Hospital Freebies
After you have your baby, be sure you leave the hospital with all the freebies they give you. Most hospitals open a new package of diapers, wipes, and other disposable items for each patient. You, or your insurance, pay for the whole package. So be sure to ask for the leftovers if your nurse forgets to offer them to you. Hospitals also get free samples of all kinds of things to give to new moms. If you find some you like and will use often, don’t hesitate to ask for more. Don’t be embarrassed. You’ll probably never see those people again anyway.
Family and Friends
Most of your friends and family members who have recently had kids will offer to give or loan you the items they’re not using anymore. This is by far the best way to stock up on free stuff. If they don’t offer, however, you might consider asking if you could buy nursery furniture, clothes, toys, etc. when they’re finished with them. Who knows, they might end up just letting you borrow them. Even if they do take you up on your offer to pay, you’ll still end up paying much less than retail. Then you can consign the items later and get some of your money back.
Freecycle
Thanks to a new, greener society, there are now several groups dedicated to keeping things out of landfills. You’d be surprised what people throw away just because they don’t know what else to do with it! Now they can post items on websites, like Freecycle.com, so those of us who need them can pick them up. One girl’s trash is another girl’s treasure. I joined my local Freecycle group, and now I get an email every time someone in my area puts something up for the taking. I can also post “Wants” to try to locate specific items. I’ve seen maternity clothes, baby clothes, and $5 vouchers for baby formula offered in the past week alone!
Consignment
I can’t say enough good things about consignment stores and sales. Not only do you get great stuff at a fraction of the retail price, but you can also be a consignor and earn money. If you start an account with a store that sells adult clothing as well as baby clothes, you can consign your own clothes that don’t fit to earn money for adorable baby clothes.
If you’re looking for furniture, toys, and other baby accessories, your best bet is usually a consignment sale. These vary by area, but they’re usually held twice a year. Consignment sales have a much larger selection than the stores. You can usually find just about everything but the actual baby for sale at one of these events.
Craigslist Classifieds
If you’ve never checked out craigslist.com, you’re missing out on some great deals! If you have, then you know that it’s an invaluable resource for finding things that are for sale in your area. There is an entire section titled “babies + kids” for all kinds of baby items that people are selling. Craigslist also allows users to post “Wants” for specific items. This is the best way to find second hand items without ever leaving your house.
Garage Sales
People sell their baby furniture, clothes, toys, and other treasures in garage sales every weekend across the country. The challenge is locating the sales that have what you want while avoiding the sales that don’t. You can’t realistically expect to go garage sale shopping and find everything on your list. In fact, it’s possible to end up driving all over town and not find a single thing you need.
But if you have time to shop and love the high of getting a bargain, then garage sales are a great place to find what you need for baby. It’s wise to check the newspaper classifieds and craigslist before you go, though, to get a list of exact addresses of people who are selling baby items. Sometimes the sellers even list a phone number so you can call for details before you make the drive.
Amazon Grocery
I haven’t tried this personally, but if it works like they say it does, Amazon Grocery could revolutionize the way I shop. This mail-order grocery program has a vast selection of everything you could find at a regular grocery store, including diapers, wipes, and baby care products. They also appear to have low prices and shipping discounts to make their costs comparable to traditional grocery store prices.
Amazon’s “Subscribe and Save” program gives customers a 15% discount and free shipping on items that are auto-shipped to them regularly. The term “auto-ship” is usually a deal breaker for me, but Amazon claims that you can choose the shipping intervals and cancel at any time without paying a fee. If that’s true, sign me up!
Toy Exchange
There is nothing cheap or free about toys these days. If you haven’t shopped for toys lately, you’re in for some serious sticker shock. Of course, kids couldn’t care less how much the toys cost. They just want new ones – all the time. Sometimes they’re happier with the toys from the dollar store than the ones they saw on the TV commercials and thought they wanted. And babies? They’re much more satisfied playing with the box the toy came in than the toy itself.
So why not find a way to exchange toys with other moms and save some cash? Talk to your friends who have kids about the same age and see if they would be interested in switching toys once the kids are no longer interested in them. Or try an online toy exchange site like toystotrade.com or toyswap.com. These sites are a medium between parents who need toys and parents who need to get rid of toys that have been gathering dust for awhile. It’s a win-win situation!
See? I told you it was possible to get great baby stuff for cheap or free. It might take a little extra time and a bit of creativity, but it really isn’t hard to save big bucks on all kinds of baby items. Once you experience the thrill of finding a bargain, you’ll never go back to paying full retail prices again.
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