Baby Savings: Lesson #2 Reward Programs

I started this series because a childhood friend (shout out to Rachel, and soon to be baby Braden) e-mailed me recently asking how you save on the piles of things you need for baby.  Well I wish there ones one magic answer one clear cut thing you could do to save hundred or thousand, but really it is doing a series of things that save you $5 here, and $10 there that add up into thousands of dollars saved on your baby care items.  In lesson #1 on Baby Savings we talked about one of the biggest expenses which is Diapering, and how you can save by ordering online, stocking up, and participating in diaper studies. 

Lesson #2 Diaper Rewards Programs. 

I have tried every brand of diaper out there, mostly in part to the fact that I will buy whatever I can get a deal on.  Two of the largest diaper manufacturers, Huggies and Pampers offer a rewards program for buying their product.  You can enter codes found on their various products (including diapers and wipes) into their website that can be accumulated and traded for gifts.  You may ask "Well what if I don't use Huggies or Pampers?"  or maybe you don't have a kiddo in diapers....SIGN UP FOR THE REWARDS PROGRAM ANYWAY.  I will be posting codes on the website periodically that you can enter for points, so you can earn points to be redeemed for prizes without ever purchasing a single item.  While most of the items on their rewards program are geared towards children there are also gifts for pictures from Snapfish, Gift Cards to Red Robin and more....so even if you don't have a kiddo you can save points to redeem for gifts for yourself. 

Huggies Enjoy The Ride Rewards

Points to get you started:
BJKGWQMBTSRCPGB (5 pts)
BJGGPDCLDDPMPGB (5 pts)
BJQXHDKRRKGMPGB (5 pts)
BJRGHJHZNFSJPGB (5 pts)
BJRJLBZZLFBDPGB (5 pts)
BJSGMLKKKQZKPGB (5 pts)
BKJZHTRKCNDPPGB (5 pts)
BKNTGSHJMRPCPGB (1pt)

Pampers Gifts to Grow Rewards Program

Yeah, right now you can get 100 points for signing up right now by going here and look for the coupon above. It was under zip 93035 and on the second to last page for me.


Here are some additional points:
CONGRATS2NEWMOM
NEWWIPESPACKAGE
GTGWELCOME10PTS
Pampersgtg10pts
PUNTOSPARAMI123
CAREFORNEWBORNS
GTGCOUPONPOINTS
WELCOME2VILLAGE
WELCOME2GTG2010
getstartednow10
pampers4momjfm1

And even more:
WELCOME2PAMPERS – 50 points
GIFTSTOGROW4MOM – 50 points
JOINNOW4REWARDS- 50 points
2BEGINEARNING50- 50 points
VMF776C7HMXXT4A- 42 points

Entering these points is enough to already redeem for some gifts.  Get started now!!!!!

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!