Am I being OTT/silly etc? (money spending on DS's clothes)

[SantaCruise]

DH has come to the conclusion that I waste far too much money and spend too much on the DS's clothes.

He bases this on:

1 pair of Adidas tracksuit bottoms (for PE and sports) costing £14.99 (in sale)

2 pairs of school trousers from Next costing £14 for both pairs.

A pack of 5 school socks from Next costing £4
A pack of 3 boxer shorts from Next costing £8
A pair of school shoes costing £35
A pair of adidas trainers costing £22

DS is 9.

DH says I should have bought him a pair of Umbro tracksuit bottoms for £7
School trousers from Asda for £5 a pair
Cheap School shoes for £15 and cheap trainers for £13

And the boxer shorts I should have got from primark for £5 for 5 pairs.

I believe you get what you pay for. DH says DS is spoilt and I am over the top in what I pay. He is very tight and won't pay over £10 for his own shoes.trainers etc but I'm not light that!! I go for quality. Cheap stuff is false economy anyway. And its not like I'm buying it on credit cards etc, we can afford it.

AIBU or is he?
IS my spending reasonable?

YANBU. If you can afford it buy it. It don't sound extravagant at all. I buy my DD's in asda and primark because thats all I can budget for at the rate my DD's stuff gets wrecked. Your DH sounds tighter than a ducks arse imo.

YANBU I spend more especially on shoes and I am one for bagging a bargain and so shop around. However, in the past I have sometimes wasted money by buying cheaper because I end up having to iron more (fabric quality) or replace quicker because whites get grubby looking quicker or the collars go funny and so end up spending more. Cheap socks tend to tighten in the dryer and hanging out to dry in the winter takes forever.

Don't get me wrong, we're not rolling in it, far from it but we (or I) get £140 a month maintanance for DS from my ex husband and although I do try and put some of it in savings for him, if he needs a load of clothes one month (like he has this month) I'll just use the maintanance - so really I don't see why it's anything to do with DH at all!!

This month out of the maintanance I've managed to buy him

a pair of tracksuit bottoms
A school bag for september
2 pairs of school trousers
2 school sweatshirts
a pack of polo shirts
A pair of trainers
New underwear

And I still have some of it left to put into savings - or maybe buy him a coat for september. I don't think I've done bad at all really!

So you have to treck around to asda, primark and the sports shop (costing petrol/bus fare)? How much would you actually have saved if you'd done that when you take into account the travel costs and your time costs?

I'm afraid school shoes in particular are an 'you get what you pay for' item. At the parents evening I went to recently the head teacher advised us to please get proper sensible sturdy school shoes, not cheap ones. So I'm with you on the decent, properly measured shoes.

And if you can afford the rest it really isn't particularly excessive. Though I would say from experience Asda school trousers are pretty good quality.

Grief, so it's actually your ds's money you're spending on his clothes. Tell your dh that it's none of his business unless he wants to pay up for the clothes!

he sounds tight as a cats-bum! ignore him ...and if he continues then tell him to do the shopping!

...and its not even his money??...tell him.....to mind his own sodding business!!..in the nicest possible way..

yanbu! it does not sound extravagent at all

He's talking rot. YANBU. just send him out to do the shopping if he thinks he knows better!

It looks like a reasonable clothes list to me. You could get them cheaper in other shops - but not much and in any case if it is not your husbands money then it has nothing to do with him!.

I'm a firm believer in buying decent shoes for growing feet (dh attributes his terrible feet due to poorly fitting shoes as a kid) you don't get the range of widths from a supermarket - and decent high cotton content socks to minimise whiff factor.

And if you can afford it and it's not even coming out if his pocket, who is he to begrudge the money?

YANBU.

I think your list is fine too. Supermarket and Primark clothes are false economy not to mention very cheap in price so not fair trade etc.

I'm another firm believer in decent shoes and trainers for growing feet.

I love Next, everything washes well and lasts ages - also a fan of Debenhams and M&S too. DS is very light in wear on his clothes so they still look like new if I buy decent quality ones wash after wash.

YANBU

I would tell him to get fucked.

YANBU.

Having bought cheap shoes for 10 yr old DSS, which lasted literally 3 weeks, I wont make that mistake again.

The clothes could have been cheaper but so what?

Before my DSS lived with us I used to really begrudge the chunk of our money the CSA took. Not because I thought he shouldnt pay it but because the boys never seemed better clothed or fed as a result. I'd like to think that was because the ex was saving but am a bit .

Your DH is being an arse, the money you get for DS is for you to spend to his benefit, which you have clearly done.Maybe next month you should spend it all on a trip to Alton Towers, I think he would not moan again!

I think you're deluding yourself although he is BU about money.

They're all made in Chinese sweatshops - so the fact you think you're getting better quality for paying more is laughable!

Although clothes increasingly are made in the far east, with varying degrees of ethical probity, paying a bit more to get the right width on shoes if your dc does not fit the supermarket ones or on a higher cotton content for comfort is not a false economy ime.

What does dh think you should be spending the money on?

Shoes are the only thing worth paying more for imo. In particular, it is pointless spending more on boxer shorts and socks - as skihorse says, they're all made in the same sweatshops

Sounds like someone is jealous?...
I find Next is quite overpriced IMO, bought 2 Tshirts for DP costing nearly £40 whereas if bought elsewhere, could have bought 4 shirts for that amount but DP said they were great quality and kept them.
If you can offord it, and sounds like you know how to manage your money then carry on. I know my DP would rather I pay extra for the quality for DD than not to.

Was expecting you to post saying that you bought all label stuff, but no, your list seems very reasonable (except the Next stuff; quality of their clothes is rubbish )

then realised not actually your DH's money Noen of his darn business!!