I am wondering how much you spend on clothing each month. We are trying to figure out a resonable budget and my husband seems to think I can buy grocerys, household supplies and clothing all with about $500 a month. I can usually stick to that for groceries but when the kids or I need clothing or other misc items I find I spend more. We have 4 kids and 2 are almost into adult sizes so things like shoes cost more than they did when they were little.
I shop sales and use store coupons when I can, but just getting each child 3 or 4 outfits for school is going to run me several hundred dollars. Tennis shoes at payless lately have been between $30 and $40 a pair, and my daughter wants more than one pair of shoes, unlike the boys who will wear the same pair every day until they wear out or outgrow them.
Thanks for the responses. For clarification on a couple of posts I don't normally spend very much on clothing at all, but since it is back to school shopping right now we have spent quite a bit the last month. I usually do put money aside for this but school fees were higher this year so I didn't have enough for clothing and had to pay for that out of savings. I do shop at stores like Target and Walmart and even the local DI for kids clothes. I hardly ever buy anything name brand, and even try to keep my clothing choices pretty conservative.
I don't know about other moms but I feel like I'm the last one to get anything nice for myself.
Can you look back a month or two and document what you've spent? Or, going forward, track spending for a few months. Then sit down with your husband and review. Some people (men) don't know how much things cost if they've not been responsible for the shopping.
Or, you could give him the $500 cash and have him shop for your family for a month or two. See what he can do!
I don't think clothing should be in the grocery budget.
If you can feed a family of 6 on $500 per month--God bless you!
Better to budget for "gluts" of clothes buying times of the year (Fall/school and spring/shorts, etc).
I would think $200/kid per season would maybe do for clothing--twice per year so that's $1200 total per year, give or take....so try to budget an extra $100/month for clothing.
Not sure of the cost of living where you are but I just tallied up what I spent for the month of July and here is what is ended up being:
Groceries: $616 (this includes shopping at the grocery store on the Air Force Base which is usually a 30% savings. In addition, we have a 4 and 2 year old who are home with dad Mon-Thurs and I bring my lunch all but one day a week and hubby brings lunch/dinner with him to work on the weekends. This includes diapers, wipes, tolitries.
Gas: $450. I drive 40 miles total per day and hubby drives 80 miles per day (3x a week).
Medical: $70. This includes birth control pills (for three months) and 3 dentist visit (for daughter, hubby and I. We don't usually owe but I got the flouride/cancer screening for me and flouride for daughter which we have to pay for).
Eating Out: $143. This is higher than normal months but we went out to eat 2x (once with friends and once with his family) for his birthday (I know, no one paid for him? LOL). This also includes stopping for McDonalds 2x, breakfast out after drinking on the 4th of July, me stopping to get Arbys for dinner and lunch with my parents.
House/Yard/Car: $755. We took a big hit here this month!!! This included us getting ball joints on my car and an oil change as well as an alignment, new bearings and oil change on our truck (3rd vehicle) as well as renewing my husband's drivers' license and both our license plates. Also includes mulch we bought for outside and weed spray (we go through a lot of this as a result of living in the country on 1.25 acres with a fenced in yard!) In addition we bought an air filter and new wiper blades for the truck.
Celebrations: $195. Hubby's birthday, SIL birthday and bought some gifts for my kids' birthdays (which are in Aug).
Clothes: $93. I usually spent anywhere from $50-100 per month about 6x a year.
Misc: $370. This includes taking his father out for a belated father's day breakfast, money spent at the 4th of July celebration in town, Toy Story on Ice Tickets, new work tool for hubby, new pillows, pictures to scrapbook and got the kids pictures taken professionally.
As you can see I try to be super organized with this so we can look at what we're spending each month as it varies so much depending on what we have going on that month!!
So I try to budget $120 a week for groceries but you can see here that would have not been enough!! As far as clothes, I'd say $50 a month would suffice for us (for the kids and occasionally for us) but some months I may spend $200 and then not spend anything for three months after that. I will get my daughter some new fall/winter clothes in October/November timeframe. Luckily my son is set with hand me downs!!
This is a really tough question to answer because so many factors come into play - your location, how fast your kids are growing, what brands you buy....
Your husband's request sounds reasonable if you are going to shop at Goodwill for all clothing and eat Ramen noodles. I am not saying there is anything wrong with this, but be prepared for that lifestyle. It is not a bad idea if you are deep in debt or otherwise just want to save money. It doesn't have to last forever, do it for a year and see how much money you save.
We spend about $400 per month on groceries and household items for a family of 5. That does NOT include clothing.
We spend about $150 per month on clothing for the kids (3). I spend about $400 per month on clothing for myself. (This is not a regular occurence, just a necessity after weight loss and work dress requirements).
Shop ebay and yard sales for kid clothing, or even for yourself. Shop sale racks. Use coupons.
Good luck to you!
@ Heather - I don't think she (or anyone else) is saying they shop every single month. But let's say three months go by with no clothing purchases, then your son wakes up and nothing fits. You must go to the store and purchase something. So, you look in your savings account and that money you have been setting aside ($100 a mo or what have you) is what you use to purchase. At least that is what we do.
Sorry, but that expectation is unreasonable. We have just 2 kids and I have a hard time keeping the grocery/household supplies under $600 a month -- and that does not include clothes. So if you are keeping it under $500 for groceries and household expenses then you are doing good.
For your budget on clothes, go out and price kids clothes at Target/shopko/walmart and then come back to your husband and tell him what they actually cost. Then remind him that they each need X amount of clothes each year so it will cost X amount per month (or X amount in August for back to school and x amount in march for spring/summer clothes). Another way to do it is to go back over the reciepts or credit card bills for the last year and see what you have spent and start from there. If you guys need to cut expenses then look at buying clothes from D.I. or the salvation army, or see who you can get hand-me-downs from. You could also buy higher quality (not cost, quality) clothes and shoes for the boys and plan on handing those down. I know that sucks for the last boy, but life is what it is.
Good luck with the budgeting and make sure your husband is sacrificing as much as you are -- it's not "his" money it's the family's
i have 3 kids, and my monthly budget is $600 for groceries/personal/cleaning items and $120 for clothing(now, this just goes into an envelope, i don't buy clothes/shoes each month - but the money is there when i need it).
I'm a cheapskate so here is what I do. First I find the thrift store that all the wealthy people donate to. In my area it is St. Vincent. Then I wait for their all you can stuff in a sack sale for $5 and usually by 2 sacks and stuff them... leaving the store with more than 60 items. I only get really nice stuff, which is almost all what they have, and a lot of times they still have their store tags on them. So my kids get Abercrombie, Old Navy, South Pole, etc. Then what ever I don't get I get at the store on sale clearance racks only. I bought my son a brand new pair of shoes for school for $5.
For food, we have to go Gluten-Free/ Dairy-Free so at the beginning of the year I stocked my pantry with the flours I need for baking. Now with a family of 5 I spend $40 a week in groceries.
So monthly I probably spend $200 for my families monthly needs.
I think that on groceries alone you can spend $500 a month. I would shop at walmart for food as they are the most reasonable.Look in the grocery store circulars for deals and use coupons when ever possible for the extras like toothpaste,other toiletries. While, I like walmart,sometimes I shop around for things like meat I would tell you for clothes,go to goodwill or a thrift store. You will save a lot. You could save alot and use the extra on shoes. Good luck
Make him do all of the shopping for a month and see how much it costs him to do it. We have a family of 4, and spend about $1000 on groceries/household items/shoes/clothes for kids each month. When you factor in clothes for my husband and I it is much higher, but we don't buy clothes for us or for the kids each month. We only buy them as needed. Our oldest is a teenage boy, so he costs more than he used to (he eats so much more).
I apologize but it is time to lower your standards. Getting 4-5 outfits shouldn't run your several hundred dollars unless they are in private school but the amount is still ridiculously high. Keep in mind it is only for 1 month and another $500 after. And explain what you did above to the hubby and let him know you only need more for that 1st month.
Kids do not need expensive shoes, girls may need 2-3 pairs so be FRUGAL, go for sales, use the coupons or open credit cards only to dispose of them after purchase.
Also keep in mind that prepackaged groceries cost more than making the same from scratch and scratch made varieties are always healthier!
Hard finanical times are here to stay for a while, learn to adjust and be Frugal!
I don't understand why you need clothes every month? I get a new pair of tennis shoes every six months as I wear mine all day every day. Clothes last a long time and do you pass clothes down to the younger kids? Do you use Goodwill or a thrift store? I love getting clothes from there as they are cheap and so I don't feel bad shopping a little more often. I think that you are doing great on your grocery budget. My parents didn't buy me many clothes. I got things from hand-me-downs and garage sales and they gave me $400 for my Freshman year and $300 for my Sophmore year to buy what I wanted and that was it. They never did that before or after.
Generally the budget for the kids clothes (all of the boys are in men's sizes) is about $250.00 per kid. New clothes are purchased about twice a year. Back to school and summertime. This budget doesn't include a new winter coat. I give them the money and let them pick out their clothes. They understand that this is the budget and they must make it work for them. If they need more money they need to earn it. I am not their personal ATM besides even at the ATM you have to put money in to get your money out.
I hope this helps.
