Y3W | The Frugal Life

My mom raised me to spend less than I earn, to never pay full-price for ANYTHING, and to save up for a rainy day. And now that our family relies on one-income, those lessons are more important than ever.

Anyone that has children will tell you that one of the most annoying/expensive aspects of child-rearing is the constant need to rotate their clothes as they outgrow them and/or the seasons change. Last year, Eva went from newborn-6 month clothing in the span of 3 months. That was fun! <----insert large dose of sarcasm.

So to save money on clothes I shop at consignment stores and sales. This month I took some of Eva's old baby equipment to the local kids' consignment shop. I got store credit and used it towards some clothes and toys for the little one:


In this photo are Eva's new toys. Her clothes were actually FREE through our local SAMS (Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, Sailors) place. They take donations and enlisted military (below a certain rank) and their families can get up to 30 free items a month. We are very fortunate to be able to take advantage of a great program like this.

And I'm so proud to share the following with you. There's a national consignment sale company called Just Between Friends. (check out their website to see if there's a sale in your area) We didn't have any in Ohio - when I was there I shopped at The Big Red Wagon sales. But when we moved to Texas, I was so excited to see that there was a JBF here. (There's a TON in Texas - this state is huge!)

So this week I ventured out to the sale and here's what I came back with:


You're wondering what all is pictured? That's 6 pajamas, 10 shorts, 2 capris, 2 pants, 1 dress, 2 shirts, 3 matching outfits and a package of swim diapers. And how much did I spend????

$52.50

Go ahead, rub your eyes and re-read that amount. $52.50 for a boatload of stuff. I was almost giddy this morning while taking the tags off in preparation to wash everything. Trust me, I could have done MUCH more damage as there was a ton of clothes there in her size. (and also toys, baby equipment and even furniture!) But I walked in with a pre-set budget of $50, so I'm glad I only went over by $2.50.

Oh, and did you notice the little girl in the corner playing with the hangers? Once she saw I was taking pictures, my little ham produced her award-winning smile:


Oh, ok Eva, if you insist, Mommy will take a picture of you:



Don't mind her crazy-hair. She always pulls on it in her sleep. ;)

How do you try to save money in this time of recession?