Frugal families. . . .

I'm babysitting an almost-five-month old tonight for a friend who is using the free evening to go out on a 'date' with her husband. I love kids, so a couple of hours with a cooing, gurgling baby is my idea of a fun time.

The reason I'm writing about this? The parents of this baby are raising two young children on a miniscule budget, but I've literally never seen their four-year-old wearing the same thing twice, and my friend swears she rarely buys any clothing for her, and when she does, it's from thrift shops.

How do they do this? Aside from visiting the Goodwill on a regular basis, they accept hand-me-downs from everyone. Their daughter wears Merrell shoes (pricey, even for tiny sizes) that a pint-sized 'fashion plate' grew out of in about three months. She has an itty-bitty ballerina outfit that rivals those worn by the local dance troupe. She has these great striped tights that I wish I could find in my own size. And they paid little to nothing for all of these items. Same goes for toys. . .

One of the most refreshing side-effects of this thrift store/hand-me-down lifestyle is that their girls aren't covered in pink bows and taffetta from head to toe. Sometimes, the baby is mistaken for a boy ("what's his name"?) because she's wearing blue, green, and brown clothing that is typically seen on little boys these days. But hey, she's five months old! She doesn't know the difference!

Meanwhile, I have a friend (yes, my 'shopping buddy') who asked me what I thought about a pair of $39 jeans she was considering purchasing for her three year old (another fashion plate). $39!!!!! I rarely pay that much for my own jeans! I think the shock and disgust visible on my face was enough to communicate my opinion about overpriced jeans (or any clothing item) for a tiny person.

I love the fact that my friends who are raising their girls not as accessories to be admired and dressed up like little dolls, but as future frugal thrift-store shoppers who understand that real substance is more important than how much one paid for one's shoes.