Couponing for Baby

As a new mom, I expected our monthly grocery bill to increase. Thanks to couponing & stockpiling, however, it did the exact opposite. Even with the extra milk, diapers, wipes, and all of the other new necessities we added to the list, I have managed to cut our grocery bill by more than 50%! How did I do it? Here are my top 5 tips.

1. Be sure to check your Sunday newspaper inserts and coupons.com. This is the most obvious place. Many bloggers will also post when new coupons are available online. Two of my favorite resources include Couponing To Disney and Common Sense with Money.

2. Sign up to receive e-mails from the manufacturer. My son wears Huggies most of the time (unless I find a better deal on Pampers), so I registered to receive Huggies e-mails and snail mail. I frequently receive mailers with valuable coupons inside. My recommendation is not to be picky with your brands. Register with Pampers, Huggies, Luvs, etc. to get the most savings. Think about all of the products your baby might use - Johnson's Baby, Desitin, Enfamil, Similac, Gerber, Beech Nut, Earth's Best, etc, etc. Register with those sites and watch the manufacturers try to earn your business!

3. Sign up for free parenting magazines. I will try to post these subscriptions as they become available. These usually have coupons inside as well as informative articles. You can also pick up copies of free magazines at Babies 'R Us.

4. Register at Target. You might be lucky enough to receive the elusive Target baby mailers. And since Target coupons will stack with manufacturer coupons, you will see even more savings.

5. Stock up! If you find a great sale on diapers, buy several packs. The average sale price on diapers is $8.99, but I hardly ever pay over $4 because I stockpile. On Black Friday, my mom and I bought 30 packs of Huggies at HyVee for $3.99 each. I won't be buying diapers for quite awhile!

What baby items would you like to save on? Leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer your questions!