just bragging on myself, that's all

guys, i can be, well, a bit of a cheapskate.  it's not that i don't spend money, b\c believe me, i do.  but unfortunately, we're not made of money, and our never ending hospital bills due to our horrible medical insurance are cramping my style- so i gotta save where i can!  so when i get a good bargain, i just wanna shout it out to everyone!  and i've gotten a couple really good bargains lately!!

after our car accident, we had to get a new seat- the accident wasn't that serious, but i called the seat manufacturer and they recommend that seats be replaced regardless of crash severity.  we decided to go w\ the sunshine kids radian car seat.  i've heard nothing but incredible things about it- but the price was always a bit steep...  then a friend from my mom's group tipped us off on a sale that buy buy baby was having on the seats- 20% all sunshine kids seats- taken off immediately at register!

seat- $299 (regular price)
         -20%   (that's almost $60!!)
_________
$239

then, i always make sure that i hang on to my buy buy baby & bed bath & beyond coupons- the ones for bed bath can be used @ buy buy.  that's another 20% off!!

$239
-20%  (that's almost another $50!!)
________
$191.36

add in 10% for tax and that makes my grand total... $210!!  whoo hoo!!

my next great deal was something i've been pondering over for months- the ergo carrier.  highly touted and does something that my beloved bjorn doesn't do- allows me to carry ian on my back or hip!  baby steals has offered this carrier a few times before and i didn't bite- but this time it seemed too good to pass up- so i stole it!

 

ERGObaby sport carrier $115 regular price.  baby steals price- $57!!  with shipping/tax $69!!

if someone had told me i could get a new convertible car seat & an ergo carrier for less than $280, i probably would've laughed in their face... but i did it!!

boo ya!

i want to know about your great bargains!  i'm always looking for new deals!

changing my mind

so i had everything decided on as far as baby furniture went. we've done pretty well with buying things too- budgeting out a large item per every other paycheck or so. so far we have only gotten our glider rocker & "bassinet." this week we decided it was time to get our crib. i had one picked out, the Gulliver model from Ikea.

It was given an A in my Baby Bargains book for safety and value, and it didn't cost several hundred dollars- double bonus. White wasn't the look we were going for, but we thought we could stain it quite easily. We made our journey to Ikea Wednesday night, took a look at the bed in the baby section- it wasn't quite what i was expecting. It was a little smaller than I was expecting, and they had the mattress set up on the lower of the 2 levels. We decided to get it anyway. That evening I was re-reading through my BB book and I just kept having second thoughts- was there something better. That's when I read about the Graco/Bonavita cribs- also receiving an A in the book. I decided to go with the Graco Sarah.

I was hoping they'd carry them at Target, but they didn't. I looked around and found them at BRU and Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is about $30 cheaper (they are the same crib) and they will ship for free to your store, or ship to you for a whopping $0.97! I think I'll be happier with this crib. It's larger for one, and it's already the color we're going for- which means we only have to stain the dresser (one less thing to worry about after putting it together). Only thing I'm not entirely thrilled about- it's a convertible, and I think the convertibles are ridiculous, but I think I can live with that- besides, I don't ever plan on having to convert it.
Now Mama is happy, so everyone can be happy. Well, except we now have to make another trip to the dreaded Ikea...

In other news- we are going to look at a house/apartment this weekend. I feel relieved that we getting this ball rolling. Now, to sell, burn, drive a car into our house in Atlanta...

Good Buys, Hello!

Unfortunately, Dave & I are not rich. We had planned to be, but it hasn't worked out that way for us yet. Especially since we moved up here 4 months ago, found out we were pregnant a week after we moved up here, have yet to sell or rent our house in Atlanta, and I was unable to find work that was comparable to my fabulous job in Atlanta.

Having a baby is stressful enough, having a baby and paying a mortgage on an empty house 700+ miles away, while living with your in laws in their spare bedroom while the rest of your stuff sits in storage and you're trying to get rid of said empty house so you can move out of in laws house and into new house in 9 months is even more stressful.

Needless to say, we need all the bargains we can get. It started when I read Baby Bargains. I finished this book- all 600 pages in a little over a week, obsessively underlining and earmarking pages of what would be safest and most cost-efficient for Us + Baby. As we registered, I carried the book with me and un-earmarked as husband scanned things in. We discussed what things we felt like we should buy ourselves, what things we could buy used and off we went. We've done pretty good so far.

1. Maternity Clothes- most women can spend upwards of $500-$600 on clothes they will only wear for a few months. I first hit up Goodwill this summer looking for bargains and picked up some cute tops, then husband got me a $50 gift card to Motherhood- which I saved for fall clothes since I knew i'd spend the majority of my pregnancy in freezing temperatures! Then I hit the jackpot- a friend of ours from my parents church had just given birth in May, and she had tons of maternity clothes- would I like them?! OF COURSE! When my parents came to visit in August they lugged w\ them 2 black garbage bags full of summer/fall/winter maternity clothes w\ about 10 pairs of pants. Needless to say, I'm set. I may add a few things in here and there, but I'm pretty much good to go. On top of this, we've spent maybe $100 on our own- Savings of $400-$500!!

2. Glider Rocker- Let me just say those things are expensive. They can run up to $1,200 at PBK! I don't think so. Even a glider rocker at Target or Walmart can run up to $350- I'm sorry, but I'm saving my $350 for a Medela Pump In Style (or so I hope)... I hit up Craig's List to look for a rocker, and I found a pretty sweet deal- $50! Even better- it was in pretty much new condition, and it came with an ottoman. It looks unused! We'll just say I saved $200-$300!

Here's our awesome like-new glider rocker!




3. Amby Baby Motion Bed- My friend Brittany told me about this bed, and then I read about it in the Baby Bargains book. They recommended that it was something you can buy used, so I figured, of course! The Amby Bed is awesome. It's a hanging hammock that's womb-like to help your newborn sleep, plus the positioning also is supposed to help with colic, and reflux. A little side note about how awesome the Amby is supposed to be- it's sold out for the next 20 days on their website. I really wanted this bed for our baby, the cost- packages start at $237. I've been searching on Craig's List for an Amby for a while- Craig's List tip- if you can, wait. Things will go down in price. We had been watching an Amby for a while, and once it went down in price, we sprang on it- made an offer $20 lower, and scored! So Monday night we drove into the city and picked up our Amby for $120!! Savings- $140!
Here's the Amby Bed! Can't wait until we have a house to set it up in!!

(photo removed)

Those are just the beginning of my baby bargains (I hope)!!