If you ever watched any of the episodes of Sex in the City on television shows or any of their movies, you would think that women are the only ones who care about shoes. That is not true.

I can tell you from experience men care about their shoes. They may not have the wide variety of colors and styles as women do. Men look more to functionality and comfort, then how shoes look.

Where women seem to go for style then functionality. I don’t of many men who would walk around all day in high heels.

If you saw the shoes I have in my closet you would think I am they are rather simplistic in my fashion sense. I have only three pair of shoes; one pair of tennis shoes, one pair of 12″ high boots, and one pair of Coleman sandals. The tennis shoes I got at the local thrift store for about $3.00 over five years ago. I got the boots at Wal Mart over ten years ago. They were part of an unadvertised clearance sale. The sandals were part of  mid summer sale at Kmart, this last July.

It is just a couple weeks before Boise School District will start their 2011 – 2012 school year. Ms T finished her shopping for her back to school supplies and clothes.

Last year and this year we has Ms T do her own back to school shopping. We gave her a budget and guided her through the process. We see this as a good training to help Ms T to learn some basic lessons in financial planning and shopping.

The first step in keeping with any budget is to Separate wants from needs. It is nice to get the sharpest, and stylish clothes. When you shop with style in mind it is going to cost a lot than if you are shopping for just functionality.

When I was young, and was ready for my first car, I want a 1956 Chevy four door. In reality all I needed was some transportation to and from work. I needed to pay rent, utilities, and other bills. The only way I could afford that 1956 Chevy was if I didn’t pay rent and some of the other bills for a couple of months.

Most people don’t take much of a thought when it comes to drying there clothes. They take the cloths out of the washer and put them in the dryer. There are still a few people who take their clothes out of the washing machine, go into the back yard and hang them on a clothes line. The only time much thought is given is when it comes to buying a clothes dryer.

We don’t have to go in a panic looking for and buying a clothes drying, because we don’t want to pay for drying our clothes a the local laundromat. There are things we can do everyday that can save us money while drying our clothes. These same things will also extend the life of the dryer. Saving use even more money.

When it comes to buying a new or used dryer, there are a three things we must keep in mind. A dryer’s capacity needs to match or exceeds the washer’s capacity. Gas dryers usually run $50 to $150 more than an electric dryer. Get a dryer that has an electronic sensor. 

I love to retell shopping deals that I have been told. This is especially true if  the process they used to save the money was in a way that did not cost them very much money.  Today, I would like to share with you events that took place when Mrs N saved a lot of money on a new purse.

Mrs N was in need of a new purse her old had broke a strap. Her back up purse was in not much better shape. So after work on one Tuesday she decided enough was enough she was going to get a new purse.

She did not have much money because it was a week before she was going to get paid. She couldn’t spend much time driving around town because her weekly gas budget was some what limited. She, also had time restrains, she had to pick up her daughter at the Boys and Girls Club.

I truly believe the hardest thing to buy for anyone is clothes. It is not just size and color of the clothes. It is the material and style that plays an important part. Then there is how that piece of clothing fits.

The good news is the last 5 days before and after Christmas is some of the best time of the year to buy clothes. The other three times is at the start of Spring, Fall, and in the month of August. August because of the end of Summer vacation and the start of school.

The start of Spring is the best time to buy winter clothes for the next year because stores don’t want to send them back to the warehouse or store until Fall.

This last Saturday, the family and I went into Wal Mart to pick up a few things. That row in front of the cash register was a racks of coats. All ranging in the $20 to $40 range.

My first response when I saw all those coats was, “they could really keep me warm on a cold day”. I am sure we all have bought at one time or another a great looking or really cheap jacket. Then when the first cold day hits that jacket does not hold body heat any more than a thin sweater.

Personally, I prefer the layered approach when it comes to bundling up for a cold day. I start with a t-shirt, heavy shirt, sweat shirt, and then a jacket. This way I can peal off the layers as I need too.

Did you know that the more you wash clothes the faster they wear out? Did you know by using the wrong cycle on the washing machine for a particular type of clothes you’re are throwing away money? The same goes for putting to much laundry detergent in the washing machine.

Years ago, I worked for an appliance store. Most of my days were spent going from home to home fixing washing machines and other appliances. One of my first training classes was on how to wash clothes. Those two short hours of class has stuck with me until this day.

The basics like not washing color fabrics with whites is something everybody knows. Washing similar fabric with appropriate cycle of the washing machine is not practiced very often. I have noticed most people choose their laundry detergent according price or smell that is left on the clothes.

Before Sex in the City, it is accepted that women like fancy shoes, with high heels. Men are not any more practical. Men what boot to look and feel macho. Both are not necessarily the best approach to buying shoes.

21st century has taken over, even the shoe industry. I am sure many of you have see the TV commercial that suggests you don’t have to go to the gym. All you have to do is wear this certain brand of tennis shoe.

Remember a couple weeks ago when I wrote about setting up a budget for our daughter for school clothes and school supplies. The post was titled, Back to School – A Dad’s View. Well, a few days ago, we gave our daughter her money and went shopping for school supplies.

We chose to do the school supply shopping on a Thursday evening. I would pick up our daughter at the Boys and Girls Club, then my wife as she was getting off work. Then we would go out to dinner before shopping for school supplies.

Like any dad, I want to see the best for my children. When it comes to buying for back to school supplies and clothes it can be a bit of a tug of war. This increases as they get older. Girls more so than boys. I am talking about staying within budget!

I am talking about the definition of basics. Last year I did not see what was wrong with the backpack my daughter had from the year before. The concept of a needing a messenger bag to carry over a perfectly functional backpack was beyond my understanding.