In 2025, it feels like nearly everything is more expensive than it’s ever been before … and the costs just keep on rising. And well, our kids just won’t stop growing. While the costs of most basic school supplies, like folders, pencils, and notebooks, aren’t too pricey kids’ clothing in particular is.
These days it seems like unless there’s a major sale happening, the graphic tees we used to pay $5 for are closer to $10 and those sweats that would run us $10 are nearing $20. Now, recently imposed tariffs are also starting to have an impact at the register as well.
As parents, it can be frustrating to say the least. We’re already spending so much on things like food, gas, housing, and utilities, the knowledge that our back-to-school costs are likely to be higher than ever is overwhelming.
According to Scripps News, parents are expected to spend an average of $600 per child on back-to-school shopping this year. That’s no small sum for families already juggling increased costs of living, especially if you have more than one child, or older children whose shoes and clothes cost a whole lot more than when they were younger. And U.S. News & World Report says that 85-percent of parent in the US are concerned with the impact tariffs will have on their back-to-school spending.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like costs are going to go down any time soon and to be honest, many of us are not thrilled with the over-consumption trend and the behaviors and practices of a lot of the major budget-friendly retailers, lately anyway. So as we prepare to send our own kids back to school in a few weeks, we’ve been thinking about how we can save both save money and use our hard-earned cash more mindfully.
We’ve come up with five ways parents can save money on kids’ clothes this back-to-school-season. Keep reading to see our tips.
Clothing Swaps
Have friends with kids in the same age range as yours? Try organizing a clothing swap. Set a date, decide on a location (can be someone’s home or a rented space that everyone pitches in for) and have everyone interested bring their kids’ gently worn clothing and shoes for everyone else to “shop.” Of course, there’s no charge since everyone can take home as little or as much as they like. You could even get super-organized and have people bring in and set up their donations by size a day or two ahead.
If you don’t know enough people with kids, you could try organizing through a school group like the PTA or a sports team your involved in. Or, look out for these types events on Facebook and Facebook Marketplace, and simply sign up to participate.
Back-To-School Sales
The old stand-by. Yes, we’re recommending something nearly everyone already knows about, but we want to propose handling these annual sales a bit differently than you might usually. Instead of attempting to buy entire new wardrobes during the back-to-school sales, stick to only the basics.
These sales will offer a percentage off of clothing, but they’re often not the best deals of the year. However, for items like shoes, socks, and underwear, that don’t often drop too much lower at the end of a season since they’re worn all year, the back-to-school sales will often offer the deepest discounts.
Brands like Nike and Adidas are both offering 20-percent off select items (including some already discounted items), and the Under Armour back-to-school sale is up to 25-percent off. And don’t forget to check athletic stores like Kid’s Foot Locker and Dick’s Sporting Goods, which usually offer back-to-school discounts as well. Tip: we always find the best selection — even on sale items — shopping these stores online.
Consignment Stores
When you have younger kids, it’s always worth making a trip to your closest kids’ consignment shop to take a look. Oftentimes these stores will have a large selection of gently used items at steep discounts. Sometimes, you’ll even find never-worn clothes or shoes with tags still on them.
Once Upon a Child is a national chain with lots of locations, but there are also stand-alone consignment shops that specialize in children’s clothing in many towns and cities. If you can’t find any near you, you can try Goodwill or look for a local Salvation Army thrift store. Alternately, there are some online kids’ consignment shops that ship nationally, like Bounce MKT and ThredUp has kids’ clothes as well.
Clearance Racks
Chances are, your kids go back to school in August or early September. In most of the country, the weather is still quite warm this time of year. So instead of shopping for cool-weather clothes, hit up the clearance racks of summer clothes. You can buy a few things in their current size to get them through the first month or two of school and then buy clothing a size or two bigger that they’ll be able to wear the last couple months of the school year when they’ll inevitably have outgrown everything they wore this year. At popular stores like Old Navy, Target, Gap, Kohl’s, H&M, and others, you’ll often find these end-of-season clearance items for a few bucks a piece.
Tax Holiday Shopping
Although they can be inconsistent, many states have tax holidays on essentials goods and school supplies in the summertime. If you live in a state where clothing and shoes are taxed, shopping during these days can save quite a bit, especially when combined with other savings from regular sales. Dates vary, and depending on individual state budgets, tax holidays may be paused from one year to the next, but it’s a good thing to look into before picking up your back-to-school haul. You can check the tax holiday schedule on the Federation of Tax Administrators website.
