How do you find good shoes for growing feet without hurting your pocketbook?

[imagine]

I'm frustrated with shoe shopping for my kids.

The young one needs good supportive good tread shoes, it cuts down on ER visits for trips and falls, which is good.

Oldest is now in adult shoes size. He has almost caught up to his father's shoe size.

They seem to wear their sneakers out about every three or four month. The last pair we bought in Jan and they are already starting to wear out. They cost $38 and so that is more than $10 a month average.

How do I find good ones without breaking the bank?

[Contrary Housewife]

I have found that cheap shoes are not worth the cost. DH goes through shoes like a 12 year old. If we get him $35 shoes he blows them out within a month or two. So we go to the outlet mall and find a shoe store and get him a pair of $80 leather sneakers that are marked down to $50 and those tend to last a year or so. Also he has work shoes and home shoes and he changes when he get home. This way he is not doing repairs or yard work in his best pair.

[Libby]

I agree with CW - spend that $ upfront for higher quality and durability.

I used to wear the $40 2ndary brand name pair from Wmart but I found they only lasted me 8 months - and I'm not one who is very active. BF bought me a $120 pair but since then I have had no problems with my feet or any back pain. (I learned a lot from the specific store about my feet so now I can go to outlets for my next pair and KNOW what I need to look for on sale)

I suggest looking for big brand name outlet sport stores - Nike, Reebok, Adidas etc and ask the sales people for help - explain what you want, durability & support etc. They can help you find what would best suit your needs.

I never realized that buying runners was like trying to pick out a bra - very precise!

[pita1213]

we are lucky in that we have a relative that works at a shoe outlet and can give us her discount on shoes. Unfortunately we live at opposite ends of the eastern seaboard. We have to wait until someone is up visiting to get them there.

for the most part we wear New Balance shoes because they do wear well and they fit our odd feet. for the kids we look for the mid-priced ones on sale. they wear better than the cheaper ones. i can get away with less expensive one if i can find them in a style that doesn't bother my ankle since i'm not as hard on shoes as the kids.
dd and i also wear converse sneakers and they have held up well.

look for sales at the outlets if you have them near by or check out the end of season sales. even sneakers run in seasons even if they look the same to me.

[imagine]

I have not seen outlet stores. Not sure how to find them.

Buy better brands? I thought the $38 ones were the good brand for my daughter. And that those were expensive brand.

[akolb]

Try a Marshalls or TJMaxx. I just found a new pair of running shoes (new balance) on clearance for $27 because they were last season's.

[imagine]

Try a Marshalls or TJMaxx. I just found a new pair of running shoes (new balance) on clearance for $27 because they were last season's.

What kind of store is Marshalls? I looked it up and we don't have one within 100 miles so I was wondering so I could see if we have something similar.

TJmaxx is in the big city we go to twice a year or so. I haven't checked TJmaxx out but I might sometime when we go there.

[savvy_sniper]

See if you have a Famous Footwear near you. They have shoes for the whole family and have sales quite often - buy one get one of greater or equal value half off.

[rudypoo98]

JC Penny did have New Balance shoes the last time I looked.Also some of the New Balance are still made in the USA.

[shoiji]

I go to places like famous footwear. I wear a size 5 1/2 women's which are hard to find in regular stores. Most sizes start at 6. I used to buy shoes at payless all the time. But the older I get the more I need better quality shoes. I would also sign up for any e-mail notices at stores that carry the type of shoes you want. This way you will know when a sale is going on and hopefully you can save some money.

[krbshappy71]

I bought a pair of Nike's at the outlet and choked at the $50 price tag as I usually buy the cheap $20 or less shoes at Target. Those Nike's lasted me for work 3 years and now are lasting me for after-work walks and yardwork. (they got a small tear that doesn't look good for work but doesn't seem to affect anything else as they still fit great!)

Next time I need walking shoes I'm buying Nike! Right now for work I'm wearing a pair of cowboy boots from Kohls and a cutsie pair of MaryJanes from Sears that the bf got me on a super duper clearance. They are LandsEnd brand so am hoping they live up to their name and last a long time too. He wouldn't give me an actual price but they were under $20.

[Palooka]

I hit shoe carnival when they have buy one half off sales. We also have Famous footwear but haven't been there for ages. I remember as a child my parents bought all our shoes there.

Also I'm excited because since my daughter got a job at Stride rite shoes for kids, we can now get a 20% discount at Payless. I buy my kids a lot of Payless shoes and me too, so that will help.

[brennasmom]

I agree that cheap shoes aren't worth it. Dh has really wide feet and we will pay more to get something comfortable. We have had pretty good luck ordering on-line once you know your size for a paticular brand.

[JessieMom]

When my children were in kids sizes I used to find the best deals in the clearance section of Kohls. Now that they are all in adult sizes the deals aren't as good. I haven't bought DS1 shoes in ages (his feet haven't grown in years & he is easy on shoes) - I think the last pair I bought him were at JCPenney's on sale and with one of those $10 off $10 coupons they send out a couple times a year. DS2 has not only huge feet (14+) but they are also funny shaped, he only has certain brands that fit him correctly. We buy his at Dick's Sporting Goods - they are expensive but he doesn't end up having problems with his feet or back. DD & I usually get ours at famous footware, sometimes we get them at Kohl's or JcPenney's if we see them on clearance. DH also has huge funny shaped feet, lol, he has 2 pairs of shoes that he likes so I know exactly what I need to replace them with - when he is ready have them replaced I put the brand into an internet search engine to see who has the cheapest & just buy them online. Shoes are one item I will not scrimp on, I will spend a little extra to make sure they are a well made brand so we get a little more life out of them.
On a funny note last time I bought DS#2 a pair of shoes at Dicks they had a warranty you could purchase seperately that supposedly covered anything that could possibly happen to them (I think it was $11). I told the lady you know you are paying to much for shoes when you can buy a warranty for them, lol.

[TigerGirl1226]

You can find Nikes and Reeboks at Academy also. I find then for as low as $35 there.