Shopping Around

I am not one who is fond of shopping around, but if I am somewhere that sells baby stuff I will check out the prices.  It has come to pay off.
Price comparing in the beginning seemed pointless at the time and only because I did look around at a couple of places and saw only a few pennies to no more than a dollar difference.  I started thinking, is it really worth driving all that way to save a dollar, or a penny at that!  At first I thought of course its worth it a dollar here and there adds up… but when the price of gas is almost a dollar a litre I would spend more money just driving there to really in the long run save nothing.  Not really worth it in my opinion.
One day I happened to be at one of the stores and took notice of the price of formula… about a $5 difference, and than diapers again about a $5 difference! What happened I don’t know but I wasn’t going to argue.  So this driving out of the way business would now pay off a little more. 
I still check prices if I happen to be at another store because you never know the item could be a sale that week.  I take what I can get when its on sale because a little here and there will add up.  I still won’t go driving half way across the city to price compare but only if I happen to be there already.  Also, I found to regularly double check the prices else where you normally shop because slight adjustments in the prices we tend not to take much notice to. 
Than again sometimes shopping at the places with the higher mark up can be worth it too.  Some stores have a collectors points card so for every dollar you spend you get X number of points for.  Some of these places will let you redeem your points for money off of your purchases by reaching so many points or for gift cards.  These kinds of membership cards, I feel, are another great way to save money, but beware some point card you need to spend a lot to get a little.  One place I did happen to shop at a lot and have racked up a lot of points figured might as well redeem the points and get some free baby stuff.  I didn’t loose anything because I needed whatever it was at the time and the membership is free. 
Just a few things to look out for and keep an eye on.  How thrifty are you? what are some things that you do to save a little? Would love to hear what you do!

My buying Guide

Everyone is going to have a different opinion on what you need and some people will base their buying more on wants.  For me, personally, I buy more for what I need at the time. 
There’s a few ways to approach this:

• Buy everything you need and want, make a baby registry
• Shop around, make a baby registry
• Buy only what you think you’ll need right away, shop around, make a baby registry and keep mind the things you will need later –the concept to this approach is buy as you need, will save you money in the long run and unnecessary things won’t pile up.

By the way, do you notice a pattern??? Make a baby registry.  Gifts are great ways to let people know of the things you need or want, and what you don’t get will usually add up in gift cards so you can purchase it later when you do need it.
The concept to buying as you need worked great for us.  We bought what was most necessary for her room and for her immediately that we could for see.  Crib, change table, diapers (don’t want to be running around doing errands when you first get home), car seat, stroller… you get the drift! Clothes, sure you need them but most infants are happiest in sleepers or diaper shirts also known as “onesies”.  The best thing we did for my daughter was to receive hand-me downs! People are always looking for ways to get rid of the baby clothes and most are brand new.  Probably about 3/4’s the hand me downs I got looked brand new, their baby probably only wore them a handful of times.  It is true what they say babies grow fast!
Now that Sachiko is three (3) months now, we are looking into the other things that she’ll be needing soon.  We did get a lot for gifts, one reason I am happy I waited the other reason is because she did not need them as a newborn.  Excersaucers are great but babies can’t really use them until they can hold their head up at least.  High chairs aren’t needed until your baby can hold themselves up with the support of the chair and until they are starting solids high chairs are useless up until that milestone.  So save your money on those items that aren’t needed immediately, it’s also helpful to find the best deals.
I love shopping, and what woman doesn’t.  I’m sure there are some out there who’ll say they hate it but reality there’s a small part of them that love it.  My thing with shopping is I don’t like the crowds, finding parking, waiting in line and shopping while pregnant is just another story.  I did a lot of my shopping online, whether it was for price comparing, seeing what’s available, finding my best options or for actually buying, it was great.  If there was something that I wanted to look at and see it before I bought it we did go out for a short shopping trip. All-in-all it definitely helped with the buying and shopping process.  Really allowed me to see what was out there without having to leave the comfort of home and than having to return with a sore back from all the walking/standing (into your third trimester shopping was not my best friend but I think it did help bring on labour when the time came!).
Do beware of some of the “fancy” gizmos that are available.  I use the term fancy because that’s all they may be, over-priced and quite possibly a junk collector.  Do look around for things that will help make your life easier for things like organizing, storage and so on.  Read customer reviews, but remember what didn’t work for someone could work for you and vice versa.  If you can shop around for the best deal, usually more than one store will carry that item and you may find the best deal online instead of in your local stores.
In my local community, Welcome Wagon had a “baby shower” for me it didn’t have that much to offer but there was companies there that I never heard of or products that are available that could make your life easier, again that I never heard of or even thought of.  Talk to your friends who have kids, be open to ideas and even ask if they have anything that they want to part with. 
I know I mentioned the baby registry and yes do make one! I had my baby shower after my daughter was born because it gave everyone an opportunity to meet her.  Put into consideration for your registry if you plan for a pre- or post-baby shower; plan and budget accordingly.
Will post a “what to buy” guide list that worked for me.  Happy Shopping!

Baby Budget

Ok so I know I already touched base on this topic but need to mention… Shop at home; what I mean by this is to reuse things in your home that you feel would be appropriate for your baby’s nursery.
Some things that I did:
My parents still had kicking around some items that me and my sister used when we were little, were in our nursery, or just things that were tucked away and forgotten about. 
The dresser, was actually my dads from back in his bachelor days was painted white to be used for me and my sister when we were younger.  This wonderful dresser was still lying around in use for their den but they wanted to get rid of it, I thought it was perfect.  So it is now in the baby’s room as a dresser and change table; I purchased a Summer Infant Contoured Changing Pad for under $20 and attached it to the dresser.








Funny enough, my mom still had the rocking chair from when we were babies.  Yes, it is an actually rocking chair not a glider!  Again, this rocking chair was perfect and my mom was sweet enough to give it up for here grandbaby.  We had a beautiful brown blanket that was a gift from Lloyds work and we now use it as a throw for the chair.









I wanted to get some kind of shelving, side table or night stand.  Again, my dad had a night stand that was now too short for the new bed they purchased; incredible how high up these beds are nowadays!  So, of course, this night stand was tucked away collecting dust… I thought it would be perfect for the baby’s room and it’s actually a homemade piece that my dad built his junior high class WAY back in the day. 








So these are a few ways that you can save some money if you have some things lying around that you can salvage.  I actually priced out approximately what it would’ve cost us if we purchased those three (3) items brand new.  The cost would’ve been around or even over $500, I was shocked at how much we could’ve spent. 
I also saved a few bucks by drawing out some cute art work of drawings that I found on the Internet and that I thought would be ideal.  This was very time consuming but in my opinion for what we wanted it was perfect.  Babes would have some wonderful artwork in her bedroom that mom made especially for her!









Be creative with the things that you want to do with your nursery, the possibilities are endless.  I didn’t want to get caught up in spending too much money all at once, and it was a great way for my parents to de-junk the house with those few items that they said they no longer needed or wanted.