I Only Buy Used Clothes for My Kids. Here's How I Find the Best Deals

Raising a child is ridiculously expensive. Recent estimates suggest parents spend around $310,605 from birth until the age of 18. That's quite a lot of money for people who are quite small for much of that time.

Since I have two kids who participate in a lot of activities and really like to eat, there's no question my bank account has taken a big hit since I became a parent. But one thing I will never put on my credit card is brand-new clothing for my kids. Children are simply too messy, and they grow too quickly, to justify paying a premium price for new items when there's so much gently used gear out there.

Since I'm committed to buying used clothes for my kids, I want to get the best deals on quality items. Here's how I do it.

I visit community garage sales

Garage sales are one of the best places to find inexpensive children's clothing. I check Facebook events weekly as well as sites like Garage Sale Finder to find community sales so I can save time by visiting many houses at once. When we visit, I look for houses where toys are on display, as those homes usually have boxes of kids clothes as well.

I tend to go later in the day when I hit up garage sales to get the best bargains. Most people really don't want to bring their items back in, so you can usually get deep discounts when you buy their leftover stock. I'm willing to purchase several sizes up when I find great bargains, and I store them in organized bins under the bed that are labeled by size.

If you have children, check out the sales where you live to find clothing at unbeatable prices -- sometimes as little as $0.25 per item.

I shop big consignment sales

Children-focused consignment sales are another great place to get top deals. In my area, these are held by local churches as well as a specialized company called Just Between Friends, which hosts sales several times a year.

Facebook's events page is a great place to learn about consignment sales. Most sales offer a half-price day on the last day of the sale, so I wait to shop then so I can get the best bargains. Check your own local Facebook pages as well as churches in your area to see if there are any big sales.

I get to know my local thrift stores

Finally, I've visited all of the local thrift stores in my area to find the ones that offer the best deals on kids clothing. Many of these stores also offer special discounts on certain days, so I've made sure to pay attention to the schedule.

Again, I check all of the clothing racks going several sizes up when I visit these stores. If I see name-brand quality items, I snag them when they are available and just save them until my kids grow into them. Sometimes, I can even find items with the original tags still on.

You can search thrift stores on Yelp in your area to find ones that have good children's sections -- then keep a list of which ones you like.

While it takes a little more effort to shop used, the savings is well worth it -- and my kids are always dressed great for pennies on the dollar.