crossroads Trading Co resale shop in Chicago's Lincoln Park

2. Find a resale shop near you. Whether it’s a consignment or exchange shop, look for a store near you that sells and buys gently used clothing. These places will determine the resale value of the items you just pulled from your closets and storage and will offer you a percentage of that value in cash or as store credit in exchange for your items. Some shops with locations nationwide include Buffalo Exchange, Plato’s Closet, Once Upon a Child, or Crossroads Trading Co.

3. Purchase Gently-Used Items. With the cash you earned from your trade-ins, purchase stylish clothes that fit from these same shops. Some, like Plato’s Closet and Crossroads, carry a lot of name brand items.

Involving children in the resale shopping experience teaches them about the importance of budgeting.

Tip: Involve your child in the process. Whether it is a young school-ager or a teenager, have your child help select items to sell. Set a shopping budget based on the money they receive from the store, supplemented by a few dollars from their allowance or money you paid them for participating. Let them go shopping within this budget. You’re not only teaching them a valuable lesson, but quickly you’ll see how unimportant certain items become when they have to spend their own cash.

Americans are expected to spend $47.50 billion to send kids K-12 and college-bound back-to-school equipped with essentials, gadgets and clothing.

The Back-to-School shopping season is underway. Americans are expected to spend $47.50 billion to send kids K-12 and college-bound back-to-school equipped with essentials, gadgets and clothing.

The average family with students in grades Kindergarten through 12 is expected to spend $548.72 on school merchandise, a decline of 7.7 percent from $594.24 in 2008, according to the National Retail Federation.

The economy is having a major impact on back-to-school spending. Four out of five Americans (85%) have made some changes to their back-to-school plans this year as a result, according to a consumer survey released by the National Retail Federation.

Some of those changes impact spending:

• 56.2 percent of back-to-school shoppers are hunting for sales more often
• 49.6 percent are planning to spend less overall
• 41.7 percent purchase more store brand/generic products
• 40.0 percent are planning to increase their use of coupons.

In looking for deals, Americans are heading mostly to discount stores and drug stores.

• 74.5% are shopping discount stores
• 54.4% are shopping drug stores
• 41.2% are shopping office supply stores
• 22.2% are shopping online
• 18.2% are shopping a thrift store

Although 18 percent is a fairly good number for those who are more budget-conscious, I do believe there are more deals to be had of quality merchandise at thrift stores than many people realize.

But whether it’s a thrift store deal or not, for the next two weeks I will post several articles about back-to-school shopping and saving. So check back next week for tips for the K-12 children or college bound.