Five Frugal Back-to-School Shopping Tips

This weekend I took my eldest daughter shopping for school clothes since she is heading to kindergarten in just a few weeks. (Excuse me while I grab a hanky. Starting kindergarten feels like crossing over the border from little kid-hood and I can’t believe we are here already!)

If your mailbox is anything like ours, it has been full of ads and flyers for back-to-school sales. I looked through them all but realized we knew of a better and cheaper way to go. We went to Goodwill for our shopping spree!

There we found her three dresses, one of which is Laura Ashley, two shirts, an OshKosh rain coat, a skirt, and a cute pink purse. The total? $30.44! The Laura Ashley dress alone would have cost more than that at the mall.

If you are not already a Goodwill or thrift store shopper, bear with me. The idea can take some getting used to but is well worth considering. Here are our tips for making a trip worth your time provided in hopes that you will give it a try.

1.    Find a Goodwill store near a swanky area with easy drop-off options. We’ve had the best luck at a Goodwill located right next to a high-end residential area. They have a drive-through drop-off so it is simple for folks in those fancy houses to load up their cars and donate anything they no longer need. We always find items with tags still attached and many of the clothes for babies, toddlers, and children look brand new. My husband asked me to include mention of a hand stitched Lakers jersey we found there since I tend to be girl-centric. Visit the Goodwill Locator to find a store near you. If you are not near a Goodwill store, try the Salvation Army or visit The Thrift Shopper to find a thrift store in your area.
2.    Be willing to make more than one visit to find what you need. Because this store gets so many donations, the stock turns over quickly. When we go back in a few weeks, we’ll find tons of new options.
3.    Bring your sense of humor. We found some amazing clothes during our search. Our favorite was the dress with a ruffled collar that truly looked like something a poodle would wear. We were laughing so hard it was difficult to get the dress off my daughter, which only made us laugh harder!
4.    When browsing, hang on to anything that looks promising. The clothes in these stores are often sorted into broad categories (children’s clothes) rather than the specific sections found in malls (girls’ pants, size 10). This can make it hard to retrace your steps if you decide you want to go back and pick something up after you have walked away from it. The easier approach is to pull interesting items off the rack as you find them.
5.    Only buy what you love. This goes for all shopping but is especially important to remember when faced with incredible deals. If you are justifying the purchase to yourself (“But it is only $2!”), you don’t love it; you just love the price. Save your money for another day.

Also check out Shopping at Thrift Stores – Good for the World, Good for the Wallet for more about the environmental, economic, and family impact of thrift store shopping.

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