Clothing is one of those overlooked expenses because we tend to buy over a long period of time rather than all at once. It’s a major reason why people run up credit card bills to unsustainable levels. Over the course of a year a family can easily spend thousands of dollars on clothing.

After years of raising our kids, my wife and I have discovered that the best way to save money on clothing is by not being locked into buying from a single source or from a very narrow selection of stores. It’s not a matter of either buying cheap, or buying better quality that will last, but about identifying when to do either.

Buying the basics

This takes in a large swath of your clothing collection, and fortunately it’s also generally the least visible part of your wardrobe. For this reason you can be aggressive about saving money in this category.

Socks, underwear, tee-shirts, pajamas, sweat suits, etc

The big box discount retailers, like Target and Wal-Mart, are probably the best stores to buy these at, especially when you can get them on sale. There’s no point paying premium prices for any of these because it’s extremely unlikely you’ll have any of them one year from now. The best quality socks and underwear probably won’t last much longer than the cheapest ones you can buy, and you probably won’t want them when they’re that old any way. Think throw-away here, because that’s what you’ll be doing soon enough.

Romp around clothes

We all have clothing we wear just to hang around the house or when we’re working at home. None of it needs to be designer quality with designer prices. You can get some really good knock around clothes at thrift shops for not a lot of money—in fact substantially less even than what you’d pay at the big box discounters. For three, four or five dollars you can buy a shirt or a pair of pants, some of them designer quality (but of course, used) and wear them until they wear out. You’re not trying to make a fashion statement, you’re just looking for clothes to hang out in when no one is looking.

Clothing for young children

When our kids were young (especially in elementary school and earlier) we bought their clothes either at the big box discounters or at thrift stores. Here’s the thing—when kids are young two things are happening: they’re staining/tearing/shredding their clothes, or they’re growing out of them—usually in a few months. There’s no point in paying high prices for clothing that will be put through that kind of routine. Once again, think throw-away, because that’s exactly what will happen.

Your “operating clothing inventory”

This is that portion of your wardrobe that you need for your public face. Think business casual, or going out clothes. You’re not going for formal wear, but it has to be as step above complete casual.

Work clothes

The work wardrobe today is commonly business casual. That means something less than dresses and three piece business suits, but more than weekend wear. You want to look good and have decent quality clothing, but it also needs to be comfortable and practical. And since you work at least five days per week, it’s totally predictable that you’ll need to recycle your work wardrobe on a regular basis. That makes a strong case for shopping at moderately priced retailers, like Kohl’s and JC Penny. The clothes have to be average quality or better, but at the same time with the understanding that you probably will discard them in a year or two. That makes a strong case against buying them a premium retailers.

Tween/teen clothing

Tweens and teens can blow through clothing almost as quickly as younger children but there’s an added element: peer pressure. You want to buy better clothing than you can get at discount retailers, but at the same time to recognize that styles change rapidly in this age group, so once again, none of these clothes will remain in your teen’s inventory for very long. The moderately priced retailers are, on balance, the best places to shop. Yes, your teen will probably want to get her clothing at high end stores, but if there’s a budget concern you’ll have to go down a step to keep up.

Friday/Saturday night wear

This is the clothing you’d wear to go out on a Friday or Saturday night, or to visit family or friends. It isn’t business casual, but it’s generally nicer than casual-casual. You’ll want these to look nice, but you probably won’t wear them nearly as much as your work clothes—which is to say that you won’t have to replace them nearly as fast. This once again points to moderately priced retailers.

The higher end part of your wardrobe

There are parts of your wardrobe that you’ll want to last longer, and that will mean better quality and the higher prices that go with them.

Suits for special occasions

Everyone needs to have an outfit or two that can be worn to the occasional wedding or funeral. While business casual is completely accepted nearly everywhere else, these are the few remaining events where formal is still the expected norm. Since these events tend to be few and far between—and since you’ll want to put your best foot forward when you’re there—it can warrant spending extra at a premium retailer for a good outfit that will not only last many years but also look good in the meantime.

Clothing for important work/business events

There are events related to work that require something more than business casual (but generally less than true formal). Those events can include visits by company higher-ups, meetings with important clients, or major corporate functions. These are usually high profile events where looking your best is important to your job and for that reason higher end clothing may be required. Again, since you need to look good but you won’t be buying these clothes often, paying a little more for better clothes at high end retailers may be the way to go.

Winter coats

For an adult, a good winter coat can look good and work well for many years, so it can actually be more cost effective to buy one that will last rather than a series of cheaper ones that have to be replaced every couple of years. Good winter coats don’t generally go out of style, and that can justify paying a higher price for better quality.

You can save money buying quality clothing—if it’s the kind of clothing that can be expected to last for many years. But you can also save money by buying at the least expensive level the clothing that naturally won’t be expected to last more than a year or two, and sometimes just a few months.
What methods do you use to limit your clothing budget—especially if you have children?

photo by wonderlane

If you’re interested in cutting your living expenses radically the best way to do that is by eliminating big expenses. One of the biggest for most people is cars.

It’s not just that cars are expensive to buy and maintain—which they are—but more the fact that most households own more than one. You could just about cut your car expense in half by learning to live with one car rather than two.

Most people, I’m sure, are just about certain they could never make that happen. Having a car means being able to drive where you want, when you want and that’s considered something close to a sacred freedom.

What we’re really talking about with freedom and cars though isn’t so much freedom in the truest sense, but really convenience. If every adult in the home has his or her own vehicle, then everyone can go where ever they want without having to coordinate their activities with the other drivers in the household.

That’s really a lifestyle choice more than a necessity, and if you have greater financial needs, like saving money or paying off debt, then cutting down to one vehicle can be one of the best ways to free up extra money in your budget, and no small amount at that.

How can you make that happen?

Juggling work with one vehicle

For most households the biggest single obstacle to having just one car is work. In many households, both spouses commute to jobs in separate directions, each taking their own car. There are ways around this, but it may require changes in work location or even work style.

One spouse drives to work, the other works from home. If both spouses work, chances are at least one has a job that can only be held in a remote location. But if the other spouse has or can set up a work from home arrangement—either through self-employment or telecommuting—the second car is no longer a necessity. The internet is making this more practical all the time, and with employers looking to cut costs, home basing employees is one way to do it.

One spouse takes a job in a location served by public transportation. Not everyone lives or works in an area served by public transportation, but many do and refuse to take advantage of it. If one spouse’s job is located near a train or bus station, the other could drive him or her to the station in the morning on the way to work, and pick them up at the end of the day. If the area doesn’t have public transportation, the same result could be had with a carpooling arrangement. Either way, the second car then becomes unnecessary.

One spouse drives to work, the other works close to home. If one spouse lives within a mile or two of work, he or she could walk or even ride a bicycle to work. This might require moving closer to one of the couple’s jobs, or taking a job close to home.

Shopping and errands

The next obstacle is shopping and errands—those necessary short trips needed to run the household. Also not easy, but again, most definitely doable.

Make your runs after hours when the car is home. The easiest way to handle this is to make your runs when the car is home. Alternatively, the spouse with the car can make the stops on the way to work, on the way home from work, or at lunch time.

Ride with a friend or family member when ever possible. Do you have a friend or family member in your immediate area who may be able to give you a ride when you absolutely need one? You might be able to pay them a few dollars for helping you out, or you might make it up by providing other services. It’s not something you’ll want to do as a routine, only when you absolutely need to get somewhere that requires a car.

Walk or bike to locations close in. We live in an age of convenience where it often seems as if there’s a grocery store, video store, convenience store, medical clinic and especially a bank on nearly every corner. Most of us are used to driving to these establishments even when they’re just a few blocks away. Unless you’re going grocery shopping you can probably walk or bike to most places you need to go. And as far as grocery shopping, or any other trips involving light hauling, you can wait until the car is home to head out.

What about emergency trips?

Finally, there are those emergency situations, like a run to the doctor or the need for a back up car because the main family car is in for repairs. For emergency medical situations (those that aren’t 9-1-1 situations), there are always taxis, and failing that, family and friends—most people will help out in a true emergency even if you’ve never asked them in the past.

For car repairs, you an always rent a car for a day or two until your car is back from the shop. Most major car rental companies will rent a car for about $30-$40 a day, which is truly a drop in the bucket compared the annual cost of having a second car.

I’m not suggesting that everyone could work with one car in the household—only that there are some who can and might give it a try as a way of saving serious money. Others, who may not be able to do it right now, may be able to alter their work lives in such a way that only one car is needed.

Do you think that more households could become single car families? If not, why do you think it won’t work?

photo by gazeronly