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How to avoid the ‘Big uniform bill’
12th July 2020 / Posted by Impressions
How to avoid the ‘Big uniform bill’
Have you ever felt like the August raids on your bank balance come a close second to Christmas? You’ve paid for 2 weeks in the sun (hopefully), the days out, the extra childcare and all the extra food they seem to eat in the summer holidays (What is that about??)
Then all of a sudden it’s school uniform, shoes, coat, bag stationery and the WOW….roll on payday!!
We get it!! (Well the older ones of us have 6 kids between us – so we have experience of this) so we have put together a guide to help ease the pain. Especially for those of you who have a child starting a new school.
1. Start shopping for Uniform Early!
There are things you can buy now that your child isn’t going to grow out of such as:
Ties, Bags, Stationery, socks, water bottles etc.
Now we don’t like to ‘upsell’ but we always recommend you get 2 ties. So many of our customers thank us for this. Ties are definitely the thing kids lose the most! Lots of schools have clip-on ties, but for those that don’t check out this video on how to tie a tie!
2. Spread the Cost of your school uniform
We offer a number of ways to save for your uniform. You can order early, put it away and pay it off bit by bit. The Problem with this is if you do it too early – chances are it won’t be big enough to last by the time school comes round. So why not save instead?
To join our savings club you can pop in and one of our lovely team will set you up an account. Too much effort?? I get it – life is busy enough between the kid’s activities, parties, social life (theirs not ours!!) our own real-life soap operas!
So call us with a payment card and we can do it over the phone!
Or better still, are you feeling inspired and want to do it now? (that’s the line I usually tell myself when what I really mean is do it now or I’ll forget in 5 minutes!)
Well, 5-4-3-2-1 Click here and buy a £10 credit to start you off!!
Did you do it?? Go on go back and get one before you forget – I’ll wait here while you do it!!
We will even send you an email reminder to do it again! Don’t worry if that’s a bit of a pain you can always opt-out – we aren’t offended. It’s just if you are like me I have good intentions all the time!
Ok so well done you’ve got some bits early and stuck some money in the account – that’s all there is isn’t it?
Our personal tips for saving money
- Don’t buy everything on the list! Ask around existing parents at that school – or talk to our amazing staff who know what’s compulsory and what isn’t
- Don’t buy massive amounts – Most of the stock we have is available all year round. The number of items you need is linked to a scientific formula where your extreme dislike of washing and ironing + more spare jumpers! But seriously start with a couple – who knows you may learn to love laundry (I’m still working on this) or find that your kids learn to stay cleaner – yes this does happen in most cases! And if those sorts of miracles don’t happen in your house (because lord knows they don’t in my house) then you can pop in any time and grab a couple of spares.
- Get a couple of ‘New to You’ garments from our Sister company Smart Futures – we take in previously worn garments and those in the best condition get sold on – usually for 1/3 – ½ the original selling price. Many of these garments are hardly worn so grab yourself a bargain and get a couple of bits from there! Check the Website for details of what’s available or ask in the shop.
Schoolwear – the best value clothing you ever buy for your kids
However much you spend on your uniform it is still hands-down the best value clothing you ever buy for your kids (And in the case of primary school kids most of us spend more on a coat and shoes than the actual uniform!).
Take an average outfit form Next of a Sweatshirt and Pants £28. The average number of wears say 15. The price per wear is £1.86.
You buy a sweatshirt and pants from us (£18). If you have 2 of each that works out at 18p per wear. And even if you had 4 of each – It’s still only 38p per wear!
And one last thing – beware the – I’ll pick a couple of those up from the supermarket trap and save myself a couple of pounds. Ask yourself this – when have you ever gone into the supermarket and just bought one thing? Answers on a postcard…
How to avoid the ‘Big uniform bill’
Have you ever felt like the August raids on your bank balance come a close second to Christmas? You’ve paid for 2 weeks in the sun (hopefully), the days out, the extra childcare and all the extra food they seem to eat in the summer holidays (What is that about??)
Then all of a sudden it’s school uniform, shoes, coat, bag stationery and the WOW….roll on payday!!
We get it!! (Well the older ones of us have 6 kids between us – so we have experience of this) so we have put together a guide to help ease the pain. Especially for those of you who have a child starting a new school.
1. Start shopping for Uniform Early!
There are things you can buy now that your child isn’t going to grow out of such as:
Ties, Bags, Stationery, socks, water bottles etc.
Now we don’t like to ‘upsell’ but we always recommend you get 2 ties. So many of our customers thank us for this. Ties are definitely the thing kids lose the most! Lots of schools have clip-on ties, but for those that don’t check out this video on how to tie a tie!
2. Spread the Cost of your school uniform
We offer a number of ways to save for your uniform. You can order early, put it away and pay it off bit by bit. The Problem with this is if you do it too early – chances are it won’t be big enough to last by the time school comes round. So why not save instead?
To join our savings club you can pop in and one of our lovely team will set you up an account. Too much effort?? I get it – life is busy enough between the kid’s activities, parties, social life (theirs not ours!!) our own real-life soap operas!
So call us with a payment card and we can do it over the phone!
Or better still, are you feeling inspired and want to do it now? (that’s the line I usually tell myself when what I really mean is do it now or I’ll forget in 5 minutes!)
Well, 5-4-3-2-1 Click here and buy a £10 credit to start you off!!
Did you do it?? Go on go back and get one before you forget – I’ll wait here while you do it!!
We will even send you an email reminder to do it again! Don’t worry if that’s a bit of a pain you can always opt-out – we aren’t offended. It’s just if you are like me I have good intentions all the time!
Ok so well done you’ve got some bits early and stuck some money in the account – that’s all there is isn’t it?
Our personal tips for saving money
- Don’t buy everything on the list! Ask around existing parents at that school – or talk to our amazing staff who know what’s compulsory and what isn’t
- Don’t buy massive amounts – Most of the stock we have is available all year round. The number of items you need is linked to a scientific formula where your extreme dislike of washing and ironing + more spare jumpers! But seriously start with a couple – who knows you may learn to love laundry (I’m still working on this) or find that your kids learn to stay cleaner – yes this does happen in most cases! And if those sorts of miracles don’t happen in your house (because lord knows they don’t in my house) then you can pop in any time and grab a couple of spares.
- Get a couple of ‘New to You’ garments from our Sister company Smart Futures – we take in previously worn garments and those in the best condition get sold on – usually for 1/3 – ½ the original selling price. Many of these garments are hardly worn so grab yourself a bargain and get a couple of bits from there! Check the Website for details of what’s available or ask in the shop.
Schoolwear – the best value clothing you ever buy for your kids
However much you spend on your uniform it is still hands-down the best value clothing you ever buy for your kids (And in the case of primary school kids most of us spend more on a coat and shoes than the actual uniform!).
Take an average outfit form Next of a Sweatshirt and Pants £28. The average number of wears say 15. The price per wear is £1.86.
You buy a sweatshirt and pants from us (£18). If you have 2 of each that works out at 18p per wear. And even if you had 4 of each – It’s still only 38p per wear!
And one last thing – beware the – I’ll pick a couple of those up from the supermarket trap and save myself a couple of pounds. Ask yourself this – when have you ever gone into the supermarket and just bought one thing? Answers on a postcard…