Baby Savings: Lesson #1 Diapering

I have several friends that are expecting bundles of joy any day now, and they are about to learn very soon that babies are VERY expensive.  The average baby (without medical expenses) cost $7,000 a year.  So how do you cut back some of these expenses?  In a series of posts we are going to cover Baby Savings basics from diapering, feeding, clothing, to buying all those toys that are soon to take over your house.  So here goes lesson #1...Diapering! 

Lets start with what the average package of diapers costs.  For a jumbo pack (don't be fooled there is nothing jumbo about the amount of diapers that come in this package) cost between $8-$11 depending on the brand.  For example: Pampers Swaddlers in size 1, 40ct pkg is $8.99 = $.22 each.  I am not sure about you but with the rate my kiddo goes through diapers the costs add up quick.  So how do I get them cheaper?

AMAZON MOM

Amazon Mom:  I have written about Amazon Mom before...what isn't to love?  Free 2 day shipping, plus 30% off diapers.  Pretty good deal right?....but it can get so much better.   Amazon loves giving out coupons, and they are amazing.  They are frequently seen in parenting and pregnancy magazines.  So the next time you see one of my posts about a free subscription to a parenting magazine SIGN UP! Below is what these coupons look like, they will generally either be a 20% off or a $10 off a purchase.  I took my daughter to a pediatrician apt yesterday and in the waiting room was a copy of Fit Pregnancy, and thumbing through I found one of these coupons...so always be on the look out.  The best part is Amazon will let you combine these coupons with the 30% off you already earn through Amazon Mom.

 

Amazon Deal Scenario:

Pampers Size 4, 174 Ct for $40.88

Amazon Mom 30% off -$12.96

Amazon Coupon -$10.00

Final Price $17.92 =$.10 each

That makes the for diapers at a 56% savings...and they are 2nd day shipped to your house for FREE. PLEASE NOTE: to get your 30% off your have to sign up for subscribe and save (which means that automatically keep sending diapers), the great part is you can cancel at any time.  I usually cancel when my diapers arrive it serves as a reminder to log in to Amazon and unsubscribe. 

56% savings still not good enough? I also use my Amazon Gift Cards I get from Swagbucks to lower my cost even further.  Remember my post about the search engine that gives you points to redeem for gift cards just for searching.   I would use one of my $5 Amazon Gift Cards to lower the cost further.  If I used a $5 gift card on my deal scenario above it would increase my savings from 56% to 68% or just $.07 each. 

STOCKPILING

When I post about a great diaper deal on here, like for instance the one that I posted a while back about Walgreens go and buy LOTS.  While saving a few bucks on one package of diapers is great saving lots of money on lots of diapers is even better.  Think ahead as well and get bigger sizes. 

DIAPER STUDY
What is better than saving money on diapers?  FREE diapers.  I wrote about the diaper study I signed up for and was sent free diapers, and at the end of the study they will send me a $10 check.  They may not always be doing a study for the diaper size that your child is currently wearing but it is always worth checking, the ladies there are very nice (I couldn't believe it I talked to a human not a machine). 

UP Next....Feeding your kiddo!