A Very Long Post about Diapers (Janssen)

You know those horrendous baby calculators where they estimate that you'll probably need to sell your corneas in order to afford the first year of having a baby? I hate those. Mainly because seeing the $10,000 for the first year about gave me heart attack.

Also, because it estimates $72 per month for diapers. I cannot say for certain because my records are, sadly, not this good, but I would venture to say I have not $72 PERIOD on diapers. And my baby is six months old. Besides this, I have a good 350 diapers in her room right now in her current size, plus an additional 600 diapers in the next size up. (And, no, I don't change her diaper only twice a day or something horrifying like that).

I am firmly convinced  that diapers do not have to cost you a fortune. Last spring, Merrick compared the cost of diapers at different stores and said that the cheapest diapers were to be found at Costco or Sam's Club. And that's true if you just want to buy a box of diapers and be done with it. Those diapers were priced at $0.14 per diaper (and that's for the newborn size, which is generally the least expensive).

I try to spend less than $0.10 per diaper and I really am happy if I can get them for more like $0.05 or less.

This is totally possible if you follow deals at drugstores and stock up when there are killer sales. I keep an eye out and have some friends who alert me when they find good deals and so I've been able to do quite well.

Let tell you about one such good deal that you can probably do right now (I got 228 Pampers Size 2 diapers for around $7 - I paid less than $0.03 per diaper).

Amazon sells diapers for around the same price as big box store (around twenty to thirty cents per diaper, depending on the size and brand). But if you sign up for Amazon Mom, you get 15% off. Then when you choose your diapers, sign up for "Subscribe and Save" (the option is on the right, just below the regular "Add to my Cart" button) and you get another 15% off. Now you're talking more like fourteen to twenty cents per diaper.

And then, here's where you can really rack up your savings. Right now, many parenting magazines (Parents, Parenting, American Baby) have coupon inserts for either $10 off any Amazon Mom order or 20% off any diaper order (and this is 20% off the full list price, not your discounted price). Best of all, you can combine them, so I used both a $10 off coupon and a 20% off one. And Amazon had a bonus coupon for Pampers last week that brought my price down even more.

Plus it all ships for free. One of my friends bought Pampers Newborn Diapers yesterday for $10, making hers about five cents a diaper. Another pregnant friend of mine (expecting twins!) ordered Huggies Diapers for around eight cents apiece. 

As if my mega-cheap diapers weren't enough, every time you order something through Amazon Mom and do Subscribe and Save, you get a month of free Amazon Prime (which means all Amazon products ship for free with no minimum purchase).

My box of diapers arrived today at my front door. It was a glorious moment.

Check your pediatrician's office or your own stack of magazines for these coupons. Or ask a friend (I got my 20% off coupon two days before it expired from a friend who wasn't going to use it).

And then bask in the cheapness of the diapers (and don't forget to cancel your diaper subscription before the next batch ships, if you're so inclined - although even without a coupon, many of the diapers are only about $0.12 each. Not bad).