How to Budget when New Shoes are Needed

December 15, 2010

I have four children, and as anyone with kids old enough to wear shoes will tell you, they don’t make shoes like they used to.  My kids go through shoes as though they were disposable.  My wife includes shoes on her grocery list, which kind of tells you what kind of shoes we usually end up buying.  The price for a new pair of shoes spans a wide range, so here’s what I think they should do to make buying shoes easier.

I think they should put mileage numbers on the side of shoes the same way they put mileage numbers on a tire.  It makes sense.  I’m willing to pay more for a 60,000 mile tire than a 35,000 mile tire.  Couldn‘t we say the same about shoes?  Maybe I’d spend more money on a pair of shoes if I thought my kids would get more ‘miles’ out of them.  It would be cool if I could rotate my kid’s shoes.  Switch feet after every 6,000 steps.  Would there be a difference between road handling shoes and all-terrain shoes?  A snow and mud shoe with really thick tread?

I guess this quandary permeates every clothing decision we make as a family.  For us, it may be more important how long an item will last because there’s a good chance that more than one child is going to benefit from it.  My oldest daughter and son have the same shoe size, and they are close in height, so don’t laugh when I tell you they share clothes (although I don’t think David looks good in pink).  My wife’s gotten pretty good at putting patches on holes in jeans, although I thought wearing jeans with holes was in fashion?

The point I’m trying to make is they need a durability meter on kids clothing.  How many slides can my son make before tearing the fabric?  How many continuous days can my daughter wear the same sweatshirt before it becomes tattered.  Now obviously this all depends on what kind of stress the clothing is subject to, but we stress test all kinds of products.  It’s time to put the results on the labeling.

There are a few things we’ve done to get more use from our kid’s clothes.  In addition to ironing on patches when the jeans get a hole, my wife has gotten pretty good at a needle and thread on other minor tears.  Making the kids change shoes when they get home from school is another.  My son Jacob likes to drag his foot when he rides his scooter, so imagine what that does to a shoe.  He has a specific pair of shoes (ones with a well worn hole in the toe) that he can use when he rides his scooter.  I also have a particular pair I use when I’m working outside.  Maybe you’ve found a way to get more out of your kids clothing.  If so, I’d like to hear about it.  We’ll create our own durability testing center.  Every little bit helps.