Showing posts with label baby stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby stuff. Show all posts

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Savings for New Moms

As new mom of an 8 week old baby, I know how pricey things can be. If you're able to breastfeed, that's the ideal nutrition for your baby and a real saver on your pocket-book, but it's not always possible.

There are savings out there for moms who use formula, so be sure to take advantage of that if you can. A few websites out there where you can sign up for samples of formulas and coupons are:

Strong Moms (Similac)
Enfamil
Gerber Good Start

You can sign up at any one (or even all if you choose) of these websites for free gifts, coupons and samples. So be sure to take advantage!

Another great program out there to help you save on diapers is Amazon Mom. This is a new program that gives you savings of 30% on diapers. You get 3 free months of Amazon Prime Shipping when you sign up, plus earn an extra month free for every $25 you spend in the baby store.



So what are you waiting for? Go start saving! :)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

New vs Used

Okay, now I know as much as the next person that you can't get everything used, like underwear for example. Haha. I don't care how much you boil it, if it's been on your unmentionables, I don't want it anywhere near my unmentionables;) And I personally prefer my shoes new, unless they're given to me by someone I know (and they don't have really stinky feet), and they're still in good shape. The shape is important because, let's face it, they're only comfortable after we've worn our foot print into them, and unless someone has your same footprint, it's just not likely to work right the second time around. Also, I've got a phobia against foot fungus.

But actually, there are a lot of things I don't mind getting used. I love hand-me-downs for my kids, so long as they're in decent shape (so they don't become targets for the lucky kids who have never even had to think of hand-me-downs). It's pretty cool when my friends have been able to pass things on to me, too and vice versa.

I also like getting good deals on other used things, and I've listed a few places to get great used things for a fraction of what you'd pay new.

You can find just about everything you want, that someone else no longer needs at thrift stores. I've actually found clothing in there with the tags still on--no kidding. But they also carry furniture, electronics, books, games, movies.....you name it. Sometimes you just get lucky and hit the motherload.

A friend of mine got a baby exersaucer in nearly new condition (because really, how long do they actually use it?) along with some other baby goodies for free just because she happened by when someone was waiting in line to drop off some things at a thrift store, and she asked if she could have it. I'm probably not that brave...but I'm sure it would have still been a great deal once it made its way inside the store.

Yard sales and swap meets are other good places to get things, and more often than not, the price is negotiable. I've actually made money doing both of these things, and I have to tell you that I never refused an offer that I felt was good enough, simply because I didn't want to pack those things back up again. I wanted them gone.

If you don't want to go outside looking for your deals, you can find plenty of them online. We got a killer deal on a bunkbed set that had the attached dresser and desk with it. We'd priced the same set new for about $800 and then bought one in great shape from KSL Classifieds for $300. Check out the classifieds for your area, you'll be surprised what people are willing to settle for.

You can also find Used Items on Amazon and Ebay. With Ebay, you can either bid for your deal, or you can find one for a set price. On Amazon, the price you see is the price you get, but you have several vendors competing so the pricing is competitive.

So I'll leave you on this note. New is not always better (unless it involves the unmentionables or old stinky feet). Happy hunting!



Sunday, March 1, 2009

Free Magazines for Parents of Babies and Toddlers

This little tidbit is especially for expectant parents, or parents of babies and toddlers. I know that when I learned I was going to be a parent for the first time (and also every time after that), I wanted to gobble up all the information there was out there. The easiest and most available source seemed to be parenting magazines. But since we also had much to buy in preparation of our little bundle of joy, we couldn't spend a lot subscribing to all those baby magazines out there (though I probably would've if I could). It was very refreshing to learn I could catch up on the latest parenting and baby news without emptying my pockets.

Luckily, it's pretty easy to get all that information, and it doesn't cost a thing. You can get American Baby magazine (http://www.americanbaby.com/) and Baby Talk (http://www.babytalk.com/) for free. All you have to do is go to their websites, find the link to subscribe, enter your information, and they'll give you your free subscriptions. You can also do this for a friend.

You can also read a lot of other magazines' content online for free. My favories were http://www.parents.com/ and http://www.parenting.com/ (who also puts out Baby Talk). The free magazines have great websites too. There's even some tools on there to help you keep track of things.

In this same line, if you're familiar with the What to Expect...books, you'll know they have a lot of valuable information in each of their books. As it turns out, they also have a wealth of information online too (http://www.whattoexpect.com/). They also have some great forums (as do the other sites I've mentioned here.

So if you're feeling overwhelmed with the idea of spending a lot of money to help you become a better parent--don't. You can spend the money you have on more important things, without losing out on the parenting tips.