Tech Indulgence?
This article on Yahoo caught my eye when I read the title and saw “$500 for back-to-school shopping” and I thought maybe it was talking about spending $500 total for a family with two or three kids. Then as I continued to read the article and saw that they were talking about spending $500 per child I thought, “How expensive have pens, pencils and notebooks become???”
Turns out, the article was talking not only about “regular” school supplies and clothes, but also electronics. Now I don’t have children in school anymore but are electronics really a “required” school supply? Again, I read further and saw that the electronics they were talking about included laptops, tablet computers, smartphones and desktop computers…I’m wondering if those are items on your own back-to-school shopping list?
School Clothes: The Annual Ritual
Anyway, regardless if electronics are on your list or not, buying back-to-school items can be expensive, especially if you’re on a really tight budget. Most of the stores have already pulled out the school supplies and have great sales going on. (Stock up now for the entire year while they ARE on sale.)
Buying school clothes adds to the expense and can also be frustrating. I remember the days I wanted to pull my hair out as I waited outside my son’s dressing room with my fingers crossed that he at least liked ONE pair of jeans out of what seemed like the hundredth pair he had already tried on…and he really wasn’t that picky!
Our New Goodwill “Back-to-School Makeover”!
So to help with the expense and perhaps get the kids “excited” about thrift store shopping, we’re starting a new contest today. For the rest of the month, we’ll pick a new contest winner each week for a “new” outfit for a school-age child. Simply enter your name in the comments below with the age of your child you’d like help with getting an outfit for. *This is for a shopping trip at a Goodwill store in Colorado Springs.
Good luck!…Enter as often as you want and we’ll pick a new winner each Sunday for the following 4 weeks.
We have 4 girls, three of whom it would be helpful to find new outfits for this year! Probably our hardest one to find things for is our oldest, Hannah, age 8! Hannah is tall and lean. We often have to go up in shirts sizes for her, because she is long torsoed! We also have Aspen age 6, almost completely the opposite of Hannah, who is rather petite for her age and is within only inches of her 17 month younger sibling! Then we have Sydney who is almost 5 and is almost always assumed to be Aspen’s fraternal twin! Sydney has bright red hair, so we often need to stay withing certain color realms that compliment her hair. Then, just to complete the list though she isn’t headed to school yet, there is Kirsten, she’s two and full of spunk, and because she is youngest of four she is mostly clothed in hand-me-downs. We do happen to inhabit some of the thrift stores in town on occaision, including “GW,” as we call it, but it would be helpful to see another person’s perspective and suggestions on attire for any of the girls!
I love your daughter’s names!Good luck!
I am entering on behalf of a dear, sweet, wonderful friend of mine I will call “M” for now, and her precious daughter (also “M”) and sweet son “R”, all of whom deserve far more than I could ever give them. M is a wonderful mom with a kind and generous heart who has seen her kids through some very rough times while working very hard at nursing school to improve her situation and provide a better life for herself and her two precious kids and their small zoo of pets. Financially they have little, yet they will always stop to take care of someone else who needs it. I would so love to surprise her and her two wonderful kiddos with a shopping spree just for them! Thank you 🙂
Since we can enter “as often as we want” I am adding a second entry for M and her two kids M and R – it would be truly wonderful if she were to be drawn twice, once for each of her precious kiddos! Thank you 🙂
Hi I am entering for my two children whom our both boys, ages 9 and 6. I currently just graduated college with a degree in the medical field, I have been searching for over whats seems like forever now for a position in my field of study with no such luck. Its only my boyfriend actually working right now, while I stay at home with our daughter Adalynn, she is only 2 and not in school, and the boys. So now we are currently living on one paycheck and we actually live week to week. I am in desperate need of clothing and school supplies for the children. When I seen this contest I had to enter. Our 6 yr. old will be getting a free cars 2 lunch box this year through the Disney rewards program with the points I have earned through them, which is one less item we have to worry about. I know there is a lot of parents and kids in need at this time. And through this contest the people at Goodwill will be answering a lot of our prayers just by offering one outfit per school aged child. New or used. Thank You for being such a great store, where we all love to shop (When we do have extra cash). Like they say one man’s trash, is another man’s treasure. God Bless and hope to be a winner.
Good luck Crystal…and congratulations on graduating with your degree. It’s really tough for a lot of families right now and living from paycheck to the next is not only hard, but worrisome…you sound like a great mom and I hope you find the job you need/want soon. Good luck!
My son is 8 years old. We’re on a crazy tight budget and do the vast majority of clothes shopping at Goodwill and LOVE it there! Thank you for this contest and supporting Goodwill.
Good luck Denise!
My soon Xion is 7 going on 8 and VERY particular about his clothes. We love Goodwill, because he can pick out his clothes himself, try then on, and usually for under $10 per outfit! He is 4 foot 4 and continues to grow like a weed! We would love the opportunity to continue to support our local Goodwill!!! Thank you!
Good luck Eliza…LOVE that he already shops at Goodwill!…