We feel fortunate to have health insurance through my husband's job. In the past, we've always done a regular coverage plan, but when we moved back to Texas, we switched to a high-deductible plan.
What this means is that instead of paying a large monthly amount to our health insurance company and then having them pay for the majority of most health care expenses, we pay a very small amount monthly to the insurance company and then the rest of the money goes into an account that we can use to pay for medical expenses.
We have a debit card attached to that account that we can use to pay for any medical expenses. Plus my husband's company put a large chunk of money into the account when we switched.
The high-deductible part means that our insurance doesn't pay for any care (except for regular preventive care like annual exams or routine checkups for children) until we've paid up to the deductible amount (which is about $6000). But we can pay for that $6000 out of the fund we pay into each month.
For us, it's worked out really well - we haven't paid any co-pays for our daughter's regular check-ups or my post-pregnancy visits and by the time we have our next baby, we anticipate there will be enough in our account to cover the entire deductible.
We spend considerably less each month on health insurance and with an infant who has to go in for check-ups and immunizations regularly, we've saved a bundle on co-pays ($30 a visit adds up fast). Plus, even if we did have to pay something out of pocket, the difference between the monthly cost of this plan and our former plans means that we would still come out ahead.
Of course, if you're about to have a baby or are currently having some expensive health problems, this might not be a good choice for you at the moment. But if you have some time to let your monthly contributions accumulate, you might consider looking into this type of coverage.
Showing posts with label Saving Money On Baby Costs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saving Money On Baby Costs. Show all posts
Feb 23, 2011
Feb 9, 2011
Baby-led Weaning (Janssen)
Merrick wrote a post a while ago about making your own baby food in order to keep the costs of feeding your baby lower.
My problem is that not only do I not like to spend money, I also can be kind of lazy. And Merrick had said the amount of mess that making your own baby food created was anything but minimal.
Enter Baby-led Weaning (I read this book about it after hearing about it from Kayla and Jenna).
The basic idea is that there is no reason that babies need to start with cereals or purees (the APA's site backs up this idea) and that your baby will be able to feed themselves things that they are capable of eating. There are supposed to be a ton of benefits, such as increased hand-eye coordination, family bonding over food, and a baby who develops a wider range of foods they'll eat.
That all sounded good to me, but really the part about just feeding your baby what you're eating rather than dealing with baby food sounded exceedingly appealing to me.
And for our baby, it's worked like a charm.
We have still not gotten around to buying a high chair, so we don't do much of the "sticking food on her tray and letting her eat what she can" part.
Instead, once she started showing interest in what we were eating, we put things on a spoon or our finger, offer her some and let her decide whether or not she wants to eat it (thus far, except for two days when she was sick, she has never rejected a single thing. In fact, I'm amazed I still have all ten fingers because this baby loves to eat).
This morning, she put about half a square of waffle in her fist and ate it bite by bite until there was only the part left inside her hand that she couldn't get to. She also has started grabbing the spoon and guiding it to her mouth on her own.
I don't spend time or money buying or making extra food, and I know exactly what's going into the food she eats.
(Also, you have no idea how cute it is to watch a six and a half month old chew a blueberry).
My problem is that not only do I not like to spend money, I also can be kind of lazy. And Merrick had said the amount of mess that making your own baby food created was anything but minimal.
Enter Baby-led Weaning (I read this book about it after hearing about it from Kayla and Jenna).
The basic idea is that there is no reason that babies need to start with cereals or purees (the APA's site backs up this idea) and that your baby will be able to feed themselves things that they are capable of eating. There are supposed to be a ton of benefits, such as increased hand-eye coordination, family bonding over food, and a baby who develops a wider range of foods they'll eat.
That all sounded good to me, but really the part about just feeding your baby what you're eating rather than dealing with baby food sounded exceedingly appealing to me.
And for our baby, it's worked like a charm.
We have still not gotten around to buying a high chair, so we don't do much of the "sticking food on her tray and letting her eat what she can" part.
Instead, once she started showing interest in what we were eating, we put things on a spoon or our finger, offer her some and let her decide whether or not she wants to eat it (thus far, except for two days when she was sick, she has never rejected a single thing. In fact, I'm amazed I still have all ten fingers because this baby loves to eat).
This morning, she put about half a square of waffle in her fist and ate it bite by bite until there was only the part left inside her hand that she couldn't get to. She also has started grabbing the spoon and guiding it to her mouth on her own.
I don't spend time or money buying or making extra food, and I know exactly what's going into the food she eats.
(Also, you have no idea how cute it is to watch a six and a half month old chew a blueberry).
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Oct 22, 2010
Homemade Baby Food (Merrick)
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Two months ago I started my baby on solids. We did rice cereal for the first month and then moved on to pureed fruits and veggies. My friend had some left over Gerber baby food from her son, so she gave it to me and we have used that for the last month. And all the while I thought that after all that free baby food ran out, I would probably just continue buying it from the store because it wasn't that expensive and was convenient. That is, until my friend mentioned that as babies get older they eat about five jars of food per day, and it was costing her nearly $20 extra on her weekly grocery bill. And that's only for one baby. So I did a little online research, scoured the baby isle at the grocery store, made some homemade baby food, and then came up with this little comparison.
Gerber is the cheapest at my grocery store (Smiths). The cost for 5 ounces of baby food (for my son's age group) is $0.95. These are several of the options they offer at my store, so I made each of these from fresh produce and here are the price comparisons*:
Bananas
- Homemade: $0.19 for 5 oz.
- Store Bought (Gerber): $0.95 for 5 oz.
- Savings: $0.76 or 80%!
Pears
- Homemade: $0.34 for 5 oz.
- Store Bought (Gerber): $0.95 for 5 oz.
- Savings: $0.61 or 64%!
Green Beans
- Homemade: $0.61 for 5 oz
- Store Bought (Gerber): $0.95 for 5 oz.
- Savings: $0.34 or 36%!
Carrots
- Homemade: $0.42 for 5 oz.
- Store Bought (Gerber): $0.95 for 5 oz.
- Savings: $0.53 or 56%!
Sweet Potatoes
- Homemade: $0.27 for 5 oz
- Store Bought (Gerber): $0.95 for 5 oz.
- Savings: $0.68 or 72%!
So although another mouth to feed will certainly increase your weekly grocery bill, making your baby food can make the blow a little lighter. Also keep in mind that different stores have different produce costs. If I had a bigger freezer to store a lot of baby food, I would go to Sam's or Costco and buy produce in bulk, and then these prices and savings would be even better.
Now you do have to take into account the cost of your time, because time is money! If you are incredibly busy and you're straining to make time to do this, then $0.95 is probably worth it to you. And there is nothing wrong with that.
However, let me tell you that the amount of work that I put into making this baby food was minimal (the amount of mess, on the other hand...that was not minimal). I have a vegetable steamer, so all I did was wash, peel, and chop the produce, throw it in the steamer for 15 minutes until it was soft, then toss it in the food processor with a bit of water. Once it was pureed I poured it into ice trays (that I got at the dollar store, 2 for $1), froze it until they were hard, then put them back in the freezer in labeled baggies.
Total hands on time for each item was probably five minutes. So easy.
This coming week I'm going to try making it from canned fruits and veggies to see if it cuts down on the preparation time (since many items probably won't require steaming), and see how the price differs from fresh produce. So stay tuned for a post about that next week!
*this comparison chart involved some math, and I'm an artist. Don't judge too harshly if there are some calculation mistakes..
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Sep 24, 2010
Homemade Wipes: Part 2 (Merrick)
Two weeks ago we had a guest post by the lovely Britt, of the Skinny Bovine's Kitchen, where she taught us to make homemade wipes.
Have you tried them yet?? I haven't yet, but I'm looking forward to saving tons of money and having some bragging rights about the fact that, you know, I make my own baby wipes.
Well Britt has kindly provided us with some photos of her wipes, which will probably make your project a little easier.
Also, just for your convenience, here are the directions again:
Buy a Rubbermaid, Servin' Saver, 6 cup container. I know you can find them in a 3 pack (with 1 bigger and 1 smaller) but I haven't had much luck finding them by themselves. They are pretty much exactly the shape of 1/2 a roll of paper towels, with a rounded-edge square lid.
The paper towels that fit perfectly (once cut in half with a sharp knife) in them are the regular Bounty ones (not jumbo roll, I buy the 8 pack, makes 16 batches of wipes). I use 1/2 a wipe at a time. Though we recently discovered that the bigger roll Bounty towels that are separated into 1/2 size paper towels work great too if you just tear off a few of the paper towels before you cut them. Then they are already 1/2 sized and you don't have to tear them. (This is my husband's preference). My aunts swear by homemade wipes, but they also say that Bounty is the only brand that really works, so I haven't experimented much there.
To make them: stuff 1/2 a roll of paper towels into your tub. In a bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups water + 1 heaping Tb baby soap (I use the Wal-Mart brand Johnson & Johnsons copy). Pour over the top of the wipes. They probably need an hour to soak all the way through and then you can just pull out the cardboard in the middle and you're good to go.
Thanks for sharing your awesome saving tip, Britt!
Have you tried them yet?? I haven't yet, but I'm looking forward to saving tons of money and having some bragging rights about the fact that, you know, I make my own baby wipes.
Well Britt has kindly provided us with some photos of her wipes, which will probably make your project a little easier.
Also, just for your convenience, here are the directions again:
Buy a Rubbermaid, Servin' Saver, 6 cup container. I know you can find them in a 3 pack (with 1 bigger and 1 smaller) but I haven't had much luck finding them by themselves. They are pretty much exactly the shape of 1/2 a roll of paper towels, with a rounded-edge square lid.
The paper towels that fit perfectly (once cut in half with a sharp knife) in them are the regular Bounty ones (not jumbo roll, I buy the 8 pack, makes 16 batches of wipes). I use 1/2 a wipe at a time. Though we recently discovered that the bigger roll Bounty towels that are separated into 1/2 size paper towels work great too if you just tear off a few of the paper towels before you cut them. Then they are already 1/2 sized and you don't have to tear them. (This is my husband's preference). My aunts swear by homemade wipes, but they also say that Bounty is the only brand that really works, so I haven't experimented much there.
To make them: stuff 1/2 a roll of paper towels into your tub. In a bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups water + 1 heaping Tb baby soap (I use the Wal-Mart brand Johnson & Johnsons copy). Pour over the top of the wipes. They probably need an hour to soak all the way through and then you can just pull out the cardboard in the middle and you're good to go.
Thanks for sharing your awesome saving tip, Britt!
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Sep 10, 2010
Homemade Wipes (Guest Post By The Skinny Bovine)
I'm so honored to guest post on my very favorite frugal blog! Thanks, Merrick!
By way of introduction, I'm Britt of The Skinny Bovine's Kitchen, also previously next door neighbors to the Frugal Wives' whose blog we all love so much. I blog about eating healthy on a very tiny budget - hope you stop by! In addition to being food-frugal though, I'm pretty frugal with other things as well since after almost five years of marriage/school and 2 kids my husband is starting his first real job this month! I'm so thankful for what I've learned the past five years and it forever continues to shape my spending, so I'm always looking for other ways to save a buck.
Two of my aunts love and swear by homemade wipes (10 kids between them) and I learned and adapted this recipe from them. I love them because they are much cheaper and much less wasteful than normal wipes. Do you hate using an entire store bought wipe just to make sure baby's bum is clean after a pee-only diaper? No more! Just tear off a piece just big enough to do the job and viola! Clean bum, happy mom, money in your wallet.
Here are your rough directions. Adapt according to your liking!
Buy a Rubbermaid, Servin' Saver, 6 cup container. I know you can find them in a 3 pack (with 1 bigger and 1 smaller) but I haven't had much luck finding them by themselves. They are pretty much exactly the shape of 1/2 a roll of paper towels, with a rounded-edge square lid.
The paper towels that fit perfectly (once cut in half with a sharp knife) in them are the regular Bounty ones (not jumbo roll, I buy the 8 pack, makes 16 batches of wipes). I use 1/2 a wipe at a time. Though we recently discovered that the bigger roll Bounty towels that are separated into 1/2 size paper towels work great too if you just tear off a few of the paper towels before you cut them. Then they are already 1/2 sized and you don't have to tear them. (This is my husband's preference). My aunts swear by homemade wipes, but they also say that Bounty is the only brand that really works, so I haven't experimented much there.
To make them: stuff 1/2 a roll of paper towels into your tub. In a bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups water + 1 heaping Tb baby soap (I use the Wal-Mart brand Johnson & Johnsons copy). Pour over the top of the wipes. They probably need an hour to soak all the way through and then you can just pull out the cardboard in the middle and you're good to go.
Hope you love them as much as I do! Happy wiping!
By way of introduction, I'm Britt of The Skinny Bovine's Kitchen, also previously next door neighbors to the Frugal Wives' whose blog we all love so much. I blog about eating healthy on a very tiny budget - hope you stop by! In addition to being food-frugal though, I'm pretty frugal with other things as well since after almost five years of marriage/school and 2 kids my husband is starting his first real job this month! I'm so thankful for what I've learned the past five years and it forever continues to shape my spending, so I'm always looking for other ways to save a buck.
Two of my aunts love and swear by homemade wipes (10 kids between them) and I learned and adapted this recipe from them. I love them because they are much cheaper and much less wasteful than normal wipes. Do you hate using an entire store bought wipe just to make sure baby's bum is clean after a pee-only diaper? No more! Just tear off a piece just big enough to do the job and viola! Clean bum, happy mom, money in your wallet.
Here are your rough directions. Adapt according to your liking!
Buy a Rubbermaid, Servin' Saver, 6 cup container. I know you can find them in a 3 pack (with 1 bigger and 1 smaller) but I haven't had much luck finding them by themselves. They are pretty much exactly the shape of 1/2 a roll of paper towels, with a rounded-edge square lid.
The paper towels that fit perfectly (once cut in half with a sharp knife) in them are the regular Bounty ones (not jumbo roll, I buy the 8 pack, makes 16 batches of wipes). I use 1/2 a wipe at a time. Though we recently discovered that the bigger roll Bounty towels that are separated into 1/2 size paper towels work great too if you just tear off a few of the paper towels before you cut them. Then they are already 1/2 sized and you don't have to tear them. (This is my husband's preference). My aunts swear by homemade wipes, but they also say that Bounty is the only brand that really works, so I haven't experimented much there.
To make them: stuff 1/2 a roll of paper towels into your tub. In a bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups water + 1 heaping Tb baby soap (I use the Wal-Mart brand Johnson & Johnsons copy). Pour over the top of the wipes. They probably need an hour to soak all the way through and then you can just pull out the cardboard in the middle and you're good to go.
Hope you love them as much as I do! Happy wiping!
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Jul 7, 2010
Saving Money on the Nursery- Crib Bedding (Guest Post by Kayla)
This post is written by Kayla, who had the good sense to have two babies before Janssen had any so that she could pass along all her wisdom. She is also the queen of the homemade gift and her blog is full of pictures of darling items that will make you wish you lived next door.
What I have to say will either be rather upsetting or a huge relief to all the first time expectant mothers out there:
You do not need that darling fancy pants $300 crib bedding.
Picking out the crib bedding is like a motherhood rite of passage, something many of us spend hours agonizing over. I came thisclose to spending $250 on seriously awesome pirate bedding for my first son before I did some research and realized my money would be better spent elsewhere.
Crib bedding usually consists of the following:
A quick search at Target.com reveals that a standard fitted crib sheet can be had for $8-$10. When my first son was born I bought two white fitted sheets from Target for less than $20 and 2.5 years later they are still going strong. If you're the DIY type or want to use a funner (my Google spell check says "funner" is totally a word) fabric, here is a tutorial for making your own.
If you still need bumpers (and we did), there are a lot of safe, affordable options out there. While I was pregnant I really wanted these breathable bumpers but at the time they only had yellow gingham and I have my standards. Now there are a whole bunch more colors available and, at $23, they are quite affordable.
We ended up with the Kompisar crib bumper pad from Ikea. It fits the AAP recommendation of "thin, firm, well secured, and not 'pillow-like'" and, at $12.99, the price couldn't be beat. We put them on when Wes started scootching in his sleep and catching his legs in the bars and we took them off as soon as he was old enough to extricate himself.
So my crib bedding cost all of $33, leaving me lots of room left in my budget left for fun things like art, books and a bookcase, and fabric for re-covering my glider (a piece of furniture which, incidentally, I shouldn't have bothered spending money on, but that's another post altogether. Live and learn!).
What I have to say will either be rather upsetting or a huge relief to all the first time expectant mothers out there:
You do not need that darling fancy pants $300 crib bedding.
Picking out the crib bedding is like a motherhood rite of passage, something many of us spend hours agonizing over. I came thisclose to spending $250 on seriously awesome pirate bedding for my first son before I did some research and realized my money would be better spent elsewhere.
Crib bedding usually consists of the following:
- Quilt
- Crib Skirt
- Bumper
- Fitted sheet
- You should not use the quilt in the crib. Period. It is a suffocation hazard. You could get creative and hang it on the wall or something, but you are not supposed to put it over your baby (if you're concerned about keeping your baby warm this article from Baby Center has some good suggestions).
- Crib skirts are generally of the proper length to be used while the crib mattress is in the upper position but are too long to be used when you have to drop the mattress, around 5-8 months (although some skirts work in both positions).
- There is some debate over the necessity of crib bumpers but the new AAP recommendation is that soft, pillowy bumpers not be used. There is the possibility of the bumper covering a child's nose and mouth and causing suffocation, but there is also the possibility of something called "rebreathing," which is when soft bedding or other items in the baby's sleeping area trap carbon dioxide around the baby's face. It is speculated that this phenomenon is the cause behind a fair number of SIDS deaths. Plus, those fancy bumpers tend to be sturdier and thus become very handy step stools when your little Precious decides his crib is boring and he'd rather get down to the floor and play with an electrical outlet.
A quick search at Target.com reveals that a standard fitted crib sheet can be had for $8-$10. When my first son was born I bought two white fitted sheets from Target for less than $20 and 2.5 years later they are still going strong. If you're the DIY type or want to use a funner (my Google spell check says "funner" is totally a word) fabric, here is a tutorial for making your own.
If you still need bumpers (and we did), there are a lot of safe, affordable options out there. While I was pregnant I really wanted these breathable bumpers but at the time they only had yellow gingham and I have my standards. Now there are a whole bunch more colors available and, at $23, they are quite affordable.
We ended up with the Kompisar crib bumper pad from Ikea. It fits the AAP recommendation of "thin, firm, well secured, and not 'pillow-like'" and, at $12.99, the price couldn't be beat. We put them on when Wes started scootching in his sleep and catching his legs in the bars and we took them off as soon as he was old enough to extricate himself.
So my crib bedding cost all of $33, leaving me lots of room left in my budget left for fun things like art, books and a bookcase, and fabric for re-covering my glider (a piece of furniture which, incidentally, I shouldn't have bothered spending money on, but that's another post altogether. Live and learn!).
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Jul 1, 2010
Baby Announcements (Janssen)
I am not the crafty type. At all.
But, long before we were expecting our first baby, I knew my husband really wanted us to send out announcements after our child was born.
I also knew that if we were going to send them out I wanted them to be 1) inexpensive and 2) good looking.
If you've ever looked at baby announcements online, you know that you can spend an absolute fortune on them. We had no fortune, absolute or otherwise, so this wasn't really a good option for us.
Instead, I figured out what components I needed and how little I could spend on each part:
But, long before we were expecting our first baby, I knew my husband really wanted us to send out announcements after our child was born.
I also knew that if we were going to send them out I wanted them to be 1) inexpensive and 2) good looking.
If you've ever looked at baby announcements online, you know that you can spend an absolute fortune on them. We had no fortune, absolute or otherwise, so this wasn't really a good option for us.
Instead, I figured out what components I needed and how little I could spend on each part:
- I needed a photograph. We have a nice camera, so we could have taken it ourselves, but happily, a friend of ours is professional photographer and she offered to come take some newborn pictures for free. That's my favorite price. If you don't have a nice camera, I bet you know someone who does and might let you use it for a few hours - it seems like everyone I know owns an SLR now.
- I needed an announcement design. I spent quite a lot of time (and forced my husband to also) browsing the announcements on Minted so I could get some ideas and see what kind of things we both liked. Then we mocked up a few of our own in Photoshop. Also free!
- We need to actually print the announcements. I made our mockups to be a 4x6 (standard picture size) and then plan to upload them to Snapfish (Shutterfly and other online photography places also would work). When you sign up for an account, you get some number of free prints (depends on what current deal is going on - sometimes it's 20, sometimes it is 50) and you can usually print them right to your local drugstore or Walmart. Freeeeeee (depending on how many you need, of course).
- Envelopes. I hoarded all my Staples rewards dollars and waited until invitation envelopes (which fit a 4x6 perfectly) went on sale and then I bought those. Free again!
- Stamps. Sadly, I haven't yet figured out a great way to get discount postage, although I know it is possible. But when stamps are the only thing you're paying for, I figure that's pretty good.
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May 21, 2010
Using the Internet to Save (Janssen)
I love the Internet. That's probably not a big surprise to anyone, seeing as I have a graduate degree in information studies, not to mention two blogs.
I particularly love that the Internet means I can take advantage of great deals without spending my whole life researching them.
For instance, when I'm placing an order at an online store, I can easily Google "Lands End free shipping code" and see if I can get free shipping. Or to see if Old Navy has any 10% off codes. It takes me an extra 30 seconds and it saves me money. Nothing to complain about there.
As I've started getting more into coupons, I've also started using the power of Google to help me use them more efficiently.
For instance, this week, coupons.com had $3 Huggies coupons. I could have just taken them to the grocery store and used them there, but I had a sneaking suspicion that there was a better deal out there and a smarter way to use up those coupons. I Googled "Huggies Diaper Deal" and discovered that Rite Aid was running a sale.
Every package of Huggies was marked down to $8.99, which was already a better than average price for a drugstore. Then, if you joined RiteAid's mailing list, you got two "$5 off of $20" coupons, plus, you could use your Huggies coupons. And then, if you bought five packages, you could enter your receipt online at Rite Aid and get a voucher for a free package of Huggies diapers.
Not to mention, wipes were on sale for $2.50 a pack and there was a $2 off of 2 pack coupon as well.
If I'd used the coupons at my local grocery store, my diapers would have been $7.95 a package. Instead, they were $3.33 a package (or about nine cents a diaper).
All for two minutes of Googling. Oh, do I love the Internet or what?
I particularly love that the Internet means I can take advantage of great deals without spending my whole life researching them.
For instance, when I'm placing an order at an online store, I can easily Google "Lands End free shipping code" and see if I can get free shipping. Or to see if Old Navy has any 10% off codes. It takes me an extra 30 seconds and it saves me money. Nothing to complain about there.
As I've started getting more into coupons, I've also started using the power of Google to help me use them more efficiently.
For instance, this week, coupons.com had $3 Huggies coupons. I could have just taken them to the grocery store and used them there, but I had a sneaking suspicion that there was a better deal out there and a smarter way to use up those coupons. I Googled "Huggies Diaper Deal" and discovered that Rite Aid was running a sale.
Every package of Huggies was marked down to $8.99, which was already a better than average price for a drugstore. Then, if you joined RiteAid's mailing list, you got two "$5 off of $20" coupons, plus, you could use your Huggies coupons. And then, if you bought five packages, you could enter your receipt online at Rite Aid and get a voucher for a free package of Huggies diapers.
Not to mention, wipes were on sale for $2.50 a pack and there was a $2 off of 2 pack coupon as well.
If I'd used the coupons at my local grocery store, my diapers would have been $7.95 a package. Instead, they were $3.33 a package (or about nine cents a diaper).
All for two minutes of Googling. Oh, do I love the Internet or what?
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May 14, 2010
Saving Money on Diapers (Merrick)
With a newborn that goes through roughly ten diapers per day, I'm now constantly on the lookout for diaper deals. Before our baby was born, I did some research on diaper saving, and as you might guess, cloth diapers were usually the cheapest option. For this very reason, Janssen is considering using cloth diapers. I, however, cannot bring myself to do that, so I'm looking for the next cheapest option with disposable diapers.
In my mom's post about Sam's Club and Costo, she went through the vast number of items that are cheaper to buy at these wholesale stores. And what do you know, diapers are no different.
I did a little comparison of Huggies Snug & Dry diapers between a wholesale store, a drugstore, an online store, and a grocery store -- check out the difference in cost:
Sam's Club: 264 diapers/box @ $37.98 ($0.14/diaper)
Walgreens: 50 diapers/box @ $12.49 ($0.25/diaper)
Diapers.com: 192 diapers/box @ $31.99 ($5 off for new customers) ($0.16/diaper, not including shipping)
Target Superstore: 156 diapers/box @ $36.99 ($0.24/diaper)
As you can see, the wholesale stores are the way to go. Not only do you get a bigger box with more diapers so you make less trips to the store, but you also get the very cheapest diapers. This also doesn't include coupons. If you sign up on facebook or huggies.com, you'll receive coupons in your email and the mail, which will save you even more money!
So before you pick up your diapers at the grocery store just because it's convenient, do a little research and see how much you can save by buying in bulk at the wholesale stores.
Anyone else know of great diaper deals??
In my mom's post about Sam's Club and Costo, she went through the vast number of items that are cheaper to buy at these wholesale stores. And what do you know, diapers are no different.
I did a little comparison of Huggies Snug & Dry diapers between a wholesale store, a drugstore, an online store, and a grocery store -- check out the difference in cost:
Sam's Club: 264 diapers/box @ $37.98 ($0.14/diaper)
Walgreens: 50 diapers/box @ $12.49 ($0.25/diaper)
Diapers.com: 192 diapers/box @ $31.99 ($5 off for new customers) ($0.16/diaper, not including shipping)
Target Superstore: 156 diapers/box @ $36.99 ($0.24/diaper)
As you can see, the wholesale stores are the way to go. Not only do you get a bigger box with more diapers so you make less trips to the store, but you also get the very cheapest diapers. This also doesn't include coupons. If you sign up on facebook or huggies.com, you'll receive coupons in your email and the mail, which will save you even more money!
So before you pick up your diapers at the grocery store just because it's convenient, do a little research and see how much you can save by buying in bulk at the wholesale stores.
Anyone else know of great diaper deals??
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May 6, 2010
Saving on Big Ticket Baby Items (Merrick)
As we accumulated items needed for our upcoming baby, I found that most things we needed were little things -- five dollars here, fifteen dollars there. There were only several large items that we needed, one of which was the crib.
For us, my parents told us several years ago that their big gift to us with our first baby would be a crib. So that was one big expense we didn't have to worry about. However, probably many of you will not be so fortunate, and will find yourself forking over the big bucks to buy one when that first baby comes along.
My mom said in her post about laundry, "Cheap is getting the best price, no matter what. Frugal is getting a good product for the best price." I believe this applies here as well. You may think it's the best thing ever that you got a $30 crib, but if it falls apart in six months and you have to buy a new one, then you have been cheap -- not frugal. Especially with a crib, you want something that will last years, and hopefully multiple children. This means you want to find the best crib for the best possible price.
Here are a few tips on how to do just that:
First: Do your research. Shop around until you find something you love that is within your price range, then Google the item and see what comes up. I do this with random items and often Amazon or some random website will have your item for a little bit cheaper, or free shipping, or some other deal. Don't be fooled into thinking that only one store carries your crib.
Second: Wait for deals. Don't buy your item the moment you find it. Especially with the economy, big stores like Babies R Us or RC Willey are always having sales.
Third: Sign up for Rewards Programs, if they're free. They'll send you coupons and discounts in the mail. Also get on their mailing list so you are notified when there are big sales going on.
Fourth: Buy second hand, if buying a new crib isn't in your budget. Craigslist, garage sales, and Kid to Kid are all great options for buying second hand, as long as you get a quality product.
So, who else has great frugal ideas for buying cribs?
For us, my parents told us several years ago that their big gift to us with our first baby would be a crib. So that was one big expense we didn't have to worry about. However, probably many of you will not be so fortunate, and will find yourself forking over the big bucks to buy one when that first baby comes along.
My mom said in her post about laundry, "Cheap is getting the best price, no matter what. Frugal is getting a good product for the best price." I believe this applies here as well. You may think it's the best thing ever that you got a $30 crib, but if it falls apart in six months and you have to buy a new one, then you have been cheap -- not frugal. Especially with a crib, you want something that will last years, and hopefully multiple children. This means you want to find the best crib for the best possible price.
Here are a few tips on how to do just that:
First: Do your research. Shop around until you find something you love that is within your price range, then Google the item and see what comes up. I do this with random items and often Amazon or some random website will have your item for a little bit cheaper, or free shipping, or some other deal. Don't be fooled into thinking that only one store carries your crib.
Second: Wait for deals. Don't buy your item the moment you find it. Especially with the economy, big stores like Babies R Us or RC Willey are always having sales.
Third: Sign up for Rewards Programs, if they're free. They'll send you coupons and discounts in the mail. Also get on their mailing list so you are notified when there are big sales going on.
Fourth: Buy second hand, if buying a new crib isn't in your budget. Craigslist, garage sales, and Kid to Kid are all great options for buying second hand, as long as you get a quality product.
So, who else has great frugal ideas for buying cribs?
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May 3, 2010
Calculating Baby Costs (Merrick)
In the weeks and months prior to the arrival of our little boy, I came to the realization (as all first time mothers do) that babies can cost a lot of money! However, like groceries and gas bills and other necessities of life that we've blogged about on FW=WL, there are great ways to save money for baby things. So I'm jumping on the Money Saving Mommy Bandwagon and learning as I go...and I'd love for all of you to learn with me!
For today, let's look at some of the major baby costs. Check out this cool Baby Cost Calculator.
If you scroll down through the entire page, you will see the list of "Ongoing Costs," and the list of "One-Time Costs," each listing an estimated cost per item. It's hard to believe such a little person could need this much stuff!
Over the next several posts I want to talk about some of these costs and how I saved on them, how I plan to save on them, and how you can save on them.
For now, have fun entering in as many zeros as you can on the Baby Cost Calculator and see how low of a number you can get under "Your baby's first year will cost: _______." Hopefully you can get it below the default $10,158!"
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