For those of you who know me, you know that I’ve never participated in Black Friday and never will. It’s the principle.
There’s nothing SO important that I can’t wait to purchase it at a less busy time or simply buy it online on Cyber Monday. The week of Thanksgiving, my husband and I were fortunate enough to fly to California and Arizona to spend time with our family and friends. While in Arizona, my mother in law was kind enough to host a small, family baby shower for me. Although there were only 7 women present, including myself, my husband and I were extremely blessed with baby gifts, monetary gifts, and gift cards.
There were a few items I was hoping to buy from my babylist registry so my husband and I decided which items we would be able to buy with the money and gift cards we had. However, due to a few money saving tricks I had up my sleeve, we were able to buy more items than we originally intended including diapers and wipes!
Here’s how I shopped on Cyber Monday:
1. Stork Craft Custom Hoop Glider and Ottoman, White/Gray Chevron
Original Price: $182.64
What I Paid: $117.99
Total Savings: $64.65
How I Did It – I performed a Google search of the product name to see if I could find a better price than the one listed on my BabyList. I found the item at Wayfair for $117.99 plus free shipping. I used our credit card for 1% cash back and paid it off right away (we don’t really use our credit card for items we haven’t budgeted for).
2. Graco Fastaction Fold Click Connect Travel System (similar style linked)
Original Price: $191.24
What I Paid: $179.99
Total Savings: $11.25
How I Did It – I did another Google search and found it on sale at JC Penney for $179.99 plus free shipping. In order to purchase the stroller/car seat, I went through Ebates which was offering 15% cash back for items at JC Penney. I also paid for this with our credit card and earned 1% cash back as well.
3. ERGObaby Baby Carrier
Original Price: $120.00
What I Paid: $60.40
Total Savings: $59.60
How I Did It – We received a total of $50.00 in Target gift cards from the baby shower so I looked for this item on Target.com. They were offering free shipping and a 15% off promo code. I shopped through Ebates to receive 2% cash back and paid the remaining balance of $60.40 on our credit card to earn an extra 1% cash back.
4. Seventh Generation Free and Clear Unbleached Baby Diapers
Okay, so here’s the deal with the diapers. For this brand and size, the diapers are $0.30 each, which in the diaper world, is a little pricey. When searching for diapers for our daughter, the hippie in me began to wonder if diapers contained chemicals and if so, I wanted to know what kinds and what harm they could cause. I found out that most diapers contain chlorine as a bleaching agent.
For the sake of objectivity, I researched the number of cancer cases caused by chemical exposure from diapers and wipes and I couldn’t find any. I also considered buying the cheapest diapers (containing chlorine) by justifying that I will allow my daughter to swim in our chlorinated pool. However, thinking of people I’ve known that have died due to cancer, I began to consider that maybe the less exposure to cancer causing chemicals, the better.
I know that God ultimately determines when and how my daughter will die, but as her mom, it is my personal conviction that I should do what I can, within reason, to protect her. That being said, I prefer buying diapers that aren’t the cheapest but also aren’t the most expensive. I’m not sure that I actually got a good deal here, I bought 2 packages of diapers at $43.51 each but it was with gift money. I paid for the diapers with our credit card to earn 1% cash back and paid it off right away. I also went through Ebates to earn an additional 2% cash back.
5. WaterWipes Mega Value Box Baby Wipes, 12 packs of 60 Count | 720 baby wipes
You know you’re a mom when you get excited about things like wipes. Yes, we are just going to wipe and toss, so it would seem practical to find the cheapest wipes. However, wipes, just like diapers, typically contain cancer causing chemicals. What I like about these wipes is that they only contain water and grapefruit seed extract.
Two of the 720 count boxes *should* be enough to last through our daughter’s first year (I read this blog post to help me calculate how much we might use). Again, I used the credit card for 1% cash back and went through Ebates for an additional 2% cash back. I’m always hoping to learn about additional tips and tricks for stretching our dollars. Feel free to comment with your tips and tricks for Cyber Monday savings!
