Bargain Hunter

I saved most, if not all, of the baby supplies I had with the boys.  I knew there was a chance we’d have another baby someday.  A lot of the ‘bigger’ things were hand-me-downs: the crib, bouncer, swing.  After Brennan, though,  we gave the crib back to Andy’s brother/sister in law because we didn’t want to move it when we moved down here and it was a drop side and that was when they were talking about nothing else on the news but how dangerous they were.  So out it went.  The swing that was given to us must have had the batteries sitting in it for a long time because just before Baby Aiden was born they corroded and leaked and ruined the swing.  Because of that my MIL bought us a new swing, one of those travel and go kind, and neither boy ever really liked it because it wasn’t comfy.  And the bouncer, well, I hated it from the beginning.  Ugly, uncomfortable and just not that great. I still have the swing and bouncer but have known I didn’t want to try using them again because I figured if neither boy liked them then this baby wouldn’t either.

I’ve known since getting pregnant last time that we were going to need a new crib. The great thing about cribs these days is you can get ones that convert to a toddler bed/day bed and full size head board.  It helps eliminate the bigger bed purchase down the road.  Great!  Saving money already!  I went to Target and swallowed my tongue when I saw the prices were all well over $200.  I decided I’d better be doing some shopping around and looking online.  I started with Target.com and found quite a few options on there, all under $200.  I got an email the same day with a deal where you saved $50 on any purchase over $250, or $15 off a purchase of $150 or more.  Okay, I would hit one of those for sure when I also had to buy a mattress for the crib.  I had 3 picked out, narrowed it down to 2 then finally 1. But that 1 just wasn’t sitting right with me.  So over to WalMart.com I went.  Immediately I found a convertible crib I loved PLUS it came with a free mattress, part of the deal they were running at the time.  The crib was as inexpensive as the one I was making myself like on Target.com PLUS I got the free mattress, a savings of $50+ right there.Tack on free shipping right to my door and I am a happy camper! So I wasn’t really missing out on the savings deal with Target!  I was super excited, plus I got 1% cash back from Ebates!  Here’s the crib.

Next I started bargain hunting for the baby swing/bouncer combo I found and loved at Target.  I just couldn’t bring myself to spend $150 on a swing/bouncer when you can only use it for 6 months or so.  But I knew I wanted one that snuggled around the baby so I could use it as a ‘sleeper’ too, plus the fact that it was a 2 in 1 was pretty great, less furniture sitting around.  So I started looking online at all the stores I could think of that would carry baby swings.  I finally found the one I loved with a different fabric pattern that I liked okay at Kohls.com.  It was the same price as the one at Target but I started thinking about the 15/20/30% off coupons I get from Kohls and figured if I could find someone who had a 30% off coupon I could save almost $50.  Then I thought ‘Google it!”  So I googled ‘Kohl’s 30’ and up popped “FatWallet.com” with a 30% off savings code for Kohls!  Boom!  I shrieked out loud I was so excited!  So I went through Ebates again, got 3% off there plus the 30% off savings plus free shipping.  In the end my swing/bouncer ended up costing me right around $100!!!  A $50 savings!  I’m very happy with that!  And I think the fabric colors/pattern will be okay, even if it’s not the exact one I fell in love with.  After all, it’s only 6 months. 

I can’t wait for my bargains to arrive on my doorstep!  Moral of this story, shop around and do your homework!  Oh, and sign up for Ebates and tell them I sent you, I think I get a $5 bonus for that. Wink!

Baby’s arrival is getting closer!  I’m just waiting on the glider I’m having re-upholstered then I think I’ll be all set with the furniture! 

Now if only I could say we’re all set with names…

Erin