Spending £32.99 on my boys new trainers?

[LiveLoveLaugh87]

So was chatting with my MIL last night, sent her a pic of some trainers I ordered for my little boys. Stupidly the price was on there 32.99 (2 pairs at that price, and a pair for £21 for my youngest) her response was ‘bloody hell love they’re expensive, that’s a bit much to be spending on trainers isn’t it? I’m sure you could’ve found something much cheaper!’

I felt pretty insulted by this and laid in bed last night justifying it to myself, the boys desperately need new trainers as there’s are bordering to small now, and they are the only other shoes they have other than their school shoes, they should hopefully see them through the summer at least. I work hard and earn my own money, we don’t live a luxury lifestyle and aren’t in a position to splash the cash on unnecessary items as she well knows, I see spending a little more as an investment in what will hopefully be a decent pair of trainers that I’m not going to be replacing a month down the line. They were only from Sports Direct, and these days I’d say £30 for a pair of trainers is pretty cheap.

I really wish she would think before opening her opinionated mouth sometimes!! Have I spent too much? Is it excessive? What would other people spend on trainers/shoes? TIA

My DS has £150 Jordan’s. Sure she would faint at that! I nearly did

The last pair lasted 2 years though so I thought they were good value for money tbh.

Heavens they aren’t that expensive. My main concern is if they are worth the extra. You can get cheap cheap trainers but actually it’s a false economy as they tend to be thin unsuitable for heavy use and wear out quickly. I would rather spend a little more if the quality is better. Not a lot more as kids outgrow them so quickly but £5 more is worth it.

It's not quite the same to buy luxury items when the kids have stopped growing, or when they need a new pair after 6 months, but people can spend what they please.

I still wouldn't scrimp on shoes for my kids.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with my Mum a couple of weeks ago. I was ordering DD’s next size clothes from the Sainsbury’s TU 25% off sale. My Mum said that the cardigan I would ordering at £5.25 was not even cheap and that I could get an adult cardigan for that price.

Even my Dad thought she was being ridiculous. She still has not told me where I can buy an adult cardigan for £5.25.

I think sometimes older people can be in a time warp. If you are able to pay for the basics then who cares how much money you spend?

Id spend that on my five year olds branded trainers. About 35 - 50 on my 8 years olds and about 70 usually on my 13 year olds for branded except converse or vans that are fiftiesh. Don't see it's anyone else's business what you spend your cash on.

As a PP said, maybe if dc is 2 they’re a bit dear. Definitely not if they’re 12!

And maybe not considering a pair of clarks school shoes is pushing £40 per pair..........

Just ordered a pair of trainers to DSS at £84 (NIKE air zoom something), he wanted them and had grown out of the ones I bought previously. Bloody hell will I get shit from his mother for buying expensive things to DSS (her view is that she should receive the money herself and buy what she sees fit rather than us buying clothes and shoes directly to DSS). He’s a teenager, I just buy what he asks me to given he needs them. Not like he has 3-4 pairs lying around.

thats not a bad price . Sports direct is good value for trainers

She probably thinks theyre the same price as when you were a kid

DS14 knows if he wants a £300 pair of trainers he's buying them himself!

£33 for a pair of trainers sounds perfectly normal!

Just ended up paying£45 for a new pair for ds2.

im pretty sure most teenagers dont demand £300 trainers either

That's cheap - my 3 year old's trainers cost more. Your MIL just sounds out of touch with how expensive things are these days.

If I were you I wouldn’t discuss such things with her in future. It’s a reasonable amount to spend on a quality pair of trainers that you hope will last. I’ve tried buying cheaper and they have blisters to my kids’ feet.

She is out of touch and you are massively overthinking this. The gap between Shoe Zone 'cheapie' shoes and half decent ones is increasingly narrowing. The cheapest of footwear is not really cheap any more. £30 really isn't a lot for a pair of shoes, unless your ds is a newborn.

It’s not her money or her business, and she’s out of touch.
I would stop her having access to any clues of my money situation, and tell her that I don’t want to discuss any money stuff with her from now on next time she tries it.

I've just ordered a new batch of shoes for my oldest who seems to have grown overnight- I have a foot measure at home so I avoid the likes of Clarks

School shoes- kickers. Sensible, lace up shoes that cover the whole foot
School trainers
Astro shoes-£££££££
School wellies
House wellies
House trainers
House shoes.
Walking boots
Climbing shoes- £££££££££££££££££££

Your MIL would shit kittens at the amount I paid for that little lot. Mind you, I nearly did myself

Forgot to add the garden shoes to that list. At least those were shoezone cheapies

Depends how old they are, you say “little boys“, so makes me think you went for expensive trainers for young kids that will grow out of them quickly.
I have a decathlon store nearby which is quite cheap, so able to get more than 1 pair of trainers for school PE bags and pair at home. Plus I have to buy football boots and astros. As they get older, I’m happy to pay more if they’re not growing out of it quickly. Also they know what they like when they’re older so I say nice football boots are a Christmas present (rather than when I have to kit them out for the clubs I’ve booked them into)

I'd be weeping with joy if I managed a to find £32 trainers for my DCs.

DS1 was in adult sizes in Year 6, grown up sizes cost a lot more. The upside is their feet don't grow so quickly so they get more wear out of them (although this is bad news for hand me downs).

Back to school last year i spent about £300. Both needed new school shoes, one needed new trainers and the other one new football boots. and mine know not to waste their time asking for Yeezys and Nike Superfly whatever's.

I spend less than 32 quid on my adult sized dc's shoes/trainers. Good ones too. You just have to know where to get a bargain.
There is no need to spend the sums people do, unless they want to, and you aren't a superior parent for spending more money.

My mum and mil think I should get all the kids shoes and trainers in Shoe Zone, it was good enough for my sister/SIL etc etc. I just nod sweetly and get on with it. We are no way loaded, but our circumstances are much different than theirs were (both parents working for a start)

You could have some fun winding her up if she's that twitchy... "Oh look at this fab coat I've just bought the littlest..."(link to the most expensive coat you can find).

Is that sports direct prices? Because JD sports is even worse!!
My 2 want trainers all the time!!

Evelynismycatsformerspyname thanks I do love eBay but unfortunately although 8 he is a size 5 shoe 😱