image courtesy of Babble.com
I finally figured it out: how to save money on shoes that a) get worn out in a matter of weeks by being left in the rain, shoved on without undoing laces, thrown in and out of rooms and massive amounts of puddle jumping. The big solution is one simple word, a word my daughter mastered somewhere around the time she learned what “eyes” are. What’s that word?
CROCS
Yes, the ugly rubber shoes will save you money in the long run, especially if you are shedding the feet of more than one child!
But they’re hideous you yell!
Yes, perfectly true, but don’t tell the kiddos. Once they realize that $150 Michael Jordan’s are where it’s at then the jig as they say is up. And if you’re the one spread ingot hat word, you’d better stay the hell away from my neighborhood or be willing to co-sign my second mortgage. Until that day, as far as you know, crocs are hot. Got it?
But they can’t wear them to school
Again, you are correct. Most schools wont let them wear tiny rubber booties to school, but here’s where part one of my cunning plan comes in to play. They don’t wear them to school. They wear the expensive sneakers to school. You see the expensive sneakers are better padding for all day wear and school teachers are generally better at avoiding puddles and shoe-throwing tantrums for some reason than parents. Expensive well-made shoes + school = match made in heaven. Cheap rubber clogs made in a mold that could possibly (with the right chemicals) be made in your own home + your own home = perfect for puddle jumping then dumping in bucket of bleach (or whatever your chemical/ dye free organic, gluten free equivalent is).
Aren’t crocs bad for their feet?
I have no idea, but I know expensive shoes that are slowly molding from damp inside are not good for feet.
But crocs are expensive.
And here is part two of the cunning crocs plan. Buy them used. Ewwwww… No, not really. They are the only shoes I can consider chucking in the bucket of cleaner (ie bleach) apart from flip flops which a lot of kids have issues with. Buying them new will set you back around $30, but used I picked up a pair for $8 for my first born in a neutral color, so he can pass them on to her. This halves my cost and the possibility of them being sellable or at least swappable (www.swapmamas.com) after cuts about $1 off too, so I just bought a pair of shoes for around $3. Not too shabby!
So, one pair of crocs for home, one pair of good sneakers for out and about, and you will save yourself oodles of money and relieve mountains of hassle. Now you just have to figure out how to spend all that money you saved!
Royal Belly 