Teen boys expensive taste in clothes!

[SixSeven67]

Help!
my 13(nearly 14) year old son is in his ‘I’ll only wear expensive black tracksuit’ era and it’s bankrupting me!
I feel so guilty that he’s hardly got any clothes at my house, whereas at his dads, he’s got lots. I’m not working at the moment, on UC with 2 other DC at home. The other 2 are younger, therefore much easier to buy clothes for.
I was looking online for tracksuits for him and ONE montirex tracksuit is £90. NINETY POUNDS!
I got him one for Xmas but, after him saying he loved it and took the labels off, decided he didn’t like it after all! And anyway, he’s managed to leave that at his dads house.
I do use vinted, but even that isn’t as cheap as I’d like. I want to rig him out with about 3 nice tracksuits, but it’s going to cripple me financially.
any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

My brother had a great idea for when his son started demanding expensive trainers, he would say i can go into a shop and get you a pair of trainers for £20 so that is my limit, feel free to earn the amount you need to make up the difference so you can buy the ones you want. I used it on our 6. Amazingly they settled for the £20 ones.

This. Thank you

Another angle to this is if you found yourself employment you would have more money. There lots of vacancy available in both care homes and pre schools and nurseries. Many of these roles don't require past experience. Once you have a job you will have more financial options.

He gets what you can afford. If he’s at your house more, he should bring some of the expensive clothes from his dad’s home so he can wear them more. Maybe think about a pocket money system so he can save and buy what he wants. He sounds really spoilt refusing to wear the expensive tracksuit you got him for Xmas.

@SixSeven67 that kind of clothing was not in our price range, so my kids never asked for the expendive stuff.

You are his parent. It is ok to say no to him and explain that sadly you can't afford it and tell him what you can afford.

He doesn't need designer clothes and given he took the labels off the one you bought him and then decided he didn't like it makes me think he doesn't understand the cost of things. He needs to learn.

You just need to have a frank discussion with him a lot living within means & budgeting. He’s old enough to understand money doesn’t grow on trees.

if he wants expensive stuff he can always save up himself or get a paper round etc.

explain you would love a world where you could buy him everything he wants but that’s simply not reality sadly & it’s no one’s fault

Any bargains go quickly on vinted. Mine likes Nike tech I’ve managed to get some great condition tracksuits for £15 by searching 3-4 times a day.
If he has clothes at his dads could he bring those home?

We have this. For some reason dss’s mum and step dad encourage it. Stone island this, Fear of God that, from the age of 9. It’s ridiculous. (And in the case of Stone Island, very poor taste imo-why do you want your 9 year old going out dressed as a football violence pretender ? Bizarre). We can afford to get them this stuff but largely, outside of Christmas and birthdays, we don’t, Because it’s ridiculous. Of course they want it, and more as they get older, but they have to earn it in my view, and start to realise what the value of money is asap.