School starts around here and I am woefully unprepared. I haven't not purchased a single school supply or back-pack. My kid's also need some school clothes and I thought I would seek out some advice from my fellow moms about budget. First let me tell you about my 3 kids:
Daughter- 15 year old: hasn't grown in years and has a closet full of clothes, but some of them are from 6th grade and new clothes are fun. Between lifeguarding and babysitting she has a lot of spending money which she spends mostly on clothes. I still buy her stuff now and again, and told her I would buy her 2 new shirts for school and a pair of running shoes. I also pay for her swim team uniform. She thought that was fair. I also usually buy the fabric when I sew for her.
Son-12 years old: has grown about 6 inches and gained 40 pounds in the past year. He needs pretty much everything. He doesn't care about clothes and was perfectly satisfied with the $10 Old Navy jeans and $5 I bought him at the outlet mall. What the kid does care about is shoes. He is obsessed and can spend hours looking at them online. (I don't get it). Because of him, we instituted the $100/year per kid on shoes rule. Since he never spends his money, he has quite a bit save up and wants to be the above "pre-owned" shoes off ebay for $120. It's his money, but this seems a little silly and the "pre-owned" part grosses me out. Teenage boy feet are nasty and I wouldn't want to put my feet into something that had teenage boy feet in them.
Son-8: He is almost 9, but still wears a size 7. His closet is full of clothes he's had since kindergarten. We're hoping at some point the kid has a growth spurt. He doesn't care about clothes, but he's been hanging out w/ his brother and he now thinks he needs expensive school shoes too. However, kid sizes are about half as expensive, so I wonder if that's fair to have the same budget as his brother.
So I was just curious how you work oyur clothes budgets to be fair in your family.
I'm curious to hear responses. I have lots of made up rules in my head, but DREAD shoe shopping with my kids. The little ones always want tacky ones, but at least their shoes are still reasonable. I hate shelling out cash for shoes my boys will grow out of in a few months. I can't believe your #2 wants to spend so much on shoes, but hey, better than video games!
ReplyDeleteI can't help you with budget since I don't have kids, however I can give a little insight into the "pre-owned" shoes. Up until recently I taught at an all boys middle school where the students spent their reward computer time looking at (or designing) the latest Nike's or Kobe's or whatever's (I don't really understand it either) and I came to understand that those shoes may get worn once a week and then obsessively cleaned if they were even taken out of the box. I think they've come to be the new "mint condition action figure" that you don't take out of the packaging for fear of ruining its possibly future value. So I would say don't be grossed out too much about the pre-owned part, but definitely check the seller's rating and any reviews before he bids.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely seems to be a middle school boy thing. He is trying to convince me that they are a collector's items and will be worth hundreds by next summer and he can double his money. Even if he's spending his own money it seems obscene for a kid w/out a job to spend that much money on shoes-especially used ones.
DeleteWe have 7 children, so I can definitely tell you about clothes budgeting. We homeschooled all 7 until 2 years ago. Our two oldest went to a high school in one county and they were required to wear school uniforms. It consisted of khaki or black pants and white, grey, black, or yellow/gold polos. I bought them 3 pairs of pants and 4 or 5 polos, catching them on sale at the beginning of the year. The other kidlets got a few shirts and pairs of pants to start the year. I do buy good quality shoes, b/c I have found they tend to last longer. I always look for store coupons before I go to the stores and frequent the store that offer buy one pair, get 50% off the second pair. Our oldest works now, so he buys most of his clothing. We are homeschooling our youngest 5 kidlets this year, so our school clothes will consist of our pjs. :o)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of school uniforms! I agree w/ you about buying quality shoes too. I can usually get a good name brand sneaker for under $30 and they seem to hold up much longer (and smell better) than a $20 no name brand shoe. Hopefully w/ 7 kids you can hand stuff down too. That hasn't work for me-one girl, one boy husky boy, and one boy that even the "slim" fit are falling off him.
DeleteI'm so happy you touched up on the topic. Although I don't have kids yet, but my baby brother who is 13 is also in the same category. His love for branded shoes is annoying but what we have figured out at home is that the budget will stay the same. No increase, but he can earn by saving. If he wants something that he is not a necessity then he should save up for it. When he puts effort into saving and notices that he outgrew the shoes in a few months, next time he is more wiser in choosing. Similarly he takes more care of his belongings this way.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have uniforms or anything like that. But we do have some awesome grandparents who have spoiled our kids by buying them a couple of new outfits. Which means mom can spend her money on some new undies/socks/decent shoes. I don't go so much for fashion for my 6 year old, but more for comfort and function at school. One way I do get clothes for my kids is yard sales. I have been able to find nice, even brand new, name brand clothes for a lot cheaper than they were originally purchased for. I like it because it leaves me with more money to spend on activities and things to do with the kids.
ReplyDelete