How do I dress my kids for success on a budget?

Ralph00:00:00

Hey, for many of us a new school year means new clothes and new shoes. But let me ask you a question. Does outfit and your kids feel financially overwhelming?Well, today's show, let's talk about how to save without sacrificing quality or peace. So stick with me today because I've got some answers on today's show.This is Financially Confident Christian, your daily dose of gospel grounded insight and faith driven tips to help you break the cycle of financial shame with confidence. Hey there and welcome back. Welcome back to Financially Confident Christian.I'm Ralph and we're in our series Smart Money for Back to school and beyond.And we've covered budgeting and we talked about smart school supply shopping and today we're going to talk about affordable clothing or to say it better, how to dress your kids for success on a budget. Hey, you know, truth is our kids are growing fast and trends, they seem to change day by day.And if you're like most of us, our budgets are feeling tight and you feel pressure to buy everything new and you feel pressure to buy everything branded. And I can still remember the fun of those new clothes, shopping and new shoes when I was heading back to school as a kid. There's a visual for you.I remember those jeans the first day of school were still stiff and those sneakers, they just were beautifully white at the time and had no scuff marks on. Of course they were a little strong and tight too, a little stiff if you will. And they had to be broken in.Well, a little reminiscing those, but that was the good old days. Still not sure how my mom ever made it work, but she did. But I can remember that like it was yesterday.Now we had a special rule at our house and I can still hear my mom's voice now, you can't wear those clothes until school starts. So that's something you take with you for the rest of your days, I think.But for most people, and you might be listening right now, this time of year also leads to overspending, it leads to guilt. And hey, if you're like most of us, it leads to stress.But I want to tell you something right now as we get started, your kids needs can be met and they can be met intentionally and affordably. So I'm going to tell you right now, take a breath because today on the show, I've got the answer. Here's the thing.I want you to start by understanding stylish doesn't have to mean expensive. And I'm going to get right into the word of God to talk about that right?Now, let's look at first Timothy, chapter 6, verses 6 to 8 says this in the scripture. It says, godliness with contentment and is great gain having food and clothing, we shall be content. Now, hey, it's a good charge, right?Well, let's look at first Peter, chapter three, verses three and four, says this. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment.So big question today is, how do you equip your kids well without falling into comparison and pressure? Because if you're like me, you're thinking, man, this is going to be an expensive year.Like I said, I still don't to this day know how my, my mom did it. But I thought today as I was planning this, you know, there's thrift stores out there. We can shop the sales.And, and the big key takeaway is if you plan, there'll be freedom and there'll be stewardship. Now, I can already hear some of you saying, Ralph, my kids are never going to wear you stuff or from the thrift shop.But please, let me get into this. So now you're thinking, Ralph, what can we do? Well, I've got a solution today. And the solution really comes down to being mindful and planning.And here's my solution for today. And encourage you to create a needs first clothing list.And once you do that, then we'll talk about exploring secondhand and strategically shopping sales. Because at the end of the day, my goal today is to help you dress your kids with peace and not panic. So here's your one action step for today.We're going to start by doing a closet inventory. I can still remember as a kid when my mom would say, okay, back to school time, kids. Let's set. Let's spend some time.And I remember to this day she would pull everything out of the closet. I'm talking everything. She was back in the inner recesses of stuff that I hadn't seen in months. But I'm going to encourage you to do the same thing.Start with doing a closet inventory. Look at what fits. That's a big deal to this whole thing.I remember I was one of those kids kind of chubby from the start, and seemed like every year I was a little bit more chubby. So a lot of times stuff didn't fit. My mom was like, yep, we're putting it in the, in the Salvation army, the Goodwill pile.So start with what fits, then start looking at what's needed. Now, as you do that, I want to encourage you to list only what's Essential.Now you're saying to me already, Ralph, yeah, essential for me and essential for my kids are two different things. So this may very well be the battleground with your kids because they may see essential a bit different than you.And this as an, as an example of that. I can still remember when I was in middle school. Now I'm dating myself, I'll be 53 in September.But all the rage were the suede Puma sneakers, you know, with the swish on the side. They were all the rage. And for me, hey, those were essential. So my mom took us to the mall.We went to the store and my mom saw the price and she's like, I don't think so, son. They're not going to be on your list this year. We settled for whatever sneakers were on sale at the time. But that's what I want you to do.I want you to start with the closet inventory because you might be surprised what you can make work. So once you've looked at the inventory in your closet, then I'm going to say, hey, let's move on to that secondhand shop.Now I can already hear people sighing across the cyberspace saying, from your kids, mom, are you kidding me? I'm not wearing something from the thrift shop. I'm not wearing something on consignment or from Facebook Marketplace.But I'm really going to encourage you right now. Look for one or two items before buying new. You might be able to find some quote, vintage stuff. And here's a little trade secret.Maybe use this as a negotiation strategy. Hey, listen, and I understand sometimes second hand won't fly. Then we move on to step number three, and that one is truly shop smart.And this is the key to the whole thing. You've got to research deals for only what's on your list. See, it's so easy to fall into that back to school sale trap.Amazon, Target, all the stores do a great job of telling you what your essentials are. But when you really look at that list, and remember we started off with making a list of what you actually need.So don't fall in for those sales on non essentials.That's what, what's, what the retailers see is essential and those back to school must have because these might not be the needs that are on your list. So that's the third thing. Fourth thing, involve your kids. I, I think this is really important.It's something my mom really encouraged when we were children and that was teach us strategy. My mom would show us how to budget. She Would say, listen, kids, okay, here's the deal. Here's what I can afford to spend.Each of you has such and such. I can't even remember. We're talking back in the 80s. Yes, I'm really dating myself now. But we were talking back in the 80s.And she would say, okay, here's your budget for back to school and here's the list of essentials.Now, back then, I was going to public school, so it was a couple of T shirts and some jeans and some sneakers, of course, and then probably a back to school jacket because like I said, I was in. I was wearing those husky sizes. So it was always seemed like things weren't fit.Now, one of the things that I'm going to encourage you to do when you involve your kids is maybe let them pick one fight item. So I've got a story for you. Here's one. Here's what they're really going to date me. Remember the Michael Jackson silk jackets?I don't know if you ever saw the. The video for the Thriller music video. It had, you know, the black and the red and the pointy, pointy shoulders. Clearly, I'm dating myself. But.But I remember at the store, I saw that and I said, I gotta have one of those. My mom looked at me like, son, you're crazy. You're not gonna wear that. But she made a deal with me. She said, look, here's what I'm gonna do.If you really want that jacket. I can't remember how much it was. It was like on a secondhand rack or something like that in. In a clearance aisle.Because I think no wanted to wear it either. But she said, here's the deal. I'll let you get that, but you're going to have to go do some other things. Save on some other things over here.So she let me get it. I can still remember wearing it to school the first day. The truth is, I look like a clown. I never wore it again. I looked ridiculous.I guess that was a lesson I learned. But seriously, this is a great way to introduce budgeting and saving with your kids. Now let's talk about why all these things help.Because one of the big takeaways here, it's going to reduce that financial pressure. Back to school. Time is a time of expense. Hey, listen, clothes are not cheap. Shoes, sneakers, whatever you want to call them, are not cheap either.So we want to work to reduce that financial pressure and save significant money. And at the same time, we can teach children to be contentment.That's what The Bible verses are about today, not adorning yourself, but actually finding contentment. And we can start to teach them strategy because these are strategies they're going to have to employ the rest of their life.And, and here's the big takeaway. It keeps your fall budget intact. How about we pray together now?Father God, I just thank you for providing clothing and every good gift that you give all of us, Lord. And we confess that back to school clothing often feels stressful and spending pressures are all around us.Help us to be wise, Lord, and help us to be creative with what we have. And also, Lord, help us to guide and teach our children stewardship and teach them contentment.And Lord, we just ask that our shopping reflect gratitude and peace. And we ask this in confidence. In Jesus name, amen. Listen, you don't need to overspend to outfit your kids. Well, you just don't.It starts by creating a plan and then shopping intentionally. And at the end of the day, I want you to enjoy this season. Listen, my kids are in their 20s now. We don't have that back to school time.And as I'm preparing for this series right now, it's kind of, it's leading me back to some nostalgia. Kind of miss those times.I don't miss standing in the, the, the, the, the changing rooms at the stores, trying to get my kids to try on different stuff. But I don't really encourage you to enjoy the season. I'm also going to encourage you to share the show.See, there are a lot of other people who are dealing with this same back to school situation. So I'm just going to encourage you.Send them a text, send them an email, point them to financiallyconfidentchristian.com and say, hey, Ralph's going over the back to school budget tips and how to save money as you're getting your kids ready for school. And maybe that would be helpful for them.Now, tomorrow's show, we're going to talk about those extracurricular expenses and how to manage and budget for those, you know, those sports and clubs and all those things that your kids want to be involved in. So I'm going to encourage you to don't miss it. So let's all go out there today and be financially confident Christians. You can do this.I truly believe in you. Believe in yourself, stay financially savvy, God bless you and you have a great day today.