Any other moms out there feel like the minute you find out you’re having a baby it’s almost impossible not to shop for them every time you go shopping? On my Birthday this year I even managed to look at clothes for Jase and our soon to be little girl. I didn’t buy anything, but still! I do love shopping for my little ones though. The clothes are so cute and tiny and it’s so hard not to fall in love with everything you see.

One thing you will quickly notice when shopping for your first child is that for the amount of time they spend in their clothes, they can be pretty pricey! I remember my husband saying at one point that a particular shirt was the same price as his clothing, and it’s half the material! Not to mention they only stay in their clothes a matter of months at first. We lucked out with Jase and have definitely gotten the most wear out of his clothes because he is such a peanut. He wore newborn clothes until he was close to three months old. Still to this day, he is now 21 months old and he is just now growing out of his 12 month clothing.

But no matter what, you need clothes for your little at some point or another. It definitely can take a hit to your budget when you get to where they really need clothes and your pressed for time as they are growing out of everything. We are actually hitting that point ourselves right now. I stopped buying ahead for Jase because his sizes were getting so hard to predict for the season he would need them in. He is finally getting to where he is ready to transition into 18 month sizes, which is just in time for summer, but I realized we don’t have anything! So we definitely will have some shopping to do here soon!

Some of my favorite places to find clothes for Jase is Old Navy, the Carter’s outlet, and the Children’s Place. I have found the best deals and clothes that fit him at those places. For Elyse I have found things at Target, Old Navy, and the Carter’s outlet. These stores would be the ones I most frequently find brand new clothes at great prices.

I also have five tips that you can follow when shopping for your toddler to help you save money:

1) Consignment Stores & Sales: I am definitely a fan of consignment stores. Where we used to live there was definitely a consignment store that had a lot better deals than the ones we have in Saint Louis, but there are still some steals we can find. Whenever I need something for Jase, I usually check a consignment store first. A lot of the clothes are in great condition because our kids don’t even wear them long before they grow out of them! I don’t always find great deals on shoes at these places, but it’s always worth looking first. Also, find the big consignment sales in your area that usually happen seasonally. We are a huge fan of these! It’s where we get a lot of our birthday and Christmas presents!

2) Clearance Racks: I always check the clearance rack! Every time we go to one of my favorite stores, I check clearance to see if there is anything that could come in handy down the road. I’ve scored onesees for a dollar a piece at times just because they were changing out their clothing line. Clearance racks are your friends!

3) Shop Ahead: Last winter when all the coats went on clearance, we went ahead and bought Jase a coat for the following summer. You have to be able to predict the size your child is going to be in, which can be really hard. But we paid less than $10 for a brand new winter coat for him and it fit perfectly this season. Whenever you can shop the end of season sales for the next season that is always a bonus! I am noticing when you think about layering, that’s really easy to do! I can buy Jase a bunch of t-shirts and just layer them with long sleeves & hoodies through the winter and get even more use out of them!

4) Look for Coupons & Specials: Carter’s is my all time favorite when it comes to specials. They do great deals! I am signed up for their emails and they send us coupons every month. They have great door busters too! At the beginning of winter we hit them when all their pajama sets were on sale which was perfect timing for us. They also throw in those spend this amount and get this amount off coupons as well which end up saving even more.

5) Ask a Friend: There is nothing wrong with hand-me downs. If you have people in your life with a child slightly older than yours that won’t be holding on to their clothes don’t be afraid to ask. We got so many hand me downs for Jase for awhile it was a huge blessing. Sadly, all the kids have far surpassed him in size at this point that we don’t get as many as we used to. But it’s such a blessing when people are able to give you clothes. One day I hope I can do the same for someone when we are finished having kids.

Shopping for a toddler doesn’t have to be a huge burden, there is a lot of ways you can save money! Planning ahead definitely helps as well, then you’re able to collect a little at a time over a few months to build a good collection.

What about you? What is your favorite place to shop for your little one? How do you find the best deals?