I happen to know the secret to buying kids' shoes and here it is. Are you paying attention? Good, because this is the great-granddaddy of all my favorite low-cost parenting secrets.

Ebay.

Yep, that's it. Ebay. I've found out I can hop on Ebay and purchase shoes for my daughter before she needs them. Now, just a quick glance at Ebay isn't going to yield great results. What you have to do is click over on the left on the little box that says "used."

"Eww!" you say? Read on.

Almost all of the used kids' shoes on Ebay are in fantastic condition. I've even gotten some with the tags still on. I don't waste my time with single pairs of shoes. I scroll down to the listings that have lots of shoes by size. It's easy-peasy to find used shoes in excellent condition sold by lot for next to nothing and I've not lost a bid yet so don't expect 50 people to be clawing their way over you.

I have been able to buy all of my daughter's shoes by lot size. I can get about 5 pairs of shoes at a time for around $10-15 including shipping. Yes, that's right. Including shipping. I can't even get one single pair of kids shoes at Payless for $10. I like to buy them in lots of various types such as one pair of sneakers, one pair of dress shoes, one pair of clogs and a couple of pair of flip-flops all in one size. One purchase covers all of my child's needs for about a year.

When the shoes arrive, I spray them inside and out with 90% rubbing alcohol and let them sit in the window to dry for a couple of hours. This effectively disinfects the shoes. If the shoes need any other cleaning, use a toothbrush and a bowl of warm water and soap (I use Dr. Bronner's) to remove dirt.

Here's a tip: Buy the shoes a size or two in advance so if some run small, your child can wear them now and if they're too big, you can just save them for when they do grow into them. You don't want to buy a bunch of shoes in your child's size only to find out half of them run small and won't fit.

And there you have it. Happy shoe shopping!