Savings!
Hey,
Party Peeps, it’s me again …
I
know what you’re thinking, twice in one
week. I know it’s shocking, pull yourself together.
I
remember when we found out about sweet Baby M and all her goodness. Everyone
offered advice and told us how expensive babies were. I’m here to tell you,
yes, babies are expensive, but not as expensive as some like to tell you.
I’ll
share with you our tips on savings and still getting top grade products for our
babies!
Clothes, Toys, Furniture . . . you name it.
Trust
me, I know how tempting it is to pick up 3 outfits at your weekly Target
shopping trip, but try and refrain. First, if you’re like me, your family will
do it for you. Seriously, between my sisters and our church pals, close friends
- Baby M and J have outfits to last
until they’re in toddler attire.
What
happens is that you have your mind set on consignment selling, “I’ll buy this
$35 outfit and resell it at consignment for $20!” Wrong. You’ll be lucky to get
$15 for the outfit, maybe.
So
here’s the skinny on baby clothes and toddler clothes . . . you go and shop
consignment sales and stores, you’ll save a ton of money, trust me. Also, if
you can find local swap shops on Facebook and you’ll have a year around
consignment sale!
Same
thing goes for toys & furniture. Let someone else pay the $80 for the toy or the $250 for the Pottery Barn chair, you come in months later and pay the
$15! No joke, I’ve scored some amazing deals on used items! My favorite is when someone posts “free” on an amazing toy or piece of furniture.
Diaper
Bags
Our
first diaper bag was a gift from my sister, she bought me this adorable Coach
diaper bag. I loved the look and loved the storage. . . Until
we had to travel with Baby M. The bag is really designed with small storage
areas and not really good for cloth diapering or a lot of diapers. So I knew I’d
need something different when carrying
for 2 babies… so I searched, read reviews and thought a lot about the Ju Ju Be
bags. I fell in love with the reviews and then I started shopping for the bag.
I was a little overwhelmed with the price, but I kept searching. Then . . . low
and behold, someone posted a bag on a used swap page on Facebook. The person
listed the bag for a 1/3 of the retail price and the bag was in perfect
condition, complete with changing diaper station set. Winner, Winner, Chicken
Dinner!
 |
| Used Ju Ju Be, $46 |
Diapers
I
shared with you that we started cloth diapering and I love it. I love the
savings, I love the cuteness and I love knowing we’re helping our lovely Earth.
So when we started the cloth diapering process, I knew I couldn’t justify to
buy all new, I mean some diapers are $20-32 brand new. That’s a whole lotta
money when you need 20-30 diapers. So I read a lot of reviews and found that we
would start off with pockets. We also opted to try Alva brand and love it! We
use flour sack towels and microfiber inserts. When buying used diapers, you
need to be cautious and inspect so many things before purchasing. Don’t be
afraid to ask questions, do your
research. Also, just this week, while scoping another consignment place
online, I found a set of 30 newborn & small diaper lot. Normally, the lot
would cost roughly $250, but I scored the lot, with inserts, with disposable inserts
and liners for $35. Oh, and the diapers were brand new . . .
So for about $300 we will cloth diaper both girls, until
the potty training days. Oh and before I leave the cloth diaper subject, the
resale value on diapers is amazing, if in good condition. So I’m feeling pretty confident in selling the
newborn lot for triple of what we paid. Selling the newborn lot will fund new
diapers for the girls, new inserts or even different creams.
 |
| Huge Diaper Lot |
Coupons
I
know when you hear the word coupons you think of the people who clear the
shelves at the store, then pay $.01 for everything. I’m not to that level,
though I wish I could spend the time to get to that level. I’m to the level of
paying $12 for a total that started at $70. I mainly shop at three stores –
Walgreens, CVS and Target. The stores print off different coupons, have coupons
available online and even provide store bucks to use on later purchase – or in
Target’s case, gift cards. I buy most of our household and some groceries
through couponing. It takes me roughly 30 minutes a week to plan out what I
will buy using coupons. I don’t clip coupons from the newspaper – shocking I know. I actually opt to not
receive the newspaper and sometimes I score great coupons through friends, my
sister or church peeps.
When
you go to the store, make sure you go with a list and stick to the list.
Seriously, you’ll thank me later. Sometimes I go in and I buy 5 toothpaste
tubes, 3 shampoos and 4 body washes. Yes, that’s weird, but overtime, it adds
up. So in one month I’ll usually stock our family for the entire year. It’s
true. We haven’t had to buy a single toothbrush, body wash, lotion or shampoo
product in a long time, years. It’s because of my one month of couponing. Of
course, sometimes C will want to try a new body wash, toothpaste or toothbrush,
but for the most part, we have a closet packed with goodness.
In
closing, I want to make sure you each know that in buying used, comes some
worry. People are shady and sometimes will not give you the right information,
sometimes they don’t show when meeting you for an item and sometimes the item
is not in great condition, as they advertised. So please, use your judgment, do
your research, ask questions and bottom line, if you don’t feel safe meeting
someone or don’t think the product is as advertised, walk away/don’t go. It’s
okay, life goes on.
Whatever
you decide, make sure it works for you and your family. I never let my
couponing or any other money saving fun, spoil our family time, church time or
anything else.
Here’s
to hoping I’ve helped you save some dinero! J
Until
next time,
Mercedes
