This post was originally an e-mail written to a pregnant friend to give her my thoughts on how to save money on diapers by stocking up. I thought a few others might enjoy reading it.
Most people would say the easiest way to save money on diapers is to use cloth. They would be right...but I never considered cloth diapers. Mostly because I knew I was going to be a working mom, and I didn't want a babysitter or John to have to worry about it. Also, I did not consider it because many of the people who do start to use cloth diapers are excited about it at first (how cute the diapers are, and how much money they are going to save)...but end up switching back to disposable diapers in the long run.
My advice:
1. Sign up with the diaper companies (Huggies and Pampers) and their rewards programs now. They will send you coupons every month or so that are usually better than the Sunday paper ones.
2. Register at Babies R us and Target, because you get free stuff when you register...including coupons.
(I also signed up for free magazines, and with Enfamil and Smilac and got coupons for formula and diapers.)
3. Generally when I use coupons, it only saves me a lot of money when I buy the regular size packs (not the jumbo boxes).
4. If I go to Target, I can stack Target coupons with manufacturer’s coupon to get even more off.
5. Ask friends for coupons, or if you think you will be using a lot you can actually buy coupons online (legally:). I have only done it once.
6. Don't stock up on diapers that you don't know if you will like (Huggies and Pampers are usually a safe bet, but when it comes to generics it is best to try the brand before you stock up on something you will hate).
6. Walgreens usually has good deals every month or so...where you get register rewards if you buy certain diapers. A few months ago they had buy two packs for 8.99 each and get a $3 RR. I had 2- $3 coupons and got a $3 RR (which I had to use to buy something else at Walgreens, but still it is $3 free) So ended up paying 8.99 for 2 packs.
7. I usually consider it a great deal if I can get a pack for $5, but I think most people would think less than $7 is a good deal.
8. Read blogs to find diaper deals. Some of my favorites are: http://moneysavingmom.com/tag/diaper-deals , http://www.pennypinchingparent.net/category/diaper-deals/
9. Keep in mind how many you will really need. I only needed 3-4 packs of newborn diapers, and 4-5 packs of size 1. Now he is in size 1-2 (they come in these sizes at Sams- I got them as a gift). I'm sure Jay will be in the other sizes a bit longer, so I have started buying bigger sizes now. Plus you will probably get a few of the smaller sizes for gifts.
10. You can exchange diaper sizes at the store without receipts. I have heard this is true on multiple occasions, but I haven't tried it yet.
11. Don't forget about wipes:) I’ve heard you can make your own wipes with paper towels, but that seems too time consuming. I wait till I find a great deal and get as many as I can. A while back Pampers had a $2.00 off coupon. I got like 12 boxes of wipes for .07 each.
Buying ahead will definitely save money and you never have to worry about running out of diapers!
2 comments:
I researched where I could buy diapers the cheapest and found that Costco's generic diapers are the cheapest. I tried them first and they work just as well as pampers for our girl. I think it's a pretty good deal - 252 (or something like that) for 29.99. Is that good?
Jay is soo cute!
I like the new topper on
your blog.
MOM
Post a Comment