FashBlog.com

By Christina VanGinkel

Is keeping your family in up to date, well fitting clothing, costing you all your spare funds, plus more? There are a couple of ways to outfit your whole family in nice clothes and keep some of your hard-earned cash in your wallet.

Store clearance racks can hold bargains beyond contemplation. Children's clothes, especially seasonal wear, can be purchased for a small fraction of the original cost at season's end. With a grandson approaching two years of age, I know all to well the amount of clothing my daughter is going to need the next few years to keep up with his growth, so I use every chance I can to get a bargain, including any clearance merchandise I happen upon.

Last fall, I was able to purchase six pairs of jean shorts and three pairs of khaki shorts at Wal-Mart for one dollar a pair. I picked out five pairs that were two-toddler in size, which he is wearing this summer, with the other four pair each a three-toddler, which he will most likely be in by next summer. With an original price tag of $6.96 each, the savings is nearly unbelievable. At the same time, I was able to buy him several mix-and-match tank style shirts and t-shirts for fifty cents each. By varying the sizes, he now has t-shirts and tanks that will fit him perfectly for the next several years, which is a big bonus for a growing toddler, and a windfall for both his mother's and my wallet.

This spring, I purchased him a winter coat for next year at a savings of seventy five percent. Buying it now, I was able to pick out a better quality jacket, with features such as vent flaps that made the coat breathable, and a waterproof exterior, that we would have most likely passed on due to the extra cost.

I also found what I considered my best bargain yet, a snowboarding jacket for my twelve-year-old son. Already into adult sizes at five feet, eight inches tall, we were able to get him 'the' snowboarding jacket that he had been eyeing up all year at JC Penney's for seventy-five percent off, and an additional ten-dollar discount. The ten dollars was from a coupon that had come in the mail attached to a JC Penney's ad. Most people assume coupons for clothes do not exist, or are hard to redeem. Not so, and the stores that do offer coupons, such as JC Penney's, make using them both easy and convenient, such as allowing them to be used on clearance. The final cost was fifteen dollars plus tax for a jacket that originally cost one hundred dollars.

Next time you head out to do some shopping at your local mall or discount store, take a few minutes and check the clearance racks. By checking often, you will be more apt to hit on clothes that you really can use, and in sizes that fit your family. Always check your paper's coupon page, and any mailings that land in your mailbox for coupons too. By applying both of these simple techniques to your clothes shopping, you can save literally hundreds each year!