How to dress your child without breaking the bank!

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I was SOOO EXCITED and couldn’t wait to dress her. I went shopping (maaaaybeee daily) and QUICKLY realized that dressing these little beings is ExPeNsiVe!!! I needed to come up with a plan so that keeping our sweet princess clothed and looking adorable didn’t cost us an arm and a leg. Who doesn’t want their little girl dressed in the sweetest of dresses and bonnets with adorable lace anklet socks and mary jane shoes?!? I know that was my first thought until I realized that just that outfit alone was an$80 investment.

EIGHTY DOLLARS!!!!!!

She loves posing these days!

OH NO! This momma decided to come up with a concrete plan so breaking the bank didn’t happen on a monthly basis. I have several tricks up my sleeve and I would like to share them with you.

1. I garage sale throughout the summer months looking for sizes in the next size and season ahead
2. I LOVE second-hand stores. Kids are only in their clothes for a short amount of time and the clothes at a second-hand store look brand new. I have gotten all of my daughter’s Christmas dresses at a second-hand store, all of our outfits for getting pictures taken as a family, their “play” clothes, their Halloween costumes, etc. Basically, it is RARE that I step foot in a store that sells “new” clothes.
3. Hand me downs are widely accepted in our household! I have friends and family who have little ones who may be 1 or 2 sizes ahead of my girls and they graciously give their gently used items to us.
4. If and when I step into a department store, I go directly to the sale racks and purchase sale items in a size larger than what my girls are currently in. So…bathing suits for the following summer are purchased in July/August of the previous year.
5. I buy all of the girls’ hair bows at Hobby Lobby. They are the cheapest I can find and look BEAUTIFULLY handmade!

I know that I have saved HUNDREDS of dollars keeping the cost of clothing down in our household. Let me know some of your tips in the comments below!

Family Picture Time with all second-hand clothing.