6 Genius Ways to Save Money on Kid's Clothes (2024)

As the mom of a 3-year-old, I know how quickly my son grows out of clothes. I swear, there are have been many times when I’ll grab a pair of shorts or a t-shirt out of the closet that my son wore only a few weeks ago and it’s suddenly too small.

And it’s not just toddlers who seem to grow like weeds. When I think back to the amount of adorable baby outfits my son never got to wear because he grew out of them before it was the appropriate season, it saddens me a little.

And let’s not even talk about how many outfits end up with rips, tears and unnamed stains – it’s all a day in the life of a kid, right?

Sound familiar?

If you’re a mom then it probably does. Which is why it makes sense to look for ways to save money on kid’s clothes.

Here are 7 ways you can save:

6 Genius Ways to Save Money on Kid’s Clothes

1) Buy Gently Used

Buying gently used clothing is probably the best way to save money on kid’s clothes. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve got a haul of adorable clothes for my son at around a 1/4 of the price of full retail.

Depending on where you live, yard sales can be a goldmine.

We move frequently for my husband’s job. In our previous city, I was able to find an abundance of adorable, gently used kid’s clothes for next to nothing.

In our current city, not so much.

If yard sales in your area are more miss than hit, then I recommend checking out ThredUp.

ThredUp has become my go-to for gently used kid’s clothes. In fact, I placed an order earlier this morning for my son – I managed to snag a pair of Ralph Lauren chino shorts, Ralph Lauren board shorts, and a Crazy 8 rash vest for under $20.

Here are my top tips to get the most out of your money at ThredUp:

• Shop in the “Clearance” tab
• Try to buy in bulk to take advantage of free shipping
• Join the mailing list to be alerted of coupon codes
• Share your referral link with your friends – when they join you both get $10 to spend

Click here to join ThredUp and claim your $10 credit.

2) Buy Gift Cards on Raise

This is a genius hack that I discovered about a year ago. If there’s a particular store I want to shop at I’ll go to Raise and purchase a discounted gift card, then use the gift card to shop.

For example, on of my favorite stores for kid’s clothes is H&M. Right now on raise, there are a range of gift cards available that are discounted by 12%.

You simply purchase the gift card you want and you’ll receive instant digital delivery.

I never make large purchases without first checking out Raise and would estimate that I’ve saved hundreds of dollars on my son’s clothes using discounted gift cards.

3) Buy a Year Ahead

Whenever I go to a department store, the first place I go is the clearance racks.

Normally the clearance racks are full of end-of-season clothes – think winter clothes going on sale in April. If that’s the case, I’ll buy a size larger than what my son currently wears and store the clothes until next year (if you’re short on storage space like me, these are a life-saver.)

The stores that I’ve found to have the best clearance racks for kid’s clothing include Belk, Kohl’s (make sure to take advantage of Kohl’s cash), Target and Old Navy. Just recently at Belk, I found a Carter’s 4-piece set for 75% off the original price.

4) Shop Online With Ebates

Sometimes an event will arise that calls for a particular outfit – like a dress shirt and pants for a wedding, for example. Additionally, sometimes I like to splurge a little and get my son some cute outfits to go out to dinner, the movies, etc.

In situations like this, I like to look only before going to the store to purchase, because shopping online means I can use Ebates to get cash back.

Ebates has partnered with thousands of retailers to give you cash back on your online purchases. You simply to go the Ebates site, find the store you want to shop at, click on the link and you’ll be taken directly to the store’s website.

After you’ve made your purchase, Ebates will deposit a percentage of the purchase price directly into your account which you can then claim via PayPal cash or a check.

Sign up here and get a bonus $10 after your first purchase of $25 or more or click here to read my full Ebates review.

5) Ask for Clothes as Gifts

Asking for clothes as birthday and Christmas gifts is a great way to save money and most family members are more than happy to choose out a cute outfit as a gift.

Every year when family members ask what my son would like for his birthday or Christmas, I will give them a couple of toy ideas and a couple of items of clothing.

For example, this past year my son was in need of summer shorts and t-shirts. Fortunately, he received 5 sets from family members (along with some toys.) He was very excited to open both clothes and toys and I was happy that I was able to save some money.

6) Accept Hand-Me-Downs

If you have friends or family with kids slightly older than yours, put out the word that you’re happy to accept hand-me-downs.

I love receiving hand-me-downs but not everyone is the same. Recently, I was out for dinner with some girlfriends and I mentioned how much I love hand-me-downs.

One of my friends who has two boys a little older than mine messaged me later that evening offering a bag of gently used clothes – she’d had them sitting there for a while but wasn’t sure whether to ask me if I wanted them or not because some people get offended at the offer of hand-me-downs.

Not me, haha!

Not only are hand-me-downs a great way to save money, reusing items is environmentally friendly – it’s a win-win.