Mums reveal how to save £300 for school uniforms from selling on Depop to clothes rentals

THE BACK to school costs can be a struggle for parent’s every September, so mums are looking at alternative ways to make up the funds.

Revealing how they use social media to help pay their bills for books and uniforms these savvy mums are sharing their tips.

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According to a recent report by The Children’s Society, the average school uniform costs about £300 per child. 

In light of this, CashLady.com has rounded up some savings tips from Instagram mums to highlight the different ways that parents can save up to £100 in the run up to the kids going back to school in September. 

Commenting on the tips, a spokesperson for CashLady.com said:

“With the average uniform cost setting parents back by as much as £100, it’s great to see real-life mums sharing actionable tips on how parents can recover the back to school costs” said the spokesperson.

Adding “The influencers featured have managed to save £150-180 by making small lifestyle changes which can easily be adopted by other families.”

Nottingham mum Holly Robinson is a mother of two boys and works in a school, so she knows first-hand exactly what school uniforms can be put through – and how important it is to invest in a uniform that lasts.

She says that selling old clothes can be a great way to earn some extra cash to invest in good quality uniforms.  

“One of my favourite ways to save money is through Depop – I’ve found it much easier and profitable than a lot of other resale sites” says Holly.”

“It’s a great bonus when you get a notification pop up out of the blue telling you you’ve sold an item! I easily make on average £30 a month” she added.

Holly continued: “Depop is my most successful way of saving money when buying clothes – there are so many items being sold there brand new and only worn once.”

“It’s full of influencers getting rid of things they’ve literally worn to take a picture in! If you have a particular item in mind, Depop is always my first stop.”

“On average I save at least 50% on an item I’ve seen on the high street, still brand new with tags, usually spending about £20 rather than £40.”

Holly also found a way to save on school uniforms: This year, one of my friends had a great idea – we all have kids of different ages, and sizes, we got together with our clothes that no longer fitted and did a big swap.”

“My boys all needed new shorts and t-shirts for the summer and I ended up not having to buy anything, they even got some great swim shorts for the paddling pool! I saved at least £50” added Holly.

astylebyhgt/InstagramMum-of-two Holly Robinson[/caption]

Manchester mum-of-two Emma Stretton may have a busy life with two young boys, but the writer-turned fashion influencer still manages to stack up over 4,000 followers through sharing frugal fashion tips.

The Manchester mum explains that cutting down on food and alcohol expenses is an easy way to save £100 to cover the Back to School costs. 

“The summer holidays can be long and by Friday you can guarantee I need a drink! But for the last two weeks we’re reining it in to save money and get healthier before the cold nights and comfort food starts” said Emma.

“Dinner doesn’t have to be Michelin starred. When we’re cutting back I go for super simple meals. A bowl of porridge fills the kids up each morning and a bag of oats costs nothing.”

“Jacket potatoes and beans, pasta and tinned tomatoes or good ol’ sausage and eggs are all really inexpensive foods that save us loads on the weekly food shop.”

“We all know how important it is to grab some time together, even more so during the summer holiday slog. But those fancy meals add up. Instead, get the kids in bed and do date night at home.”

“Loads of the supermarkets do great deals nowadays. We sometimes push the sofas together to make a big bed, bring the duvet down and watch a film like we’re students . Financial security is modern day romance you know!”

@emmawearsitall/InstagramEmma Stretton mum of two young boys[/caption]

London-based Moira is a mum of two girls. The mum set up a second-hand clothes shop @re_style_tribe in lockdown to make extra cash and says that cutting down on costly subscriptions and activities can help free up funds.

“I regularly review the subscriptions I’ve absentmindedly signed up for that had a month or three free at the start that I no longer need” says Moira.

“At one point, on top of a sky tv subscription, I also had subscriptions to Disney plus, Spotify, Netflix and Amazon Prime costing over £40 a month.”

“I also got rid of the bank account I was paying £20 a month for as the services provided (gadget insurance etc) were already covered by existing insurance policies.”

Moira says that during the summer holidays she puts away the girls toys during the summer so they don’t get bored with the same ones.

“Things that they have been playing with for a while get put away in a hard to reach box and that encourages them to have fun with other toys, they already have but haven’t played with for a while.”

“They love getting out toys they’d forgotten they had, they get the same smiley faces as something bought from the toy shop but with zero the price tag” she said.

Moira adds: “I have my own preloved women’s clothes selling page on Instagram @re_style_tribe that I set up during lockdown and I am a huge advocate of wearing second-hand clothes.”

“That includes things for my children, for example I regularly buy them pretty summer or party dresses from Vinted or Ebay.”

@_mummy_moi_/InstagramMoira has two young daughters[/caption]

For more mum hacks, see how one mum removes rubber hair ties without any pulling.

If you like mum hacks that help organise your household you will love this piece on how to help kids hold on to their pen lids.

You may also enjoy this video of a mum-hack on how to ensure babies or children using a highchair keep their toys off the floor.

The influencer savings tips have been created in partnership with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorised and regulated credit broker CashLady.com, an unsecured loan broker, that allows customers to access credit options from over 40 lenders to get the best APR.