I have not been a mom for that long, but I already find myself trying to save money wherever possible. People have always said that having a baby is expensive and now I have learned exactly what they mean.
Between the hospital bills that are still arriving and the constant need to purchase diapers, gear, formula and clothing, I find myself wishing I had a money tree in my backyard. Since that isn’t exactly a tenable option, I have had to look for other ways to save.
Here are four tricks I have been using to save money on baby items over the past couple of months:
Amazon Mom and Subscribe & Save:
Amazon has been my go-to shopping destination as a new mom. Before I had my baby, I had a friend tell me that she was on the Amazon smart phone app ordering needed items before she even left the hospital. I laughed at the time but then found myself doing the same thing! The convenience combined with the low prices makes Amazon a new mom’s best friend.
In addition to their everyday low prices, Amazon offers a couple of perks that will help new parents save even more. The first is Amazon Mom, which is an added benefit to Amazon Prime. As a member of Amazon Mom, parents can get 20 percent off diaper subscriptions and five percent off wipes. Plus, there is a hidden coupon page that is only available to Amazon Mom members.
I never took advantage of Amazon’s Subscribe & Save option before I had a kid, but now I use it to get formula and diapers delivered for less. The trick with Subscribe & Save is that you get a bigger discount when you subscribe to have five items regularly delivered to your house. Typically you will receive a five percent discount with each Subscribe & Save item you order, but the discount jumps up to 15 percent when you subscribe to five or more items. Once you consider everything a new parent needs, it’s not that hard to get up to five items.
Target Cartwheel App:
The first trip I took out of the house by myself after having the baby was to Target. I had to pick up a few things and while I thought it was going to be a quick trip, the lines were a little long so I pulled out my phone and opened up the Target Cartwheel app. I decided to see if there were any coupons available for any of the items in my cart and I was happy to find that there were. Just by logging into the Cartwheel App, I was able to take an additional five percent off the formula I was purchasing and an extra 20 percent off the outfit that I could not resist purchasing for my son.
For even more savings, be sure to check out the Target coupon page (coupons.target.com) where you will find coupons that can be stacked with any deals listed on the Cartwheel app. Target has also started posting text-only coupons around the store so be sure to keep an eye out for those as well!
Buy Buy Baby 20 Percent Off Coupons:
Long before I really knew how to look for deals I knew not to go to Bed Bath & Beyond without one of their 20 percent off coupons in hand. Buy Buy Baby is the sister store to Bed Bath & Beyond, which means that if you get on both mailing lists you will receive double the coupons and the coupons can be used at either store.
The downside to Buy Buy Baby is that you can only use one 20 percent off coupon at a time and while that is annoying, 20 percent is the biggest discount I have found on new baby items thus far and we have used that discount to save on some big ticket items.
Baby Registry Completion Discount:
Almost anywhere that you choose to register will give you a baby registry completion discount when you are getting close to your due date. This discount is usually in the 10 to 15 percent range and will allow you to purchase the items from your registry that you did not receive for less.
I received quite a few gift cards for the store where I registered and I waited to spend them until I had received my registry completion voucher. Only once I had both items in hand did I go to the store and go on a mini shopping spree, purchasing all of the remaining items that we needed before the baby arrived.
While these are the four tricks I use to save on baby items, I am always keeping an eye out for a good sale or discount at any location.
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4 Easy Ways to Save on Baby Purchases originally appeared on usnews.com
