The economy has many people rethinking all of their spending, but there are some frugal people that are continuing to live life like they always have lived it. The Duggar family (who have 18 children and live debt free) were recently asked about how they managed finances with such a large clan. The answer was simple – we never buy new.

Hand-me-downs have always been a favorite way of expanding my wardrobe even since I was a young kid. Consignment shops and thrift stores have become one of my favorite shopping resources. I have struggled to pass that on to my children but my husband was always the biggest obstacle. Hearing the Duggars’ comment about buying used opened his mind just enough.

We spent the week going through the kids’ closet and trying on everything that was in it. The goal was to make a list of all the clothes that they currently owned and use it to make one of the things that they needed.

The second step was to head out to the local consignment shops and thrift stores. After two days of shopping we have spent all of $90. That includes all the shirts and sweaters needed for the kids, some shirts for mom, some pants for dad and a cool dress coat for dad as well. Hearing the total was the last thing needed to bring my husband over to the thrift side of things.

There is still some more shopping to do, but this will have to be bought new. Shoes for boys are hard to find in a thrift store – as are dress pants – at least in the area where we live. In the end, after all the pants, shoes, cleats, under garments (also new) and other items are purchased we will have dressed the whole family for under $300.