Tuesday 3 January 2012

Diaper discussion

When I buy diapers, I NEVER purchase them without coupons. This is what I do: I go through all of the flyers in my local paper and check which store has Pampers or Huggies on sale (these diapers seem to work the best, in my experience. The stupid Seventh Generation ones rip and leak!). Then I price them per diaper using the sale price AND a coupon on top of the sale price. The most I've ever paid for a size-3 package is $0.16 per diaper.

So here's a little demo "case study": I have flyers from Walmart and Superstore. Walmart has a 222-pack of size-3 Pampers on sale for $32.99; Superstore has Pampers in a 172 pack for $28.99. I have a $2-off coupon. You'd think Superstore would be cheaper, but guess again.  According to my calculations, I would choose Walmart, as the package would be $0.13 per diaper. (If I were to go with Superstore AND use my coupon, it would be more expensive, as I would be paying $0.15 per diaper.) Many would think that my shopping technique is too frugal, BUT saving here and there goes a long way.

In my opinion, stocking up on diapers is a no-no. Here's why: babies grow FAST. You don't know how big they'll get. I used to think people said this to make conversation, but after having my own, I've realized that it actually means something! Babies tend to double their weight by the time they reach four months. So if your baby is only wearing size 2 for about a month and you've bought that size in bulk, you've wasted your money (and the diapers take up space!). I found purchasing NB diapers in bulk was a huge disadvantage: Although my daughter could have more than comfortably fit into size 1, I squeezed her little bottom into NB diapers because I had too many stored away. (Sorry, babes!) Generally speaking, today I purchase two boxes MAX in the diaper inventory.

Thoughts? Comments from lovers and haters are welcome! Bring it, biatch!

5 comments:

  1. i wish i had known that earlier...we r stuck with wat too many size 1 diapers. i guess i'll be making a lot of diaper cakes for baby showers!

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  2. Hmmm I left a comment but I don't know where it went.

    Our friends and family had a diaper party for us, and we received a TON of diapers. And a lot of the same size, before he could use them all.

    BUT, Walmart exchanges for the next size up, or different brand! So we didn't lose. You can stock up when there's sales, just don't open the boxes so you can exchange when needed! :)

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  3. Whoa, secret Walmart policy LOL! How did you find out, Sam?

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  4. a few friends had told me, so I just tried it. I've done it twice now! ;) They aren't really losing money, since your "trading" for the same dollar value as they are valued at for that moment. But I do them in boxes of 2's or so. If you go in with a lot I'm sure they would be skeptical.

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