How much to budget for clothing?

**tkn4lif** · 03-20-2009, 11:52 AM

How much so a person budget for clothing?

**justpeachy92** · 03-20-2009, 01:01 PM

I don't really budget for clothes. I buy things on an as need basis, and have a price in mind for the most I will pay for an item. I set aside $50 a week that is for gift money. Alot of clothing is purchased out of those funds, because 3 of my kids are at the age they want clothes, money or video games for gifts.

**onencgirl** · 03-20-2009, 01:14 PM

I don't have a set amount. I buy as needed. I don't shop often but there are times I need to add to my clothes. I always wait for sales and or shop thrift stores.

**Wendy99** · 03-20-2009, 01:18 PM

It depends on how many people are in your family, how many of them change sizes (ie. kids), where you shop for clothes, where you work (do you dress up, do you have to buy a uniform,can you wear your everyday clothes etc). Try to think back how much you spent last year per person and add a fair bit more (for things you prob forgot about) and see from there. During the changes of seasons (depending where you live) you may need more.

Personally I dont budget a lot for clothes and my clothing allocation depends on our income and expenses and varies. I know ds will need new snow suit next year so I'll budge according to change of seasons too etc. We get a lot of hand me downs for the kids and I shop 2nd hand stores etc., so our clothing budget is lower (a lot lower) than it use to be

**Mamaof2rugrats** · 03-24-2009, 04:22 PM

I personally buy pretty much exclusively second hand clothing for my children. Generally in large lots on Ebay. I usually budget 50.00 every other mth which includes coats,winter clothes,shoes etc. Sometimes we spend less than this. Also sometimes I hit a great yard sale and then I don't even bother with huge Ebay lots. Just depends.

**jennordhavn** · 03-24-2009, 11:48 PM

I don't budget for clothing either, I just buy it as needed. Recently I needed to buy a blazer for interviews and a new pair of work pants so I just went and got the best deal I could. I always buy stuff on sale and if it's something that is needed but not immediately (can wait a week or two) I search online for the best possible price and free shipping. For example, my DD needed new school shoes for chapel days, hers were falling apart. So I went online and found a nice pair on sale for $20 (originally $30) with free shipping. Instead of just buying them, I went to every website I could think of that sold shoes (Target, Walmart, Kohls, Sears, etc.) to see if I could find something similar for cheaper. At the last minute I decided to check amazon.com (I never think of this site for shoes, but they have a ton) and found the SAME shoes that I originally found for $11.81. They qualified for free shipping if I spent $25 and my DD has also been wanting black ballet flats so I found a pair of those for $14.

**phoeny_moonstar** · 03-25-2009, 12:35 AM

I like many others don't have a set budget for clothes, right now. I do think it's a good idea to set aside *some* money every month for clothing items, shoes, hats, purses etc. So when you are in NEED of those items you won't be taking from another budget category, KWIM? HTH!!

**Siebrie** · 03-25-2009, 07:02 AM

I buy clothes on an 'as needed' basis. My dh buys clothes on an 'as soon as he sees them' basis. For him it was quite sobering to go through the wardrobe (and the trunks in the basement, and the bags under the bed) and put ALL his clothes on a pile. We were sorting which clothes to take to Africa to give to his brothers. We gave away a lot, and he has not bought any clothes since. (We returned 3 weeks ago - for dh that's a long time without buying anything new).

**mombottoo** · 03-25-2009, 09:44 AM

I allow $200 per person and we have 3 people in our home...$50 per month. But, I get a lot more than $200 worth of clothing since I shop clearance racks, second hand shops & yard sales.

**mopples** · 03-25-2009, 06:20 PM

I just buy on an needs basis as well. We have a number of cheap clothing stores around my work so most things are purchased from there. I will generally pop into target or something when they have sales on to see what i can get.

**LucyOctopus** · 03-31-2009, 05:53 PM

I don't have a budget. I don't *need* anything, but I windowshop constantly and every now and then I purchase an item. I think I spend less than $150 a month.

**monkeywrangler71** · 03-31-2009, 06:33 PM

I budget $100 a year for the little kids (total,not each), I shop for them twice a year. My teenager spends most of her own money at the mall, I buy her shoes when needed and about $100 in the fall for new pants/tops.

I don't budget anything for myself. I don't work outside the home, anything for me would come out of my spending money.

My husband needs about $1000 a year for work clothes.

**deltadawn** · 03-31-2009, 08:46 PM

I budget between 40-80 for my family (husband, DD, DS, and me). If I know school is coming up or another event, I will set some extra money aside for that.

I went to a thrift store today and they had a sale; stuff all the clothes you can in a garbage bag for $6. I bought my DS 10 shirts and a coat. My DD got 3 shirts and a scarf. All for $6.