Pre-Parenting Tip: Take The Deal
As first time parents-to-be, we have quickly realized that there’s a whole lot of stuff that we don’t have, that we’re very soon going to need to have.
Yes, we have a great selection of Disney movies and superhero toys, and those will come in handy when it’s time to entertain the baby… but we’re starting from scratch when it comes to furniture, clothes, accessories, and all of those things that babies need to have at home.
Which brings us to today’s tip…
TIP: TAKE THE DEAL
Throughout the pregnancy, we’ve tried to keep track of what we need. We know there will be gifts at the baby shower. We also know that our parents are looking forward to the chance to buy things for the baby. But most of all we know that we’re going to need to fill in the holes.
So, we’ve kept our eyes open for great deals, and we’re doing our best to take advantage of them as often as we can.
When we walk through stores like Walmart and Winners, we stop at the clearance aisle in the baby section to see what’s on the rack. We’ve had good luck grabbing adorable, gender-neutral clothes that we can’t wait to dress the baby in.
REMEMBER: THERE IS NO SHAME IN SAVING MONEY $$$$$
Part of that process is being picky. There are pieces that we’ve really liked, that we’ve left on the shelf. And we’ve done that for a few reasons…
A) The baby’s not here yet and we know that people are going to gift us clothes at the shower and as we get closer to the due date.
B) We don’t know how big (or small) the baby is going to be, so buying up in sizes that might take a while to get to isn’t in our plans.
C) We also don’t have a ton of storage space figured out yet, so buying things with no place to put them seems silly.
D) The prices haven’t been low enough to make us want to buy before we need to buy.
The times that we have gone ahead and made sale and clearance purchases we’ve been super happy with them. There have been outfits and sleepers at deep discounts (like $3 to $5 a piece) that we’re happy we have. And at those prices, we know it would have been foolish to pass them up.
During our walks through the stores we’ve also been able to keep an eye on regular and sale prices of things that we think or know we’re going to need to buy at some point in the next year. That research will hopefully help us to save some money when it comes time to make the purchases we need to make.
One spot where we saved a bunch of money is on the crib.
For months I’ve been receiving emails from Best Buy with sale offers on all kinds of electronics that I’m not in the market for. But, because I love a good deal (honestly, I think I look at the Amazon Today’s Deals 5 or 6 times a week) I never unsubscribed from the Best Buy list. And boy did that decision (or lack thereof) pay off!
One morning, mid-week, nothing special, I started my work day in the home office and opened my email to see a last chance type subject line. Best Buy’s yellow tag sale was ending, and out of pure curiosity I opened it up for a look. There, right in my face, was a crib on sale from $500, down to $150.
I quickly called Jess into the office to have a look at the crib, the details, and the colour options, before we decided that it was worth the buy. I popped in my credit card info, and just like that, without warning or premeditation, we bought a crib… and saved $350.
Note: I called Jess into the office to take a look at the crib because even at a 70% discount, I wasn’t going to buy a major piece of baby furniture without knowing that the mom-to-be thought it was a good choice. I think that was the right decision.
To offer what little help I can, here are some links to clearance and sale pages that might help you save some money…
I would also recommend checking out Amazon Family, where Prime members get 20% off diapers and more…
Now, I’m new at this, so I know that I don’t know all of the places to find great deals on baby things that we’re going to need and want. So, if you know of any links to clearance pages, stores that have great sales all the time, or any other tips for saving money on baby items – please leave a comment and share them!