Clark's Big Book of Bargains Read Online Free PDF

greatest challenge is being able to afford them.
    Practicality and creativity are key if you’re going to have an affordable lifestyle with multiple mouths to feed, bodies to clothe, and minds to educate.
    I was very impressed with a couple I met in Raleigh, North Carolina, who have five children, all under the age of fifteen. They have no credit-card debt. Their only debts are a car loan and a mortgage, which is a fifteen-year loan. In addition to being in such a strong financial position, they are happy. “How do you do it?” I asked them. Their answer was they are very practical in raising their children. For example, instead of buying expensive new clothes for each child, they do a lot of hand-me-downs.
    In this chapter, I’ll show you how to save money when you get ready for your first child, how to raise children with Clark Smart money values, and how to save on braces, private school, and music and dance lessons. I’ll also show you how to save when you buy things for those other members of your family, your pets.
    * BUYING FOR YOUR FIRST CHILD *
    When a couple finds out they’re going to have a child for the first time, there’s so much excitement—and so much anxiety.
    People often buy too many things in advance—and buy the wrong things—as they try to get ready for their child’s first day in their home. Until your child is home, you really don’t know what things are going to be useful and what things are not. I have two daughters, and when I think back to what people gave us, I’m surprised at how many of those things we didn’t use at all. We even requested some of those items by listing them on a baby registry.
    The most practical thing for you to give or receive at a baby shower is gender-neutral clothing, in sizes up to 3T. People give tons of newborn outfits, including some very fancy things that are hard to put on or take off a baby. Fancy clothes end up staying in the closet. What you need are comfortable outfits that are easy to get a child into and out of, particularly from ages six months to twenty-four months, when the child’s size changes rapidly.
    Used clothing also is a great idea, because of how fast your child will outgrow everything. Buying new clothes all the time will just eat up your money. If you don’t have access to hand-me-downs from friends and family, there are plenty of stores that specialize in selling used children’s clothing. Most used baby clothes are in very good condition because they’ve been used for only a month or so. But check used clothing carefully before you buy. Often these stores have brand-new items as well. If used clothing doesn’t appeal to you, try a discounter such as Wal-Mart or Target.
    Because of the instability in retailing, a lot of the best deals on clothing are in stores that buy other people’s mistakes. Perhaps a department store buyer bought more of an item than the store could handle, or a manufacturer made more of an item than it could sell. Once the season’s over, they have to get rid of those goods, so they sell them to stores such as Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, and the ultra-low-cost store Value City, which at this point is in only fifteen states (check www.valuecity.com for locations). Value City’s entire business model is based on buying goods from bankrupt manufacturers and retailers and from manufacturers and retailers who simply messed up and bought or made too much of a particular item. They offer reasonable savings during a clothing season, but phenomenal savings after the season. Value City has been a fantastic source for low-priced clothing for my youngest daughter.
    Many cities also have no-name liquidators that offer merchandise at huge discounts.
    You can always save money on clothes by buying at the right time of the season, no matter where you shop. Don’t buy summer clothes in the spring as retailers want you to do; wait until summer actually starts. (See the Clothing section, in the “Necessities” chapter, for