I proudly came in way under budget this year in my back-to-school shopping. My best deal of the season was finding two pairs of shoes for my oldest daughter for $13! We hit a Buy One Get One Free deal at Payless Shoe Source, and when we combined it with a clearance sale we saved a whopping $37. Next we hit up Old Navy and stocked up on jeans for $10 a pair and shirts for $5 a piece. We saved another $55.

I’ve developed a system managing our clothing budget that is simplicitic and logical but really saves both time and money. It works well for us because we have three children of the same gender, but it can easily be modified for your family size and situation. I recognize life is different when you hit the teenage years, but for now I’m holding out as long as it works.

1. Hand it on down (if you can). Lucky for me I have three children of the same gender that are nearly all one size apart, so most of our clothes are passed directly on to the next child. However, I still need to purchase items to fill in the gaps for the younger children because some clothes do wear out before they reach the end of the road. I also purchase new items for my oldest daughter. (Gotta love hearing the complaints from the younger two about hand-me-downs. It must be paybacks for all of the complaining I did as a middle child.) If you don’t have another child in the family to pass down to, ask around at school, social groups, or church. We receive lots of great items every year from other families that my children adore. Somehow hand-me-downs are more exciting when they come from kids they look up to and admire as opposed to their blood relatives. Go figure.

2. Hit the stores. I collect clearance items all year in the next size up for my oldest daughter. Not only does she grow like a weed, but I know that if I buy a pair of jeans for her at $10 a pair (regulary $29) it is a tremendous savings because all three of my daughters will wear them. It’s really like buying a pair of $3.33 jeans for each of my daughters. When was the last time you saw that price on a pair of jeans?

3. Invest in your future. At the end of this year’s back-to-school sales, hit the clearance racks, to stock up for next year. T-shirts and even shoes can hit the clearance racks off-season for as little as $2 to $3 for items that normally run $10-15. Reports say that sales are slow this year so anticipate there will be lots of deals. Backpacks are another great item to buy once they’ve been reduced because they’re so expensive at full price. As you browse the back-to-school racks now, you may also want to keep an eye out for summer clearance items including swim suits, shorts, and flip flops for next year. I stockpile all of my deals in plastic bins with lids, which I label, and then stow away in my garage until I see that my daughters who are sprouting up like bean sprouts begin to look as if they’re preparing for a flood. It’s fun to see what items are in the “mystery” boxes when it’s time to go “shopping” in our garage.

4. Have a rummage party. Invite friends who have children your same age and body style over for a clothing swap. Everyone contributes a dozen or so items per child of items they’re willing to part with but are only gently used. At the end of the event everyone will leave with a few items that are new to you. Any extra items still lingering behind can be donated. Everyone wins and no one spends a dime.

Question: What do you do to stock up and save on back-to-school clothing?