These kiddos are expensive! In addition to all the diapers and formula and doctor bills that we're buying our little man is going through clothes like nobody's business. Seriously, we wear an outfit a couple of times before we've outgrown it. It's just plain rediculous how fast they grow at this age.
Given how fast these little babies grow up, I don't see any reason for purchasing new items at $10 an outfit. I can get clothes that are in wonderful shape and are gently used at the local consignment sales that typically happen twice a year. I went today and spent $40 and ended up with 13 clothing items, 3 Dr Brown's Bottles (normally $20 consigned for $8), a dishwasher basket (new $3, consigned $1), a sun screen for the car window (consigned for $1), and a new summer hat to keep the sun off of little man's face for just $2. I estimate that if I'd purchased all of this new I'd have spent about $96. So I consider today's haul a good day.
While shopping today I realized 2 important things...
1. I should not be buying more clothes in BabyE's current size. I should be buying a size or two ahead of where he is now so that he will actually get to wear the clothes that I buy.
2. I've been to 4 sales so far this spring and gotten a thing or two at each of them but I haven't yet shopped on a 1/2 price day. This habbit has seriously got to stop! If I'm looking for something special (a new pack-n-play, a swing, a high chair, etc.) it's worth the extra to get first pick of the loot. If I'm just looking for clothes and other things we might need in the future I can wait until the half price days to shop. In the future, I may pick one sale each fall and spring to go to on the first day and get the things we really need and a few cute outfits. All the other sales I will limit myself to half-price days only. At the larger sales there will be plenty left on the first 1/2 price day and I'll save way more.
In my area I can find 10 consignment sales that won't be too hard to get to every fall or spring. I'll probably actually make it to less than half of those but I have every opportunity to think through and actually get what we need without having to buy retail. These sales are spaced out over roughly a 4 month period each fall and spring so managing to get to the sales shouldn't be a problem. I'll consign items at one or two of the sales that I decide to shop early at (probably the smaller sales) the others I'll just drop by on the public shopping days.
If you're expecting a baby or already have one, you've got to check out some of these sales. There are great bargains that can save you some cash and we can all use some extra cash in our pockets.
No comments:
Post a Comment