The first time one finds out they’re pregnant can either be a very happy moment or a painful memory. Whatever the initial feeling is, nine times out of ten, it goes away and women go into crazy baby preparation mode. We come up with nursery themes and stick with them to the fullest. When I was preparing for Jaylen, I was stuck on blue & brown. This quickly turned into a monkey theme after a 4 hour trip to Babies R’Us to start our registry. I wanted Jaylen to have everything I saw! My registry turned into a nine page novel of all sorts of crap that I still have yet to use.
After Jaylen was born, I started to see the mistakes I made and how much money family and friends spent on my child! It was maybe six months into his life when I had to start buying him stuff. Money immediately was crawling out of my butt. I found myself arguing with my computer while shopping online… like why is this cute onesie $25 or why can’t I find shoes lower than $40? I found the magic of sales… but even this just wasn’t enough, I needed more. I was on a mission to save money but still give my child good, quality items.
This was around the time where I also became addicted to watching vlogs. Vlogs are video blogs from basically anyone… generally posted on YouTube. A few of my favorites are The Nive Nulls, Daily Davidsons, GabeBabeTV, and Latoya’s Life! They’re entertaining, sometimes informative, 15- 20 minute videos documenting their daily life. These families make majority of their money from sponsors and this, my friend, is how my life changed for the better.
Zulily – I first heard about this site from one of my Youtube families. Zulily is life. They have daily deals on great brands and all items are NEW. Categories include – women, men, baby, home, toys and other featured themes for the day/month. I’ve purchased so many great items for up to 70% off their original prices! Jaylen, at one point, was obsessed with those drinkable yogurt things from Plum Organics, which so happened to be featured on Zulily one week. I bought 10 boxes of 20 for $25 TOTAL. I purchased a 27-piece glass drinking set normally $60 for $20. And I recently purchased for baby #2 a four pack of Aden and Anais swaddle blankets, that usually cost way too much, for only $15! Let’s just say I LOVE Zulily!
Cons: packages take a while to get to you. I would say it normally takes me 2-3 weeks to receive shipping information. Also, deals don’t last very long. Typically, a deal will last for 2-3 days so you have to act fast!
ThredUp – This is another site that I heard about I believe from GabeBabeTV. This is like a high-end online salvation army. ThredUp is a resale site, but the catch is they only accept certain brands such as Gap, J. Crew, Gymboree, Marc by Marc Jacobs… and many more. Sorry men, you won’t be able to find any items for yourself because the site only sells women and children items. So far, I’ve really cashed out on Deuce’s clothes. I’m able to purchase outfits for him for $4-5 dollars each. The quality is amazing! It’s like they’re brand new! I also bought myself maternity jeans for work, plus three more regular jeans, for $20 total! Shipping is SO FAST! It took me less than a week to receive my purchased clothes. They have free returns and the process is smooth. One of the pants I bought was a little tighter than I preferred and I returned it without any hassle! You can send clothes in as well to sell. They send you a big prepaid polka dot bag, including a list of the brands they will accept, and you can fill it up to your liking. I recently sent in a bag of Jaylen’s old clothes (that I didn’t like very much) and some of mine as well… still waiting to hear back on how much money I made!
Con: Returns are for store credit only!
Mom to Mom Facebook Groups – If you’re a mom and you’re not connected to a resale group online, then WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! These have been a life saver. You can literally find anything on there for so cheap. I recently purhcased a practically brand new Chico KeyFit 30 infant car seat for Duece for $50 and a Fisher Price My Little Lamb infant swing for $30. These are just two of the many purchases I’ve made. 90% of Jaylen’s toys are from these sale groups.. I even bought furniture when I lived with my ex. Generally, the women are super nice. I’ve sold items as well out of these groups. I would reccomennd meeting in a public place when exchanging items, just to be on the safe side. I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with Mom to Mom groups!
Last but not least:
Target – By far my favorite store of all times and probably one of your favorites too.. but here’s a little advice: CHECK OUT THE CHILDREN’S CLEARANCE /SALE RACK. THANK ME LATER. 🙂
I’m saving a lot of money this time around! It’s great to not be stressed about the expenses of having another child.
**None of these websites mentioned have sponsored this blog in any way! I was not paid for this. These are my personal opinons**
The Chronicles of KayCee. 