Info: Children Are Expensive Little Creatures! Money Saving Tips…

When you became a parent, did you have any clue just how much money your children were going to cost you? I can tell you for sure that I have been surprised! From diapers to food to birthday parties to extra curricular activities and much, much more – children are super expensive little creatures. However, I also wouldn’t change anything in the world!

One thing that I have started to research is how to save more money! I’m a bargain hunter and maybe even at times a penny pincher. I know how to find a good deal and when I do, I take good advantage of it and today I am going to share some of my money saving tips with you.

The internet is FULL of deals! You can subscribe to e-newsletters that send you deals right to your inbox!

Three websites that also have e-newsletters and are directly related to children and families and feature CANADIAN offers are:

• Mom n’ Tot Deals

 

• Peachy Buy

 

• Sweet Mommy Deals

I love all three of these sites, each for a different reason. You can get daily deals from various companies (often more than 50% off), coupons, sales, free shipping and more by visiting the above websites and/or subscribing to their free newsletters.

Children’s clothing, accessories and toys are another HUGE expense! There are a few places where you can buy used items and then you can also sell your items to make back some of your money that you have spent.

Once Upon a Child is just one example of a store that buys and sells gently used clothing. What I have always liked about Once Upon a Child is that they carefully go over each item that comes into their stores. They inspect them and they also check all baby equipment for safety recalls.

Freecycle and Kijiji are two online sites where you can find used items in your area as well.

Can I share a little tip for how to make rubber boots last a wee bit longer? Buy them a bit on the larger side and stuff the ends with cotton balls! Rubber boots are meant to be a bit “floppy” anyhow and the cotton makes them fit better and be comfy on those adorable, little sausage toes. Just don’t forget that the cotton is there like I did once….my son reached into his boot, pulled out the cotton and asked me, “Mommy what’s this?” Oops. No wonder those boots were getting harder and harder to get on his feet.

When it comes to saving money, who doesn’t love a good sale? Me! Me! Sign me up!

Warehouse sales, closing sales and tent sales are three places where I tend to find amazing deals. I have been known to stock up a few times a year at these types of sales for Birthday and Christmas gifts! When you have young children, there are always birthday parties to go to. Kids are kids, many of them like similar things. If you can stereotype a bit (which I don’t always like to do and I am the first to admit that there certainly are exceptions to the rule!), you are sure to hit the nail on the head if you are to stock up on a few girly items and a few boyish items for your chldrens’ age group. At the end of the year, I always donate whatever I haven’t used to Childrens’ Charities.

One website that I have found recently that shares so many amazing warehouse sales around the Toronto and Greater Toronto area is ShoeStringShopping.com. You can go to their website and find current sales and you can also sign up for their newsletter to get them sent right to your inbox. They even have the sales organized on their site by category! Amazing!

Here are some more deal sites that you may be interested in subscribing to. You can specify your city and receive deals that are relevant to your location with these sites.
Living Social
Dealivery
Voucher Codes
Red Flag Deals
One Spout
Deal Find
Groupon
Wag Jag

Another website that I found that seems to be a one stop place for “money saving tips” for Canadians is Simply Frugal.

When it comes to saving money, one way that some people like to save is by using coupons. The person who inspired me to start “clipping coupons” is Canadian Coupon Mom. On her blog, she often writes about how much she saves each week on her groceries by using various coupons. She also provides her readers with some incredible money saving tips! She truly inspired me to start looking into my money spending habits, particularly in the area of groceries.

Some other Canadian coupon sites are:
Grocery Alerts
Yummy Canada (Dining Coupon Website)
Fabulous Savings
Coupon Chick
Web Saver
Save.ca
Brandsaver.ca
Coupon Click
Think Coupons
Johnson & Johnson Contests and Coupons
General Mills Offers and Perks

I will continue to search for ways to save money and as I do, I will share them with you as I believe in sharing information with others as much as I can! This was what motivated me to start Multi-Testing Mommy in the first place.

Disclaimer: I was the recipient of the Spring 2011 Mom Central Canada Blogger Grant, and have received compensation for the above post.