I'm a thrift shopper, a coupon cutter-outer, a sales hound. My husband has a good job as a computer programmer, but is doesn't earn much yet as he is still a "junior" programmer. Me staying at home with the kids means money is super tight so I have to find ways to get what we need without paying much for it. I'm a thrift shopaholic! I love it! Even if we had tons of cash you'd still find me searching the isles of the Value Village!
My first daughter is a big girl. Weighing in at a hefty 11lbs 10oz when born, she grew fast. So fast in fact she outgrew all of the hand-me-downs I was given as well as outgrew the older child I was given hand-me-downs from! She needed the next size up nearly every few months. If I shied away from buying second hand I'd be in the poor house right now! Instead I went to my local thrift shops. I was able to buy her complete wardrobe for each season for usually under $70. For baby and children's items I joined a local Facebook buy/sell/trade group and can almost always find someone selling what I'm looking for.
When daughter #2 came we decided to save even more by going the cloth diaper route. I was extrememly lucky enough to have an awesome friend who gifted me several hundred dollars worth of Flip diapers and inserts and love them. (I do admit however there are days I just go disposable if I'm feeling particularly lazy, but that's another post for another time....). I've not tallied the figures, but based on the few times we have to buy her disposables, I'd say we're saving big time
They say raising kids costs thousands of dollars a year, but if you're willing to do a little work, buy second-hand, do some research, it doesn't have to. We are making it work on much less and it's really not that hard! You just have to be willing to give up on having those shiny new baby things, fresh off the shelf! Believe me, your kids won't notice or even care!
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