Welcome to the ABCs of Savings! Each day we’ll be discussing another money saving topic, each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. Be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you don’t miss any steps along the way. You can read the full alphabet of posts here (updated as they are posted).

K: Kids

We love ’em, but let’s face it. They’re expensive. Activities, clothes, friends’ birthday parties… the list goes on and on!  So how can you save money in the kid arena?

Gifts

Remember when we talked about having a gift stockpile? This is especially important if you have kids. You never know when your son or daughter will come home with that “forgotten” invitation to a birthday party that’s tomorrow. Talk about a budget-breaker! If you keep an eye out for toys, games, and art supplies and stash them away, you’ll always be ready for that last-minute invitation.

I like to keep a stash of kid-friendly gifts on-hand and then buy just one small thing to put in with a stockpile gift. Emma went to a birthday party for a five-year-old boy from her Sunday School class. We were able to use a gift we had purchased on a great sale and add in some huge plastic bugs (which he loved). This personalized the gift (especially since it was a bug-themed birthday party!) for the birthday boy while keeping costs reasonable for us.

Activities

Am I going to be unpopular with this one? Maybe. But our family doesn’t believe kids should be involved in a different activity every night of the week. We cherish our family time, time when we can relax together and play some board games or even just read quietly. If we’re on the run all the time, it makes us feel a bit frantic and becomes quite costly.

With kids’ activities, it’s often not just the cost of the actual activity that comes into play. There’s that quick grab-and-go meal that’s needed because of the timing of the activity. Or there are group pictures or a special type of shoe that’s required. There’s also gas getting to and from the activity, especially if it’s a travel sports team. I’ll bet if you do the math on one season of an activity and ALL of the expenses involved, you might be surprised.

Now don’t think I’m anti-activity. Of course I think kids need to be involved with activities just to find out what they love to do and to give them a chance to socialize with other kids (and follow directions from other adults). We’re talking with Emma about some possible dance classes and piano lessons. We have just made a pact to keep it to a comfortable level, both time-wise and money-wise. I have a feeling this will become more of a challenge as she gets older. If any of you parents of teens have advice on this topic, I’d love to hear it!

Clothing

There are some easy ways to save on kids’ clothing.

Hand-Me-Downs

We were blessed with some great hand-me-downs when Emma was born. It helped us get a wardrobe kick-start. And the way babies grow, the clothes barely look worn! Now when Emma outgrows her clothes, we stash them Rubbermaid tubs. We give them to friends of ours whose little girl is a couple of years younger than Emma. Then, when we get them back, we pass the clothes to my niece. So they’re getting lots of wear and saving a couple of families some money!

Consignment & Thrift Stores

We have a couple of these in our area, but I admit to not frequenting them. Emma gets so many clothes as gifts, it’s hard to justify spending money on much more! But I know that many people find amazing deals at consignment stores.

Don’t overlook SELLING at consignment stores either. You can recycle your clothes by selling them and usually get credit that you can spend on the next size. It’s a great way to keep rotating your child’s wardrobe!

Take Care of What You Have

This is a valuable lesson to teach kids of any age. If they take care of their clothes, they look nicer and last longer. (Maybe I’d better go put some of mine away from that little pile on the floor…)

These are just three areas where we can cut expenses. I’m sure you have even more ideas. Feel free to share them!