Browsing Posts in Weekly Thriftiness

Do You Have Young Children?

Good news for you! Especially if your kids are young enough that they haven’t started thinking about clothes yet. Until your kids learn about brand-name clothes and join the in-crowd, you can save a bundle on clothing.

Neighbors can be a Good Source of Information

Our neighbor first showed us how to save money on clothes when she came home with some really nice Gymboree and Learning Place clothes for an incredible price. That’s when we learned about resale shops. The great thing is, young kids – and especially babies – grow so quickly, that you can get barely worn clothes for a fraction of the original cost.

Garage Sales and Re-Sale Sites

Last year, my wife found an appliance she wanted on Craigslist. When we went to pick it up, the lady asked us if we had any children around 7 years old. We did! And she gave us a bag of very nice, hardly worn clothes. There was even a pair of nearly brand-new Nike shoes.

It is pretty easy to save hundreds of dollars getting clothing in this way. And your young kids won’t know the difference. At least ours didn’t.

Finally, don’t forget garage sales. There are an abundance of them during the summer selling baby clothing. Most of this type of clothing hasn’t been worn for more than half a year and the savings are deep.

Can It Really Be Made For Less Than One Quarter?

Yup! Imagine the savings. I think the last bottle of syrup we bought cost over $4.00. Have you ever found a coupon for 95% off? Me neither.

The Recipe


1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar

In a saucepan simmer all the ingredients for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in one teaspoon of maple extract.

Refrigerate what you don’t use. If you prefer warm syrup, you can reheat it in the microwave before serving.