The Cheapest Way to Find Clothes for Your Kids

Living frugally can be hard for those of us with children. There can be a lot of expenses but there are many ways to save money. My favorite for children are hand me downs! They are the best for babies and children who have not hit the point where they are too picky about their clothes. The number one pro being that they are the cheapest price ever - free! Even if your child can not fit in them right away, make sure to accept them, as kids grow out of things before you know it. Making trips to retail stores every time they grow out of a size can really add up!

My family in particular have been benefiting greatly from hand me down clothes! Recently, my son spent a few days with his grandma. She is a nanny to a boy and girl who are a few years older than my son. The previous week her and the children went through all the boy's clothes and toys. We hit the jackpot! There was a big bag full of stuff for her to take home. He got a ton of action figures, 3 belts, 2 shorts, 2 tshirts and a whole bunch of socks! The toys are great because it will keep him occupied and cut down on the, "I want this" and "I want that" comments.

The clothes are especially useful because the shorts are in great condition and he can even wear them to school. The tshirts fit him great and are Scooby Doo and Spiderman, which he loves! I'm particularly happy over all the socks! They take up an entire drawer! There's dress socks, winter socks, sports socks, etc! In all sorts of colors. If you're a mother you understand why I'm so happy as socks tend to disappear.

For over a year we clothed our son in hand me downs alone. A coworker of my husband has 3 boys and the youngest was a year older than our son. Every week she was bringing in more and more clothes for him!

Another coworker of my husband's had a baby boy a few months before we had our daughter. Even though she has a son, she still gave us all his outgrown clothes. She said she didn't care what we did with them, she just didn't want them anymore. I was able to find white undershirts, onesies and socks that I could use for her. The rest I sold on ebay and used the money to get clothes for her from consignment shops and thrift stores.

Hand me downs are not limited to just clothes. It's also the cheapest form of entertainment! Last week another coworker of my husband's was telling everyone in casual conversation how they just cleaned out their kids' rooms and there's a bunch of coloring books with hardly anything colored. They didn't know what to do with them and everyone else said their children were past that stage. So guess who got a big bag full of coloring books? We did! We've got them stashed away for those days when we'll hear, "I'm bored, I don't know what to do!!" and I'll go to the secret hiding space and pull out a coloring book!

If you ever find that you're the recipient of hand me downs, make sure you never turn them down! If you make comments such as, "Oh they're not my brand" or "My daughter won't wear skorts" then you could end up cut off from any future goods! Be grateful, say thank you and offer anything you might have that could be of use to someone! Remember, hand me downs are a great thing!

Feel free to check out Debt Free Mission for more frugal living tips!