Like most households, the past few weeks in our house have been dominated by Back To School madness. We’re adjusting to a busier schedule, scrambling to get ready in the mornings and positively hemorrhaging money on everything from Girl Scout dues to soccer cleats to washable markers.
Back to School is always hard on our budget. There’s just so much to buy at once – and it all has to be done last minute. School supply lists are published just one week before school starts and I don’t dare buy my kids clothes or shoes too far in advance. With my kids, shoes that fit in July are by no means guaranteed to fit in September! (Seriously, how do their feet grow so fast?)
I know I’m not alone in this – a recent survey by Mom Central and T.J.Maxx/Marshalls showed that 60% of moms start just a few weeks in advance, while 25% wait until the last minute. Our last minute was hilarious this year, since Hurricane Irene decided to hit the Saturday before school started. We were out at 8:00 on Friday night buying crayons and highlighters for the first day of school that Monday!
This past week, we headed out to T.J.Maxx to pick up some stylish duds for Ellie and Gracie to wear to school. And we found too much! There were so many of my favorite brands – most of which were marked down by around 50%. And that was just in the girls section. I won’t even mention the shoes they had to drag me away from. (cough cough, Coach pumps for $50, cough) I still can’t believe how much we got for just $50!! Check out our fashion haul:
(disclosure: We also picked up some unmentionables which are not in the fashion haul, so my daughters will have one less thing to talk about in therapy someday 😉
How cute is that stuff we found?? A faux-fur vest for only $15?!?! Seriously. Amazing deals, great trendy finds, and you’re getting such a higher quality than you would at a discount store. At a discount store a $15 faux-fur vest will look and feel like a $15 faux-fur vest. Our vest was originally $50, we just got it super marked down, so this one will probably outlast the trend. That’s the difference you get shopping at off-price stores like T.J.Maxx and Marshalls. You may only be paying $15, but you’re getting $50 worth of quality!
Be sure to check out the boys and girl sections next time you hit T.J.Maxx and Marshalls! We saw everything from backpacks to underwear to pajamas to Halloween costumes (they had AWESOME Halloween costumes!) to hair accessories to outerwear. All way marked down! Its a great place to save loads of money! And when you do – head over to Mom Central and enter your best fashion find and you can win a $1000 shopping spree!!!!
disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of T.J.Maxx and Marshalls and received a gift card to facilitate my review and thank me for taking the time to participate.
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