The $20 Challenge

After reading an article recently in the Patriot Ledger, I was inspired to try a little experiment. I set aside $20 and headed out to do some shopping.

After checking the Cradles to Crayons website, I noticed that they are in desperate need of clothes for boys size 11/12. That's what I decided to shop for.

My first stop was Old Navy. I found a pair of athletic pants on clearance for $5.99. I checked a few other stores and didn't get anything. Then I went to Wal-Mart and found a short sleeve collar shirt on clearance for $3.00 and Hanes sweatpants for $5.

I was looking for some inexpensive socks to add to my haul. I went to the Dollar Store where they had 3-packs of socks for $1. I picked up 2 packs.

My next stop was Target. I usually do well with their clearance items. Unfortunately, the only thing that I found was a package of 7 t-shirts for $3.81. Since I had about 20 cents left in my budget, I got a notebook.

I wasn't very impressed with what I was able to get. I think that September is a tough time of year to shop. With everyone back to school shopping, there isn't much on clearance.

Here's how it broke down:

Old Navy pants: $5.99

Dollar Store socks $2.00

Wal-Mart shirt $3.00

Wal-Mart pants $5.00

Target t-shirts $3.81

Target notebook $0.20

All of the items that I bought will be donated to Cradles to Crayons.

I'd like to do this challenge at a different time of year, when there's more on clearance, and compare how much more I can buy with the same amount of money.