Consignment Sales!

These things spin!

Kids are expensive. We were lucky enough to be given tons of hand me downs before the kids were born, but those only lasted so long. Buying a full wardrobe for two kids every 3 months seems ridiculous, but that's how quickly they grow. Also, since we have one boy and one girl, they don't share most of their clothing. When you add in toys and equipment, we needed a better solution for our budget.

I told you I'm big enough to drive.

There are many consignment stores near us, but they offer very little for things you are finished with and the prices aren't that much cheaper than buying new at discount stores. Instead, we participate in large consignment sales. We do 2 a year, selling and buying at each. Getting everything prepared for the sale is a huge pain. Everything must be clean and ironed, sorted by gender and size, input into the computer, tags printed, tags attached and then you get to take it to the sale to be looked over and approved. Each of these steps has strict rules. This takes at least a week around here. My kids now refer to the week we are getting ready for the sale as "Mommy made a mess." The upside is we set our own prices, we choose if we want things included in the half price sale, and anything that isn't sold is either donated or you can pick it up. Also if you sell items, you get to go to buy items before the sale opens to the public.

She's upset because someone took her football away.

We buy most of the kids clothes there for around $1 an item. In the past we have purchased a double jogging stroller for $40, wooden puzzles for $1, and single strollers for $4. It still adds up, just at a much slower rate. I love getting such a great deal on everything and quickly forget about the hassle of the week before. A couple of weeks later I get the check for what I sold. Usually I end up spending about $30 more buying things than I end up making. $30 for clothes, toys, and equipment for 2 kids every 6 months isn't bad. It's that thought that keeps me going to consignment sales.

Scooby Doo!

What tips do you have for saving money on kid stuff?

Big Tex!