When I was a kid I loved Sunday’s because that’s when the weekly sale ads and coupon books arrived with the newspaper. I started cutting coupons at a young age. Weird? Maybe. Frugal? Yes!
While I’m not (typically) cutting coupons anymore, I have found ways to save money on items big and small for the arrival of my first child, though these tips apply to the purchase of pretty much anything including everyday household items and clothing. Today I’m going to share a few of the ways I’ve saved lots of cash.
Baby essentials can be expensive and when you’re a first time parent, the cost can add up very quickly.
*this is not a sponsored post, but it does contain affiliate links*
Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates) – this is the easiest way to earn Cash Back on a purchase. All you need to do is either start on the Rakuten website and search for and access your store of choice from there or add the Rakuten extension in Google Chrome. The extension will automatically pop-up when you’re on a website; you just need to click to activate the Cash Back then checkout as usual.
A couple weeks ago they were celebrating their 20th anniversary so a lot of stores offered 20% Cash Back. I purchased the UPPAbaby Mesa car seat which basically never goes on sale anywhere. Simple math, but I got $60 Cash Back on the $300 car seat.
The Cash Back you receive is in addition to any savings from the website you’re visiting, so the savings can stack up quickly.
Loyallist Member at Bloomingdales – it’s free to sign up to become a Loyallist member at Bloomingdales. Perks include free shipping and the ability to earn a monetary reward card during certain promotions. Hit a certain dollar threshold and you’ll earn incremental cash to use on a future purchase at Bloomingdales.
When I purchased our UPPAbaby Vista stroller several months ago, I did so during one of these Bloomingdales promotions. I received $225 in rewards and ultimately purchased the UPPAbaby Vista travel bag among many other baby essentials essentially for “free”. I coupled the Bloomingdales promotion with 12% Cash Back from Rakuten which ended up being over $80 back.
Target RedCard, App + Cartwheel – I love Target. I’ve had the debit card version of the RedCard for years and anytime you use it you get free shipping and 5% off your purchase. This 5% off includes gift cards (with the exception of Target gift cards and a couple others but I can confirm the Starbucks gift card is included).
Target’s app is awesome, too. For starters, it’s super easy to use, plus it remembers items from recent purchases making repurchasing from the app fast and convenient. You can select various virtual coupons via Cartwheel as well as add weekly promotions they have going on (i.e. spend $50 on household items get a $15 Target gift card). When you check out in store you just scan the bar code in the app to apply the savings.
On two separate occasions their app recently had a promotion for an additional 5% off your purchase (plus the standard 5% when using the RedCard).
When you shop online, I’ve noticed that the prices are cheaper than in store, even if you order online and pick up in store. I was telling my husband about this and shared that the protein bars he likes were $.70 cheaper online. He thought I said $.07 and basically thought I was a lunatic for being so excited. I mean, sure, $.70 isn’t much either, but it all adds up.
Registry Completion Promotion – I had a baby registry at, where else, Target. A few weeks before your due date they provide a code for 15% off to complete your registry online and a second code for an in-store purchase. I used the online code when Target was offering their additional 5% off with the RedCard, plus they had a promotion where you earned a $20 gift card if you spent $100 on baby products if you picked up the order in-store. It’s not hard to spend $100 on diapers and wipes, that’s for sure.
I don’t know off the top of the my head how much I saved in total on that purchase, but for example, a box of diapers is $40 – 15% – 5% – 5% = $31. Plus an additional $8 off if you factor in the $20 gift card, so the box of diapers came to $23.
Rakuten generally offers 1% Cash Back on select Target purchases, too. Yes, small potatoes, but, again, it adds up!
Bed Bath & Beyond – coupons for BB&B are plentiful. Aside from the common 20% off one item promos, they sometimes have promo codes for close to 25% to 30% off a larger purchase price like $80 or, as I’ve used before, $300. I purchased a lot of items for my son using the latter promo including his Dohm sound machine and various first aid items. BB&B is a sister store to BuyBuyBaby, so the same items pop up on their website. I also stack these promos with Rakuten Cash Back.
Gap Brand Credit Card – basically don’t every pay full price for anything at Gap Brand stores (Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic). They are always having promotions and, especially in-store, they typically offer an additional 10% off your purchase. Around Christmastime last year everything on Gap’s website was 50% off and Rakuten was offering 10% Cash Back. I stocked up on lots of clothes in various sizes for my son, particularly the basics like onesies, socks and pants. Having the credit card enables you to earn points that in turn become cash rewards after hitting a certain threshold and earns you free shipping.
TJMaxx / Marshalls – you can find some amazing deals at these sister stores. I purchased nearly all of our Aden + Anais swaddle blankets, bandana bibs, bibs and burp cloths from these sister stores for 50% off retail. I also found these OXO bibs that have the pockets to collect fallen food for 50% off retail. Just recently I purchased two Carter’s outfits for my son each on clearance for $4.50 and at the time they were both on carters.com and macys.com for twice as much.
*this is not a sponsored post, but it does contain affiliate links*
There’s just something I love about the thrill of the hunt when it comes to getting a good deal on something. Of course, there are other ways to save substantially on baby items, often gently used and sometimes brand new, including thrift stores, yard sales and Facebook Marketplace.
Happy shopping and bargain hunting!
