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I had a friend that I went to school with. Her father gave her a credit card to her favorite clothing store, and told her that her limit was $500 – and not to go over it. Each month her dad would pay off her credit card, giving her another $500 to spend. She loaded up the credit card each month with new clothes. She had so many clothes that there were some she had never worn, and she rarely wore the same outfit more than once.

I like simplicity. I could not understand the point of buying clothes that did not get used. I wondered what her life would be like when she got married and her dad no longer paid the credit card.

I believe it is important to set reasonable limits on our children and their spending habits. The limit can be whatever you see fit, but should be appropriate for the child and should be able to teach them some value. Finding value in things helps us to appreciate them more and they will have a greater desire to take care of them.

When I was young, we did not have a lot of money, and my mom set a spending limit for my school clothes. I was given $100 to get clothes with. It did not matter to her whether I went to a local department store or hit the big brand name stores, the amount was the same. I would buy my $42 Guess jeans and a few shirts, and that would take up all my money. I learned early on the lesson of value. The Guess jeans were really important to me and because they cost so much money, I took care of them. I could have spent the money better elsewhere, but I still learned from it.

Before we go shopping for school clothes, we always take an inventory of what clothes my children still have and what they will need for the next year. This will vary from family to family, but with five kids, we only buy what we need.

Taking an inventory of your clothes is really helpful when you don’t want to spend more than you need to or you are working on a tight budget. It’s also helpful when you are trying to cut down on the amount of clothes that your child has. I’m sure every family has one child that empties their dresser drawers on the floor looking for a particular shirt. Minimizing their clothing helps them to be more organized and you have less waste.

Our inventory begins with a fashion show, where the kids can try on all their clothes and make sure they have shirts that match everything that still fits. I keep track of what they have and what they will need. You can have a fashion show be as simple or as fancy as you want. As you have your children try on their clothes, make sure they still fit and are not worn out.

When you are going through their clothes, don’t forget to pay attention to belts and accessories that they need for their outfits. I also look for shirts and pants that can be mixed to make different outfits.

We decide how many pants and shirts each person needs. My youngest daughter always has more clothes than everyone else. When my kids don’t need anything, I let them pick out one new outfit and a few new shirts.

Taking inventory is a great help in finding a beginning spot when you go shopping. It lets you know what your children have and the essentials that you need to make sure to pick up.

The kids have grown several inches, their pants are all worn out, their jacket sleeves reach just below their elbows, and their shoes have holes in them. You have to go school shopping, but you want to stick to a budget – you’ve got other kids to buy for also. As a family with five kids, we have this system worked out.

First, we have a fashion show before we begin shopping. We pull out all the Fall clothes and try them on. I keep a list of what each child has, and specific things they need, such as a shirt to go with their red plaid skirt. Once we have taken inventory, we have a good idea of what we will need to buy.

Before the shopping excursion, we go get lunch. This is a tradition with my girls, and as my boys grow, I’ll start one with them as well. We chill at our favorite restaurant and fill up on the energy we’ll need to tackle the clothes shopping. This year, their grandmother and aunt came too.

Once we hit the stores, I look to see what sales are being offered and focus on the clothes we need that fall in line with the sales. If one store has a great sale on jeans, we’ll look there first. Once we get the essentials, the girls can begin looking for other fashions that they want but don’t need.

We end it by finding some great shoes that will last throughout the year and be comfortable on their feet. This is an area that I like to splurge a little more and get a good quality shoe. They provide better cushion and support that my growing children need.