What's a comfortable limit for a clothing allowance?

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-24-2009, 08:33 PM

I've been debating giving the family a clothing allowance when I go shopping for the kids' school clothes next weekend. DH needs more shorts because some of the ones he has are pretty small. I've also grown about a size or two and a majority of my clothes don't fit well.

How much would you spend on clothes for each member of your family?

**frugalwarrior** · 07-24-2009, 08:55 PM

We G. sale/resale shop for most everything. We constantly buy clothing-@ about $1. a piece though. I would say we use about $25. per person per month. This would incl. shoes which I only buy used for DD and sometimes DS. Both of us adults have feet that require new ( although to be honest I am paying for wearing flip flops all summer). We have more clothes than we need but I consider it disposable at this point. We just take it to Salvation A. If for some reason you don't know S.A. is 5/$5. on Fri. for clothes w/ the color of the day. Get in early because resellers sure do. Some people go thurs. night and hide stuff.
My kids are older and aren't growing out of sizes i forgot to say and we even buy my DH dress shirts and suits there.

**peanut** · 07-24-2009, 10:50 PM

Well DH and I budget about $200CAD a year for clothes each. He works in an office as a manager though, so it's suits, ties, dress shoes...the works. I often don't spend that much on me, though I will have this year due to my changing sizes.

DH is tall and thin, so thrift store clothing usually doesn't fit. So we end up paying top dollar for him. Lately we've been buying separates...rather than a whole new suit. He has no use for a suit, other than weddings, outside work. And a sports jacket is more versatile. I buy his dress shirts at Sears around Christmas for half price. Short sleeved dress shirts are usually older long sleeved dress shirts with the sleeves cut off...I like to extend wear a bit! Socks are sports socks (black) from Walmart. It's more important to have something warm in winter here than to wear a real fancy dress sock.

I can't answer for kids though. Mine are all grown and I don't know kids clothing prices anymore. I remember taking them to Value Village though (my favorite thrift store to shop at) and picking up an entire wardrobe for them for under $20CAD. Brand name clothes and everything! Some of it brand new.

I never bought shoes used though...I'm real picky about shoes. We have serious back problems in this family. We don't have a lot of shoes, but we have good quality.

**dmarie** · 07-27-2009, 10:37 AM

We have two boys one starts middle school this year, other will go in 5th grade they will get a clothing allowance of 100 to start with that will include shoes and clothes. Oldest wants to go Goodwill or St vincent to get his Jeans that way he can invest all his money in cool tshirts and sneakers. Youngest really doesn't care.

**Karen1** · 07-27-2009, 10:41 AM

I think it is hard to set a limit.

Cause of prices. Where do you shop, are you shopping clearance or just paying store prices? etc. etc.

If you shop wise, hit sales, etc. you can have TONS of clothes for a small price.

If you hit full price stores, then you get so much less for the same money.

And what does everyone need????

Just shop sales, clearance, buy one get one and all that and get each kid what they need. Need vs. want. Once the needs are met, then if I saved alot and didn't spend big, I would get some wants.

Oh and for you....just going up a size or 2----can you lose a few lbs. and just fit back into that clothing.....granted if the clothes are nice and it is a shame to not use them, then a few lbs. might give you back your wardrobe.........now that is ONLY a suggestion.....please don't take that in any way the wrong way...LOL-LOL

We are not big on shopping here...LOL---I do sales only on clothes and my money goes a long long way.

So shop sales, get needs first and see how you do!!!!

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-27-2009, 12:13 PM

Thanks everyone.

DH actually lost a lot of weight and he's been thinking of working out again. The trouble with that is that when he does, he gets pretty big and would outgrow a lot of his clothes. For me, a lot of my clothes are a size 5 and the last time I was a size 5, it was before I had the boys.

I have lost eight pounds over the summer and I do fit into some older jeans (I'm wearing a pair of torn jeans right now). I have a lot of clothes that do fit still, but I suffer from the 'thighs too tight and waist too big' syndrome).

I think $100 would be a good limit for the boys. DS5 has two outfits that still fit from last year and DS10 has two pairs of jeans that still fit. I'll have to go through all of their clothes, but I think we'll have an easier time this year since last year I did the clearance sale thing with both boys. DS10 has a jacket that'll last him for years while DS5 hasn't had a new winter jacket in two years. DS10 and DS5 will both need two new pairs of sneakers because their feet grow so fast! I usually hit up Payless for their BOGO event and get the sneakers that are on clearance for them. Neither of them care about fashion anyways.

**Karen1** · 07-27-2009, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by MomToTwoBoys

Thanks everyone.

DH actually lost a lot of weight and he's been thinking of working out again. The trouble with that is that when he does, he gets pretty big and would outgrow a lot of his clothes. For me, a lot of my clothes are a size 5 and the last time I was a size 5, it was before I had the boys.

I have lost eight pounds over the summer and I do fit into some older jeans (I'm wearing a pair of torn jeans right now). I have a lot of clothes that do fit still, but I suffer from the 'thighs too tight and waist too big' syndrome).

I think $100 would be a good limit for the boys. DS5 has two outfits that still fit from last year and DS10 has two pairs of jeans that still fit. I'll have to go through all of their clothes, but I think we'll have an easier time this year since last year I did the clearance sale thing with both boys. DS10 has a jacket that'll last him for years while DS5 hasn't had a new winter jacket in two years. DS10 and DS5 will both need two new pairs of sneakers because their feet grow so fast! I usually hit up Payless for their BOGO event and get the sneakers that are on clearance for them. Neither of them care about fashion anyways.

I could easily squeeze a ton of things out of $100-----LOL-LOL

good luck hitting great deals....and yes the BOGO on sneaks is great!!!!

size 5
woof! size 5

LOL

I am 5'8 and recently lost 70 lbs and that put me in size 12. I am happy there...LOL

but if that size 5 was before the kids, and years move on, and you lost some weight then shopping is a must for you. just goodwill or trash your older clothes and start new.

If you are wanting to lose more weight, then hold off. Cause 8 lbs is a great start and a few more might mean a size drop for you.

nothing worse than buying clothes and you go up or down a size---LOL

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-27-2009, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by Karen1

I could easily squeeze a ton of things out of $100-----LOL-LOL

good luck hitting great deals....and yes the BOGO on sneaks is great!!!!

size 5
woof! size 5

LOL

I am 5'8 and recently lost 70 lbs and that put me in size 12. I am happy there...LOL

but if that size 5 was before the kids, and years move on, and you lost some weight then shopping is a must for you. just goodwill or trash your older clothes and start new.

If you are wanting to lose more weight, then hold off. Cause 8 lbs is a great start and a few more might mean a size drop for you.

nothing worse than buying clothes and you go up or down a size---LOL

Haha I know, which is why I was going to wait until my mom came to town. I usually go with her downtown to Winners, which has awesome clearance clothes. She'll be here in the first week of September, which could be another few pounds lost by then. I'm at 145 now and I was at 153 before I stopped drinking so much pop. I also have plans to go back to the gym at the end of August since both boys will be in school all day long then.

I still have some size 7 clothes and I'm in a size 8 now, so I wouldn't want to end up wasting money on clothes that'll be too big for me once I get to wearing them.

Congratulations on the weight loss yourself!

**Karen1** · 07-27-2009, 12:45 PM

yea come sept. you could easily be another size down....or the clothes you do buy might just fit different if you decide to try toning up and all that

I lost weight just by cutting out soda, junk, carbs, etc. I eat only meats, veggies and a few carbs...but very little. Just eating healthy did it for me, not a lick of exercise in there, but I own a farm so I never stop..HA HA

if you plan on going back to the gym, don't buy too much. just firming up everything even without a weight loss on the scale, could mean your clothes will fit so different.

when I lost weight, I bought just a few clothes doing down the sizes....I wore baggy clothes just to keep from buying til I hit my goal size of 12....now I am staying put and don't have to worry about that hassle anymore---HA HA

I am lucky when shopping with my Mom.....she treats. I love it...HA HA......rare we shop together but when we do, she always feels she needs to buy me something....hmm...win/win cause she feels great treating and I feel great receiving...HA HA HA

**wanna_homestead** · 07-29-2009, 12:29 PM

When I used to back to school shop with my parents in high school, I remember my dad would give me about $100 to spend as I liked. It was fun to see how far I could stretch it. I didn't know about thrift stores yet in those days, though. I really could have had a cool wardrobe with that!

Nowadays, I have no idea what I spend on clothes. We're tracking it on a budgeting system so I'm being more conscious of it, but we haven't set a limit or goal for clothing for any of us. I am trying to buy everything at the thrift store and it's going really well so far.

**Irishmama9** · 07-29-2009, 04:15 PM

That depends on where you shop. For us, we buy the jeans we like at American Eagle (on sale when we can) and everything else comes from Goodwill. Could we buy cheaper pants? Yes, but jeans are the one thing I won't skimp on. The jeans we buy LAST and they FIT. So, I think it depends on the person.

I especially get good deals if I order the jeans online. Always some on clearance. And we shop Goodwill often, and go for the special ticket for the day, and we shop on Tuesdays. Cheap prices, plus 50% off the ticket of the day, plus 15% off on Tuesdays for Military. Can't beat it