When my 3 boys hit puberty, they wanted name brand hair products. I bought one bottle and as it emptied, I added about 1/4 cup Dawn regular dish detergent and then filled with water. It thickens and I never bought another bottle of expensive shampoo again. Inexpensive shampoos and conditioners, like the Suave brand at Walmart, can have water added to them and they thicken and work very well.
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Another good one is to buy marked down name brands from the clearance rack, then go home and peel off all the stickers.
My son won't go near the clearance rack, and I have a very small clothes budget to cover five people, but he wears name brand clothes he thinks cost four times as much. With expensive brand name jeans he doesn't notice a store brand shirt in the mix. As he has gotten older he appreciates that we bought him "nice" things, but now, will tell me that a store brand is "just as good". He'll never know.
A good friend has a good and honest way of dealing with picky kids. She figures (by looking at ads and in stores)what each needed item should cost and what she is willing to pay. She tells her picky kid she'll contribute that amount ONLY and he/she can pay the rest if name brand is the only thing that will do.
Clever you! We moms/ g-moms can be tricky when we know it's best for them and for our budget. If you get caught doing this and get complaints, you might want to say, "Well, I've been thinking that it's time you bought your own clothes." See how they like the idea better? "Boys, there's only so much money in the jar. I'd like to be able to buy fancier things for us all, but God gave me the wisdom to spend more wisely and I do. Take it up with Him." lol : )
I used to buy my daughter name brand clothing from department stores, but since I found Ross and Marshall's,& TJ Maxx, I never set foot in one of those expensive stores. My daughter is not terribly picky, and she loves the clothes from Ross. The only thing name brand that she likes is handbags, and I find them for less than half the amount they cost in a pricey dept.
My children wear very expensive name brand clothes but I don't spend more than $1 per shirt and more than $4 for jeans. I am a dedicated yard sale shopper. Never have I bought anything that didn't look like new. The children love it because they have some of the best wardrobes around. It is a bit of a time investment on Sat mornings for the summer and you do have to guess at sizes for the year but I get almost everything that I need for the whole year, including bedding, kitchen, towels and so on.
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