Saturday, March 2, 2013

Pinching Pennies!

Hey everyone! I hope you are all having a great weekend! In case you are wondering, this is Kailly! Sorry my post is coming a little late today. I've been spending the day with my husband and daughter, and then I had to go tackle the grocery store.

So, in my intro post, I shared that I love saving money. I had a couple of people message me on FaceBook asking if I could do a post about it. So, I took some photos of some purchases and am going to post them for you, with pricing, savings, etc.

First, my biggest tip is to buy in advance. N is almost 9 months old, and I am buying 18-24 month clothing. Though, I did recently purchase a good amount of 9-12 month as I somehow skipped a good amount of this size... I blame it on being blonde.

I am a stay at home mommy. To me, that means take care of our daughter, the shopping, most of the cooking, and most of the cleaning. But, if any of you have met my husband, you know L is a modern day Danny Tanner. Do you remember him from "Full House?" My sister caught my husband vacuuming the walls a few months ago... seriously. But, if there is something to put together, I do that. I love being handy. And, considering my husband literally just dropped 5 screws down the garbage disposal, I think we are doing our correct jobs. He's trying to put together a table from IKEA. I will now say, he was trying to put together a table from IKEA. ;-) Any way, my job is also to keep us on a budget. So, I coupon (this will likely be my next post,) and I take care of all of the shopping, including everything for N.

First, I will give you some of my tips.

~I do not buy anything on regular price as far as clothing goes.

~ My favorite places to shop are Target, Carters, and Once Upon a Child.

~ Target marks down their baby/children items on Mondays.

~If you look in the upper right hand corner of a Target Clearance sticker, you will see a 15, 30, 70, or,rarely, a 90. These numbers are the percentage they've taken off the original item.

~I shop one year in advance.

~ I purchase clothes right after holidays. For example, when Target marked their Valentine's clearance to 70% off, I bought N a cute outfit for next year. I also purchased a couple of outfits that don't scream valentines day, that she can wear year round. I found an adorable Elmo shirt that had hearts on it, for $1.00. I also found a 2 piece outfit for $1.50. The top is red and says Love on it, and the bottoms are pink and white striped pants.

~Anytime I walk into a store I go straight to the clearance racks. If I see something at full price, I make a mental note. Usually within 6-8 weeks it hits the clearance racks.

~Sometimes Target.com/coupons will have a 20% off coupon for a childrens clothing item.

Let's chat about my recent purchases. I will show you two and break them down!

First, I went to Carter's two nights ago after my close friend J called and asked if I had been recently. She brought by a "feel better" outfit for N, which I am so appreciative of! She's a doll. Any way, I told her "no" and she filled me in on their recent clearance deals. She told me a lot of outfits got marked down. Since N was feeling under the weather, I wasn't sure about going, but L told me to go take some much needed mommy time.

So, I purchased these sleepers. The elephants are 24 months, the bear is 12 months (I needed one more for her next size,) the mouse is 18 months, as is the giraffe. The "Daddy's Little Sweetheart" bib was .99 and the other three were in a pack for $2.99. These jammies are normally priced $22 or $26 each. I can't remember at the moment. Usually they have 20-40% sales on them. The one bib is normally $8 I believe, and the pack of three is normally $12 or $16.
 
 Next up are these outfits! I am a sucker for little jeggings, so it is rare that I buy anything else. But, I loved the prices and know N will look adorable! Plus, we all have days we want to be in our sweats, right?! The green flowered outfit was $3.99, the light pink was $1.99, the purple was $1.99, and the dark pink zebra was also $1.99!!!! These outfits are originally $22!! Even on clearance last time I was there they were priced from $8.99-12.99!
 
 Does anyone else agree that babies in hoodies are just precious? I love them! Plus, they are super cozy! These are fleece hoodies originally priced at $24. Both of them we're on clearance for $2.99! The "I love my uncle" onesie is originally $14, and was marked down to $3.99! And the tights are originally $12, marked down to $1.99!
 
So, basically, what I'm trying to say is if you have a Carter's by you, go look!! They have incredible deals right now! I spent a total of $38! Had I paid original price on them, it would've been around $200!
 
 
Next up, I have no problem with gently used clothing. Babies wear clothes for 3 months when first born, so there is rarely any wear to it! These next outfits I bought in a lot off eBay for $30! When looking at a lot, I make sure they come from a smoke free home. I also look at each outfit. If there is something N won't wear, I likely won't bid. I also look for stains, rips, fading, etc. And, I try to find ones that end shortly. I don't know about you, but I am so impatient. And, I hate being outbid at the last minute. Ask my husband. He was trying to talk to me last week and I was so frustrated. He finally asked what was wrong, and I told him someone had outbid me on pajamas at the last minute! Haha. I laugh now, but I am a grump for about 10 minutes after that happens! So, if I would've bought all of these new, it would've cost close to $200! And, three of the outfits have tags on them still! Yes, it takes time to find these things, but it's worth it with the cost! I look a lot when N is napping, or if she is having Daddy time!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Also, I wanted to post this blog to show how to pinch pennies and give examples, as requested. I don't want to seem like a kid shopping snob or anything! So, I really hope it doesn't come across that way!!!
 
Oh, here is my outfit of the day today! I'm wearing a pink cardigan with gray cami, and jeans. All were on sale! I may have to post an adult clothing tip section too!
 

 

 
Tomorrow, we will be taking a day off from blogging. We will be spending the day with our families! But, we will resume posting on Monday, with a post from Miss Ashley!
 
Also, to give credit to my husband, the table is together! The screws were recovered. :-)

4 comments:

  1. You are the bomb mommy shopper! :)
    -Court

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  2. Awesome! Thank you for sharing your tips! I'm a SAHM too, and this will be great way to save money for necessities.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Ashley! I hope to show mode shopping trips to keep giving people ideas, not only with clothing but groceries as well :) let me know if you are curious on anything, or want to see anything in particular!

      Kailly

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