Babies On The Cheap!

It's no secret that Scott and I live in Frugal Land. What might be a secret is all of the amazing things that happen in Frugal Land. Read this post and consider yourself a temporary Frugal Land citizen.

How to save dolla' dolla' bills on your kids:

• Cloth Diapers. I have been very happy with cloth diapers! If you have no interest in them- buy in bulk from websites like Amazon Subscribe and Save.

• Book Sale At The Library. All of the libraries in Charlotte have them going on continuously. I cannot stop myself from checking out the inventory. Cora does not have an insane amount of clothes but she does have an insane amount of books. When I can get them for .10 to .50 cents each it is hard for me to resist. 

I bought all 16 of these books from the library for $4.50! My First Body Board Book is Cora's new favorite!

• You don't need every baby product (even though baby stores may lead you to believe you do). Here are some of the things that we easily get by without: Diaper Genie, Baby wipes warmer, shoes (until she started walking. Sorry, grandparents- I know babies look cute in shoes but it just wasn't worth the money or the effort). Also, we just need a few of most things. I do the laundry so frequently that we really only need 2 of a lot of things (baby towels, crib sheets, sleep sacks in her current size, swaddling blankets for when she was tiny, etc).

• Consignment Sales. On Saturday, I told you about my first look into kids consignment sales. I should have read the suggestion above before going to the consignment sale! There are definitely bargains to be had! My tip to you is: Take your time. Buy only what you really need, not what you think your baby would like. Your baby would be happy if you brought home an empty plastic water bottle. Here is a list of kids consignment sales by zipcode.

• Getting a little TMI here but go reusable where you can. You can get washable nipple pads (if you are nursing). Instead of burp cloths use the old cloth diapers like the ones pictured below. They are a good bit cheaper and way more effective. They are bigger and soak up a lot more of whatever needs soaking!

• Library Story Time. Not only is this one of Cora and my favorite activities of the week but we have met all sorts of great moms and babies here!

• Make your baby food. Healthy, easy, delicious and a big cost saver!

• Borrow From The Library. Yes, I LOVE THE LIBRARY! We borrow about 15 books per week. Scott reads a new one to Cora each night (along with "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See"). Then I write down which ones Scott and I liked best, which ones Cora liked best, and which ones had the best illustrations. Then when Cora can turn the pages on big kid books without ripping them we will check out her favorites again. I can't wait to borrow movies from the library when Cora is old enough!

• Playdates. You don't have to join places like Gymboree or go to music classes to meet other moms and make playdates. Like I said earlier, I met lots of moms at my favorite spot... THE LIBRARY! And have had great playdates with the moms and babies I met there. You can make your own music at home and set up your own fun-land in your house with other kids. If you don't want your house turning into a zoo you can always get free Gymboree class pass here.

• Dresser/changing table. This one is pretty obvious but you can easily make your dresser a changing table.

• Parks. Charlotte has some great ones! We started checking out the parks when Cora was just a few weeks old. She did not seem to get as much excitement from them as I did early on but she loves them now!

• Don't tempt yourself by cruising through the baby clothes aisle. Ugh! I could spend so much money on adorable clothes but I stay away. I try to stick to only buying clothes from the Target clearance racks or second-hand. There are super cute baby clothes everywhere you look- so just don't look!

• Gender Neutral. I try to buy gender neutral clothes as often as possible. That way, if we have another baby he or she can wear them. Grandmas love to fill little girl's wardrobes with pink! By buying gender neutral, you can do a little mix and matching so your baby doesn't always look like a ballerina who just went on a pink parade.

It is true that Cora would probably rather be naked, like her shirt says. 

• My pal, Senor Craigslist is a great place to buy bigger items like bouncy seats and baby swings.

• We really lucked out here. We have the most Generous Family And Friends I can possibly imagine! We have been totally overwhelmed with everyone's incredible generousity. I feel like Cora has a wardrobe to last her until she is 12. As I said earlier, Cora has some very giving grandparents who keep Cora well-stocked on super girly clothes (that she might not own otherwise). My awesome cousin sends her two daughters hand me downs to Cora after they have grown out of them! Friends have been super generous. Thank you so much again to my generous friends and family. You all are the best.

There you have it! I hope some dolla' dolla' bills were saved! 

Just To Whet Your Appetite- A Look At Consignment

Next week, I am going to write about how to save money on your baby. To get you ready for next week's post here is a peak at the deals to be had at consignment sales!

This morning Cora woke up just before 7. I was already showered and ready to go. As soon as I heard her stir, I was in her room giving her kisses. Soon, I was out the door. It was consignment sale time!

I could never be a Black Friday person. I get too competitive. I want to get the best deal and I want to get it fast. So, I was really taking my chances by setting foot in a huge kids consignment sale. 
Wooo Weee! As soon as I stepped in to Sardis Presbyterian Kids Consignment Sale I was overwhelmed with potential great deals and great things.

I wanted to go running through the store screaming Whooopeeee and throwing things in a cart (Supermarket Sweep Style).

Ohhh boy did I love that show! To this day, a lot of my sister's Would You Rather questions involve one choice being some sort of supermarket sweep. (image source)

I started in the clothes. I saw some cute things but I was mainly looking at prices. I didn't go for an item unless I was completely in love with it and it was a decent deal or it was a great deal on something Cora really needed. By the time I was done with clothes my arms were stuffed. One of the wonderful volunteers grabbed my haul and put it in a special pile marked with my name.

Next up was the toys. Cora has PLENTY of toys and I am somewhat of a minimalist. You certainly wouldn't have known it by the way I went tearing through the toy aisles. Everything I saw I thought about how much Cora would love it. I may have gone a little wild.

I was too busy looking for deals so I did not take photos. These photos are a pretty good representation of what it looked like.

 image from here

image from here

About an hour later and $116.58 broker I was home with my 33 item haul. 

Cora was eating breakfast when I got home. I brought everything in and displayed it for Cora and Scott to take a look. It took 3 or 4 trips to the car to bring it all in.

I rinsed some toys off and let her go to work. 

Scott liked the basketball hoop. He wanted to teach Cora how to dunk 

Cora found a toy that had a bunch of circus blocks. She came over and asked me to open it. It turns out she was mainly interested in the big zipper bag that it came in.

My favorite items include:

• A Radio Flyer tricycle that Cora is not quite big enough for
• The building blocks (I do wish they weren't so pink)
• Lots of great clothes
• 6 neat puzzles (she is LOADED UP on puzzles! Mama, come teach her how they work)

Looking around at the mess of new found goodies all over my floor I am starting to realize that I went a little buy-crazy. 

Lesson learned: Take your time. Buy only what you really need, not what you think your baby would like. Cora is entertained for hours by a ziplock bag. She would be happy without any of her new toys.

Here is a list of kids consignment sales by zipcode.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my best friends! DEE-DEE, you are a rock-climbing machine!

I hope to see you back here tomorrow!