Frugal Tip: Shoe Repair Will Save Money and Your Soles

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jar of money on concrete by grassy lawn, with text overlay: Frugal Fridays.

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Back in the old days, clothing and shoes were items that people wore for a long time. In fact, if an article of clothing became torn or worn, it was repaired, or even remade to present a freshened look. If they couldn’t make the adjustments themselves, women took their family’s clothing to seamstresses and tailors for alterations. And shoes that needed to be repaired or resoled? Those went to the cobbler.

In our disposable world, some of these practices have fallen by the wayside.

Believe it or not, you can still make all things new again. Well, not all things. That’s God’s job. But, you can give shoes and clothing new life — with a little creative thinking.

Last week when I was preparing to go to the Blissdom conference, I dug through my closet to see what I owned that was presentable in a group of adults. In my regular crowd, yoga pants, sweatshirts, and tennis shoes are the order of the day. So, a slight change to my wardrobe was necessary. I was pleased to find quite a bit already in my closet that would work and found several new pieces on clearance at Target.

Since I’m so short, normal pants wear really long on me. I look like a little girl wearing her mama’s clothes. It quickly became apparent that I would need to wear some heels, especially since I’m not a seamstress and I had no time to take my pants to a tailor for alterations. My heels, however, were showing a little wear. I didn’t want to go out and buy new shoes. But, they weren’t exactly what I wanted to look my best.

Pair of shoes on a paper shopping bag, showing their scuffs.

No problem. Ever heard of shoe polish?

Hand holding a bottle of scuff cover.

For about three bucks and twenty minutes of time, I got brand new shoes.

Black heels on paper grocery sack on kitchen table.

What are YOU doing to stretch your dollars a little farther these days?

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10 Comments

  1. The shoemaker is great for other things too! I’ve had a suitcase zipper fixed and even slightly small shoes stretched!

  2. Ha, I just got back from the shoe repair shoe today! I have a pair of perfectly wonderful black heels that was needing, on 1 shoe, a little seam sewed. Otherwise, it was going to rip up and fall about. They are broke in, they look great and I love them. The repair cost $5. Totally worth it for me! My black boots are looking really rough, I had thought of using permanent marker (and still might) but I will try the shoe polish first. I have had these boots for probably 7 years or so but they aren’t worn out on the bottoms, they are so comfy and I really like them. Hope it works!

    1. I meant shoe repair shop and that the shoes would fall apart….multitasking and it’s getting late…sorry!

  3. I went to the cobbler yesterday! And while it is going to be expensive to repair my favorite pair of heels, it’s completely worth it – cheaper than a new pair, I already know they’re going to fit me perfectly, AND I get to save the inordinate amount of time I would have spent shopping for new shoes!

  4. Since I have been using coupons on a consistent basis and shown everyone in my household-including my teenagers, how much I’ve saved, they will ask if I have any coupons for any activities or restaurants so that they can use them when they go out.

  5. The lost art of shoe polishing, lol! Thanks to my dad, I’ve been able to save a few pairs of shoes by polishing. Sat. night shoe polishing is a memory from my childhood–every Sat. night Dad would sit down at the kitchen table and polish his good shoes and all of us girls’ school shoes. This was in the days before everyone wore athletic shoes; they didn’t even make them for girls! (This was back in the mid 60s.)