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Whats your clothing budget per person?

5K views 45 replies 27 participants last post by  Sophiasmama 
#1 ·
There are 3 people in our family...and this is an area we can work on...but not sure what to cap it at...we have 4 seasons...a very long 5 month winter...short summer(2 months)...would love to hear some honest answers...thanks so much! Janine
 
#2 ·
Usually a winter coat will last the kids two years, boots and sneakers one year. Some years they need a new bathing suit. The rest of their clothes seem to just appear - they either receive outfits as gifts, or get hand me downs from someone. Occasionally I will find something (usually pants) at the second hand shop. So I don't really budget, I just buy the things we need when we need them. I would estimate about $100 a year each. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Mostly depends on footwear.

My husband is considerably more as he wears a suit every day.
 
#3 ·
no budget here. i love to shop! whether it be thrifting or otherwise...

dd likes abercrombie and still a bit of justice (which i am not a fan of) i buy the abercrombie on the sale and clrnce page at A & F. i buy lots at SA for dd (and myself at times)

i consign.

dh wears suits and is quite picky. he is a jos bnks shopper, orvis, broks brthrs.

we dont have a clothing budget persay
 
#5 ·
DH spends $200-300 once or twice a year when we go shop for work clothes. He works in a corporate office so he has to have nice slacks and button down shirts. I've tried thrift shops, but don't find nice dressy shirts there so we tend to buy new. We probably spend another $150 on misc stuff throughout the year, like new shoes, belts, souvenir t-shirts. etc.

I might spend $100 on myself, mostly on new jeans and leather shoes every 12-18 months. My clothes last me a long time so I hardly ever need new things, but sometimes I want a new top, or I've lost too many socks.
 
#6 ·
I doubt I will be of any help but..
We buy most at garage sales,S.A. and end of season closeouts.
W/ the exception of shoes,underthings and my jeans- (short/wide)are hard to find.
So I have a summer garage sale budget of about $100 every 2 weeks to buy about everything. Also we have all stopped wearing socks,my kids are adults (not changing sizes constantly,we wear everything out,and neither of DH or I work outside the home. I only keep 3 pr. of shoes and don't use dress clothes.
As far as winter clothes we do 5/$5. a lot. Winter coats I scored for $10-$20. DD makes jewelry.
 
#8 ·
I don't have a budget either. I get most to all of my son's clothes at Savers or on clearance. Others are hand me downs.

I work in an office and last month in fact my boss asked me why I don't wear suits. My answers was "purely financial reasons". My priorities are not to spend $100plus on a suit for work when I can spend that same $100 and get 3-4 outfits at Savers or Fashion Bug. I'm not into fashion so clothes are not a very high priority for me. If I get one or two new items a year its alot.

I do buy "good" shoes, or I should say good hiking boots! I also just purchased a rather expensive bathing suit for myself. Used income tax money for that treat.
 
#9 ·
Ours is very small due to paying off debt.

Even shopping a consignment sale last month for the kids was tough. The money did not stretch.

We are $75/month for a family of 6. It is way too low in my opinion. The kids portion is 50 and we spent $51 at the sale last month. Got some good pieces-- a lot more than what we would have got at a regular store. But it won't go very far.
 
#10 ·
it is just me and hubs... Hubs gets lots of hand me downs... all name brand.....I buy his work clothes his work clothes at yard sales, sally, and the good will... I probably spend 200 a year on him.... He is in need of new work shorts/ jeans will probably picked about 7 pair each.... new undies, new work boots this year, and tennis shoes all on sale...

me on the other hand I have nice clothes but need everyday clothes.... so this week is me... need new undies/bras.. summer pjs. flip flops, new brown flats. at least 2 -3 pairs of everyday capris, 4 church tops, 1 pair of good capris and a couple new tops... church bottoms 2 brown/ black.. t shirts.... budgeting 400 for me....well try to get it for 300... but my bras are expensive...

but I usually buy when we are in need or if a really good sale...

I read somewere that the average american family spend $1100 plus.. when we had four kids way more know 2 of us way less probably does not help u much
 
#11 ·
My clothing budget is small, about 40 bucks a month, which usually gets spent on other things, like haircuts or a trip out.

What helps my family keep our clothing budget low is that we keep it all very organized. We have 2 clothing seasons, which we alter by layering/ swapping out shorts for pants.

I hang my sons shirts by size, and I edit his closet every few months. I buy pjs and winter coats large, so we get 2 winters out of those. Summer pjs are old tee shirts and undies.

My husband works in a foundry, so lots of chemical dust and grit, clay and grime. He makes a point to wear boots in good condition, and to throw out shirts that are overly stained. He wears rugged work jeans that can take a beating. His co workers and
supervisors wear very ragged clothing ( homemade belly shirts, boxer shorts showing through holes in the butt pockets). He also pony tails his hair and wears a bandanna, for safety. Anyways keeping him looking presentable in that environment is not difficult. I look for thick rugged pants ( I like faded glory from walmart, and wrangler from orschlin) and heavyweight cotton shirts in darker colors like hunter green, navy blue and black. And good cushy athletic socks.

As for me, I work as a waitress in a local western style restaurant. I get a shirt and visor provided, and I buy my own work shoes, belt, and dark jeans. I like a leather men's belt or a nylon web material. It has to be durable! And jeans need to be slightly stretchy and dark. I need two pairs and I replace yearly. Undies and bras get replaced yearly. At home I wear old navy yoga pants, strappy camisoles, and tee shirts. These get replaced every two years.

My husband and I each have a set of funeral/wedding clothes that fit, and stay nice cuz we never wear them. He has some nice dress shoes, and I have strappy heels and a matching purse. Never get worn!

My son gets a new swimsuit, uv shirt, and sandals each summer, as well as 3 pairs of shorts. He wears short sleeves all year round.

I get new flip flops each summer, and a swimsuit when my old one gets worn out.

We are pretty low maintenance.
 
#12 ·
I look to see what are needs are then plan.

If someone is not in need of something then their amount is $0.
 
#13 ·
We don't have a budget really. Most of my clothes come from thrift and yard sales. Dh wears his clothes forever. We only buy tennis shoes when we need them. The last pair I bought was in 07. Most of my shoes are 2nd hand. Boys I've got a 14 year old that I have to buy clothes for ever so often he takes growth spurts quite often and oldest ds is in college he gets new tennis shoes every year and I spend more on his he is a diabetic and this year he was in need of some new clothes. Youngest son gets new tennis shoes often as his foot grows fast. TC Don't know that i helped a lot.
 
#15 ·
I'm budgeting too much for this catagory...Sophie doesn't need anything...bought her snowsuit and winter boots for NEXT winter on sale already...hoping we get 2 years out of this winter stuff. Even her school shoes are bought...just picking up a few odds and ends for Fall.
 
#16 ·
~I have $25 a month in the budget for our family so that's $5 a month per person. I get almost all our clothes at yard sales and thrifts. DD #1 gets hand-me-downs from a cousin. DD #2 has her sister's hand-me-downs and a few gifted things. New expenses are DH's work clothes, everyone's undies and shoes. I'll buy dress shoes used since they have little to no wear but all other shoes need to be new to conform to our feet. New shoes only seem to be a need once or twice a year and I can generally find a pair in the $15 range for the kids. I buy Merrell's for me every 7 years or so at $50 a pair because they last so well. It's pricy at the time but evens out over the years of use. I like to buy $.25 items at yard sales and reconstruct them into new clothing items. It's really easy and fun for tops for me and dresses for the girls. We all have a minimalistic wardrobe so clothing isn't a huge expense.~
 
#17 ·
I'm budgeting too much too. We have a budget of $800CDN each a year. It includes clothing, shoes (orthopedic in my case), and haircuts.

Haircuts alone are $240/year for me.

A new pair of shoes is $150-200...if I can find any that fit. Right now I sadly need to replace some but can't find anything that fits. I am using running shoes and hikers.

I am currently buying all my other clothes at thrift stores, BUT I am short and chubby, so little fits. That's about $50 every season. So $200/year.

I need a new 3 season coat that will be good down to -50C, so am saving for it. I expect it will be $300 even on sale. Clothes are expensive up here in the Deep Freeze.
 
#18 ·
Peanut I was looking at Winter coats on sale for next year as well...I ran into a Canada Goose site...almost pee'd my pants 600 bucks on sale...I'm sure they are fabulous quality...but I do not do antarctica expeditions lol...that would be cool if I did.
 
#19 ·
At this stage of life, our clothing budget is just about zero. We don't really need any more clothes for the activities that we do. Will probably have to buy underwear at some point in the future, and if hubby rips his jeans doing some of his jobs, then we'll replace those. I did buy a new swimsuit ($15) this spring, as the hot tub chemicals had done a number on my old one. I no longer wear panty hose, so that expense is gone. I may not be at the height of fashion, but the budget is happy!!
 
#20 ·
WOW!!! I huess I am super cheaper than I thought. We spend next to nothing on our daughter and sone other than socks and underwear. Maybe $40 a year. I organize children's clothing swaps andthe pay off is I get first pick and all left over's. I do help out our local fire victims with this plan also. My husband and I have not really bought any clothing in about 2years. My mom always buys us a few outfits each for chiristmas gifts. I hate to say it but we take them back and make the $ stretch even further and buy more realistic clothing and things we will actually wear. So all and all maybe $100 last year? Maybe a little more or less.
 
#23 ·
We are a family of 5. We probably spend 500 per year at most. I rarely buy new clothes for myself. My husband is Army and is a Drill Sergeant so he works 7 days a week so no time to wear civilian clothes so he doesn't need much. I buy kids clothes at resales. The only thing we buy new is underwear and socks.
 
#24 ·
We have an as-needed budget. My dds get a lot of their clothes from my 2 nieces, 1 nephew (but who cares when it's jeans, pjs and vests) and 2 cousins. I need to wear suits to work; I have 1 brown and 1 black suit, 2 black trousers, 1 burgundy trousers, 1 grey trousers, several neat button-down shirts. I have 1 pair of neat lace-up shoes for commuting (suitable for work wear, though), 1 pair of black and 1 pair of brown heels for work. Flipflops and slippers for home. Will replace as needed.

Dh can wear jeans to work, but likes to wear slightly dressier trousers and button-down shirts. Also to be replaced as needed. I told him he needs to loose weight, because his trousers are getting tight and we don't really have the money to buy bigger trousers :)

This is a rather long answer to your question. Summary: budget = 0, but may be upto 1,000 /year for the family, if it happens to be a year where we all need new shoes and I need a new suit.
 
#25 ·
It makes sense to go on an as needed base...it's making me think I could be shopping for entertainment and that is not at all frugal. Right now in my closet I have:

4 pairs of jeans
3 sweaters
3 tank tops
4 dressy casual tops
5 everyday t shirts
3 yoga pants
3 sundresses
5 shorts

which looks like more than enough of course.

Sophie's closet for Summer+ Winter

15 school sets(will fit this winter as well)
6 play sets(after school/play outside)
1 snowsuit(hoping to get 2 years out of it as it's a size 8)
2 winter boots(sizes 13,1...will donate the smaller pair when she grows out of them)
3 casual shoes(MJ's runner/casual)
1 school indoor shoes(runners)
6 summer dresses
8 tank top/shorts set
10 underwear
3 cami's
10 socks
6 PJs

Okay putting it out there I realize no one needs a thing at least not until next Spring.
 
#26 ·
Just got back from a trip to the States (Minot ND). I can tell why you Americans have such low clothing expenses now. Clothing was cheap! I picked up 3 knit t tops for $10 each. Normally I'd be looking at $15-20CDN for them. And then there was a 3/4 sleeve knit t for $15 that would easily be twice that in Canada. Shopping in Minot for new is like shopping here in the so-called thrift stores!
 
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