» posted on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 at 12:49 am by Lily
Clothes Shopping with $50 and a Coupon
My little girl is not so little anymore. She has grown so much that she has outgrown most of her clothes. She’s an incoming high school freshie, and is now starting to be very conscious about fashion. With school starting soon, we are starting to prepare her school wardrobe. The problem is, I’m broke.
Scouring the newspaper yesterday, I came across a $10 off $50 coupon for a department store. They are having a huge sale. I happen to have a $50 gift card for that same department store from a few months ago. Considering the fact that $50 will probably only buy one or two items there, I had to come up with a plan.
Preparation is key. I asked Teenage Girl to check her closet and find out what she needs the most. She came up with “jeans” and “shirts”. She knows and understands the financial situation, and was therefore not surprised when I laid down the boundaries: $60 at the most, we eat at home before we leave for the mall, and she needs to try the items before she buys so money and/or gas is not wasted on items that do not fit well.
She rose to the challenge. With comfortable clothes and shoes, we set out after having snacks at home. Having to stick to a budget, Teenage Girl chose carefully and deliberately, making sure she was happy with each item she chose. She kept track of the price of each item, and before declaring that she was ready to check out, she reevaluated the items to make sure she chose well. In the end she got two pairs of jeans and three shirts, all from decent brands. And we had $14 left in the gift card. Way to go, girl!
It was a good financial exercise for her, she got some new clothes, and we spent a quality afternoon girl-bonding. It made my day!
filed under Featured · Saving Money | 7 comments | tags: coupon, frugal, Saving Money, shopping
VW said:
Jul 27, 08 at 5:09 pmGood for you! From past personal over-consumption, I can attest that it is VERY easy to start thinking you need all sorts of stuff that you don’t, buying things because they’re trendy or some desire-fueling magazine like “Lucky” (keep her away from Lucky! Lucky is the root of all clothes lust!) puts the idea in your head, and losing track of what’s really “you.” I now have a complex evaluation system before I buy anything…but I’m a lot older than 14! She’ll benefit from the clarity! Good work, Mom!
VW said:
Jul 27, 08 at 5:10 pmGood for you! From past personal over-consumption, I can attest that it is VERY easy to start thinking you need all sorts of stuff that you don’t, buying things because they’re trendy or some desire-fueling magazine like “Lucky” (keep her away from Lucky! Lucky is the root of all clothes lust!) puts the idea in your head, and losing track of what’s really “you.” I now have a complex evaluation system before I buy anything…but I’m a lot older than 14! She’ll benefit from the clarity! Good work, Mom!
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charlene@yahoo! shine/parenting said:
Jul 27, 08 at 10:30 pmhi there! i saw your post on Shine and would love to feature it. can you email me? i’d love to know if you could link to the products your daughter ended up picking out…maybe we can create a slide show?
thanks!
charlene
Von said:
Jul 28, 08 at 8:29 pmI’m going to do the same thing, but I’m the teen. I know money is hard right now, so I don’t ask for anything. I’m only getting what I really need. Fashion is the least of my problems.
Pilar said:
Oct 28, 08 at 4:21 amKeep up the good work.
Ask and You Will Get Some Money Back | Broke In America said:
Jan 07, 09 at 9:51 pm[...] My daughter noted that the clerk did not volunteer to check for a price difference, and admitted that she would never have thought to ask about it either. I hope she learned a valuable lesson there, just as she did when we went clothes shopping with $50 and a coupon. [...]
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