Thrifty Thursday: Needs versus Wants For Clothing and more

My husband and I are very thrifty and don't often have a lot of wants anymore...don't think that I am saying that we were always like that because we used to spend a lot more money but that is also when we had a lot more income.  We made the decision together for me to stay home and live on only his income.  We had to make a lot of cuts in the budgets on what we needed and what we wanted in order to live within our means.

Do you often go to the store and come home with lots of things?  Target is my week spot.  My friends and I used to go into Target and spend hours.  I remember long before kids, my friend called her husband (maybe even boyfriend) when we were heading into Target using the logic that if she called him then he wouldn't interrupt her shopping.  He called a long time later and asked where we were....we answered, at Target.  He said (in very boy logic), "Well, then where were you when you called before?"  Umm, Target.  We were probably there for three hours and spent at least $100 each (probably $200 unless the husband's ask in which case a good friend would cover for you).  Can I tell you now what we bought or what we were shopping for...nope!  We were just having fun and getting things that we wanted.

When you start to budget, you need to cut out the trips to get things that you want and think about what you need.  This goes for everything- clothes, shoes, and more.  If you are always tempted by more clothes and shoes, you need to take a little bit of time and stay out of those stores.  Just like any other addiction, if you stay away, it might get better and it might get worse but here are some ideas to help.

Clothes: 

I know that everyone needs clothes but not everyone needs new clothes.  I have a closet full of clothes.  Most of which I don't wear. Wear what you already have in the closet and rearrange things so that you aren't always wearing the same shirt with the same pants and you have a totally new outfit.  Add to the clothes when you need to by getting huge sales or shopping at thrift stores but don't shop just to get more clothes.

My son is the person that we do the most clothes shopping for because he is one with no clothes since he is still outgrowing all of his clothes.  We get some stuff from hand me downs but not as much anymore because as the kids get older, they are wearing out clothes before outgrowing them.  We bought some at consignment sales when you find something for a low cost.  I got a Polo t-shirt for a quarter at a sale the other week and it is in super great shape.

The other idea is to shop the clearance racks.  These are great at the end of the season to get clothes for the next season.  Summer is over and cold weather is coming in so it is the perfect time to find next years shorts and t-shirts.  My mother in law bought these pants last winter and I had them in the crate in the closet for clothes that don't fit yet.  They are pretty neat and even have a lining.

Check out the tag! She paid $2.40 for a pair of pants that went into the wash and got put into the drawer for my son this year. 

If you go crazy and buy a few pair of pants and a few shirts under $3 each, you can get the items you need under the price that one item might cost.  Remember that you don't need to have tons of clothes so limit yourself and know what you have, especially when stocking up a season ahead.

Shoes:

My sister in law really likes shoes.  I personally don't get it but I am also wearing plastic flip flops that I have had for years so I am not winning any awards with my foot wear.   I have a bunch of pairs of shoes but if I had to do it again, I would get a lot less.  I am currently wearing shoes until they are worn out and getting rid of them.  I am going to dig through the closet and find another pair because I know that I do not need anymore shoes for myself.

My son is still growing out of his shoes and we try to get him really nice shoes at Stride Rite.  Nice shoes don't have to cost a lot of money.  I got my son two pairs of shoes the last time that we were at Stride Rite outlet.  They had a buy one, get one half off event.  He picked out the shoes that he liked and I got them in his current size and then up a size.  At the beginning of the school year, I pulled out the new pair of shoes and I already had a brand new pair of shoes for school at half the price.  I know that this is harder to do when kids get older because they are picky about the shoes that they want but I know what my son likes and I get what I know he will wear.

There are also discount shoes at Marshall's, TJ Maxx and Ross.  These are often name brand shoes with great fits and long wear.  There are also sales to be found at most of the big department stores after season of different shoes.  We got a pair of blue rain boots for my son at Sears after the rainy season and he wore them for the snow and throw the next rainy season.  They might not have been the cheapest that we could find but they were only $12 and they have lasted a long time and look like brand new.

Other

My best tip for ideas is to set up an Amazon wish list.  I add the items that I think that I might want to the Amazon list.  I have one for myself, my husband and my son.  This means that we put things on here that I think that we might like.  I can review it at anytime and take off the things that we no longer think that we want.  It puts a nice waiting period on the things that we might want to get and also works on a holiday gift list at the same time.  Now when the holidays come around, people ask what we want and it is all listed out (hopefully edited before shopping starts in November).  I think that it makes getting Christmas gifts that much better because it is something that you really want and have left on your list for a long time.  Amazon has a great way to add items from other websites or you can add a note saying that you want a particular item at a certain store.  These might be wants and not needs but at least you have waited to make sure that it is something that you are going to enjoy for a long time to come.