"What I Got for the Money" Wednesday

Last week I shopped for two weeks, so I don't have anything to share with you this week about grocery shopping.  Well, I did go to Aldi yesterday and spent $7.00 on some ground beef, a piece of Eli's cheesecake (for my 14 year old who was with me) and fixins for "party potatoes" for her since she was getting her bottom braces on yesterday and would only be able to eat mushy things. I shouldn't need to go back to the store until next week.

So, I thought I would share how I shop frugally for Easter clothes.  I'm not one to go all matchy-matchy on Sunday morning church outfits, like some others I know.  Sometimes Eli's shirt might be the same color as something Brynne is wearing, but that's about it.  But, I do like for us to "match" on Easter Sunday.  Mostly it's so we have one family photo a year where we aren't clashing.  This is quite a challenge having kids ranging in ages from 14 to 3.

So, what do I do?  And how do I do it frugally?  (I refuse to spend $200-$300 on new Easter clothes for a family of 6!)

Each year, WAY in advance, I pick a color scheme.  Two years ago it was brown accented with blue or pink, last year it was green.  This year, for some reason, I wanted black, white and red. Rick thought it might be kindof racy for Easter, but I had a "vision".  Then I start hunting for bargains in that color scheme.

Our town opened a brand new JC Penney a few months ago. They sent out introductory coupons to spend $10 and receive $10 off.  I found the boys each a black, white and red striped polo, buy one get one for a penny.  With my $10 off I spent $11 on both shirts.  I planned for them to just wear jeans. We're fairly casual in that department.

Then I told Kyndal, my 14 year old, that she could get anything she wanted, as long as it fit in the color scheme and was on sale.  Thankfully she's as frugal as me!  I took her to Rue 21 and she found a cute top on clearance.  She already had a black skirt to wear with it (I'm all about having the basics on hand), so we added some clearance leggings and some accessories. I think all total we spent about $20 or so on her outfit.  I knew hers would probably be the most expensive.

Then while visiting my parents at Spring Break, we went into Stage.  I found Brynne a dress for $2.99.  I paired that with some white knee socks and shoes and a bow she already had. So I spent about $6.00 on her whole outfit.

For me, I'm all about clearance stuff, especially if it's for church.  I like to have LOTS of cheap stuff so if I only wear it once I still get my money's worth.  But I really wanted a pair of white pants!  I found a pair at TJMaxx for $20 AND they were a size 4 !!  I had to have them, if only for the ego boost! I had found a back shirt with white dots and red buttons, and a red jacket, at the same Stage sale for $5.99 each.  So, my whole outfit was $32.00.  Keep in mind, I will probably still be wearing those pants in 2024.

All that was left was Rick.  Get him a golf shirt and he's good to go.  Brynne and I found him a cool shirt at Kohl's for $17.00 after my 15% off coupon.

So, all six of our outfits cost a grand total of $90.00.  I was pretty happy about that!  That averages to $15.00 an outfit.

And, we look pretty good, I must say! (Except for the tears, of course! I just had to post this picture.  This is a typical Taulman Family photo.)