I just know the school clothes tradition must be rooted in much simpler times. A time when a girl might own two dresses. Two dresses that are worn through all seasons and all occasions. Two dresses that are worn frighteningly thin. This is a girl who needs new clothes to return to the classroom.
These girls don't come from such a simple time:
These girls require much more than two new dresses. In fact, they require just about everything except dresses.
I feel that my budget for school clothes is quite modest. Over the years, I have taught my kids that we need to get as much as we can for as little as possible. They know this is the way I roll. They automatically walk to the rear of the store to find the clearance before looking at anything else.
However, every summer, as the kids age and their standards change, my budget gets stretched a little further.
I just did the math. For three teenagers (Allie is technically 12, but is a teenager in every other way), I spent $653.26, which includes shoes, socks, underwear, etc.
This money was not equally split three ways. The girls suck up more time, space, energy, patience and money than Brent.
He got everything in one day in one store, Old Navy.
Bless you my sweet, sweet, big-little Brent.
Six hundred dollars is a lot of money, but I still feel that we did pretty good. Everyone got quite a bit with their money.
However, I read a woman's blog the other day that said she spent $100 on her child's school clothes.
I didn't know what to think.
Am I a giant sucker for these fresh-faced girls??
I know money can be a sensitive subject, but I would LOVE to hear about what others spend on this annual errand.
My son's two calculators alone were $113. He is in 8th grade. I am still in sticker shock over that!
ReplyDelete$600 is a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteHere uniforms are compulsory for ages 4-16. Can you say money saver??? Makes me so happy to be British.