I wanted to show you how we save money.

1.First of all I always keep a list of sizes of what the kids, my husband and I wear

2. Always carry a measure tape with you in your purse.

3. If possible shop ahead of the season to get the best deals when the clothes are going on sale or the goodwill or other places are trying to get rid of it.

4. Look through the closets to make sure you know exactly what you need plus you might be able to hand it down to younger child or trade with others.

5. Shop at Goodwill thrift stores before you go to other retail shopping places.

6. Shop at garage sales for clothes

7. Shop at kids consignment shops

8. Shop Ebay but be careful at the shipping. My best bet was to buy more then one item from same person to combine shipping.

Ideas when shopping at garage sales

Be polite don’t show up early. But go early also might going at the end they might want to get rid of it cheaper.

Ask if they might have something you are looking for, you never know maybe they just didn’t put it outside.

Ask if you see a tear or loss bottom if they will consider lowering price.

Give them your phone number to keep if they have a child a little bit older then yours to buy clothes from them in future.

Plan what garage sales you will hit.

Always check out appliances garage sales have great bargains besides clothes.

Ideas for shopping at thrift store.

Always measure with your tape just in case sometimes size is marked down wrong.

Look for tears or stains closely. I usually let my daughter check after I do for a second pair of eyes.

1.   Diapers. I use the cheaply Store brand diapers and cloth diapers if I have the time or short that month. I think buying the good thick cloth diapers and covers are well worth it. If you like the expensive kind cause of absorbment then try using them at night and the cheaper ones during the day. Cloth diapers can be taken to the babysitters or day care never hurts to ask especially if you bring your own container or bag each day.

2.   Baby rash. Aloe vera the plant works well, pure vegtable shortening I have been told or your own breast milk. I usually wait for a coupon and buy it when its on sale the good brand.

3.   Baby soap/shampoo. I buy the baby soap bar. The soap will last longer then the baby wash or shampoo. Use your own shampoo just watch for the eyes.

4.   Baby bath. Instead of buying a new $30.00 plusr baby bath buy a large closet container for $5.00 put the lid aside and use it as a bathtub when the child is old enough you can then use it as a closet container for old baby clothes.

5.   Coupons. Ask your friends, neighbors and family to save coupons for baby things.

6.   Bibs. Make your own bibs or buy those cheap paint smocks that are washable and use it instead. I bought mine for a $1.00 at the dollar store.

7.   Baby food. Make your own baby food, if you don’t have a processor then just use a fork to smash up the bannanas a lot better for the baby to have it fresh anyways!

8.   Haircut. Do your babys first hair cut you will save gas on the trip to salon, cost of cut, and tip!

9.   Shoes/Clothes. Babys don’t really need a good pair of shoes till they start to walk, invest in soft shoes if you must, check out Payless shoe store they were giving away free first time baby shoes, check out yard sales, consignment shopes for clothes and shoes. I bought a lot of my clothes through ebay and even sold a lot of them when I was through with them. The best advise on that is too buy in huge lots or from the same seller getting rid of her baby clothes to save on shipping.

10.   Baby wipes. There are some recipes on how to make baby wipes like I will list below, however I usually just buy the 100 count for $1.99 sometimes cheaper if on sale. I use only half for the wee wee spills and a whole for the poo times.

11.  Baby Hangers. Don’t buy the expensive baby hangers, use the ones you get from the cleaners and reshape them to fit your baby clothes! or save the ones you get when you buy the clothes.

Baby Links 

Born to Love. I love this frugal baby site they had a lot of the ideas I used plus tons more! http://borntolove.com/

Make your own diapers:

Baby Center Web Site. Wonderful site one of my favorites when I was pregnant. Loved the week by week email they sent me on babys development.

Natural baby Catalog. Web Site Kind of expensive but I bought the cloth diapers from them long ago they were great. I at least recommend the diaper covers.

Barnum and Bailey circus-get a free ticket for your kid up to 12month old to use later on at any age!!!

http://www.ringling.com/offers/baby.aspx

Hints:

Use old cloth diapers for breast shields if you are breast feeding they absorb wonderfully. Make your wipes

Miscarriage: Because of my own miscarriage I felt I should add these links just in case to everyone if they had a previous miscarriage and are scared on having another child. They helped me through my tough time.