written by: Sari Holtz

Let’s face it – the challenge of taking your children to a store (ANY store!) is extremely overwhelming. From the whining and begging to the bathroom breaks and fast breaks away from you, taking your child to a store is a task that isn’t for the faint-of-heart. And in your rush to get out of the store, you may inadvertently throw so much stuff in your cart that you may need local movers to help you get home. Fortunately, the invention of the internet has made it possible to shop for your children without taking them to the store. Here are four children’s items that are highly worth buying online so that you can save both money and sanity.

1. Clothing. Children become fashion-conscious from a young age, and if your son or daughter loves getting new clothing, taking him or her to the store can become quite expensive. Instead, sign on to your favorite store (or stores) and browse the clearance sections for items that are in your budget and that you think your child will like. Don’t forget to look for online coupons to maximize your savings. You can also sign up to the newsletters of your favorite stores to get exclusive online deals that will make saving even easier. Once you’ve narrowed down your options, allow your child to choose from the items you’ve selected – you’ll be amazed at how quick and painless the experience can be.
2. Shoes. If you think that it’s too hard to buy shoes online without trying them on, think again. With children, chances are good that if they’ve outgrown their current shoes, they’ll advance to the next size – and that it’ll probably fit just fine. Dragging your child to the store to try on 15 pairs of shoes is a time-consuming, hair-raising experience that can easily be avoided by shopping online. If you order from a local chain retailer you can often return the shoes in the store to avoid return shipping charges. And, oftentimes shoes are cheaper online than they are in the store, so even if you must pay for shipping, you still won’t be overpaying.
3. Dinner. If you’re planning on a family dinner, a great way to save money is to order in. Not only will you avoid paying a steep tip, but you’ll avoid a scene as your child begs you for an expensive desert or can’t make up his mind about which entrée to order. Since most restaurants now offer free delivery and menus online you should have no trouble placing an order and enjoying your dinner at home.
4. Books. Your children either love reading or hate it. But whether they’re begging for every book in the store or refusing to accept any of them, a trip to the bookstore is just asking for trouble. Purchasing your books online can save you big money, especially if you purchase used editions. Make sure you factor shipping costs into the price of the book to ensure that you’re still getting a good deal. When you’re finished, sell your books back and use the money to purchase more books for yourself or your children.

About this Author
Sari Holtz is the blogger for Billy.com, an online savings club that provides great deals on everything from moving services to milk. Follow her on Twitter @Billy_Com.

Posted by Sok on October 20, 2010     Tags: Back to School , Savings for Babies

Ah what a blessing, a new member of the family. As a new uncle to two awesome nephews (2 and a half & 9 months) I have experienced first hand, as I'm sure many of you have, just how exciting a new addition to the family tree can be. But I have also seen just how much "stuff" it requires to raise a baby, and how quickly the bill for all that "stuff" can sky-rocket. I know that's the last thing I want to worry about once my first li'l one arrives so I figured I'd better start searching -and saving- for the best places to shop online for the lowest prices and the best deals on baby products. And who would I be not to take you along for the ride?!

I must say that Dimples Baby is a terrific resource when it comes to finding anything baby. They are your one-stop shop for strollers, gear, furniture, bedding, toys, and much more, and with a price-match guarantee on every product, their prices can't be beat. Not to mention they don't charge sales tax, and when you factor in their free shipping and available coupon codes, the savings can really add up. Take advantage of CouponShack's exclusive Dimples Baby coupon codes 'CouponShack10' and 'CouponShack15' to save up to 15% off your entire order.

Babyage is another great place to find baby products, and their new arrivals offer savings of over 40%. Their exclusive Phil & Teds "Graffiti" Collection is great for the more contemporary family as well. Plus when you sign up to receive their email newsletter you'll get $10 off your next order. This is not only clutch for the savings, but you'll be in the loop for future promotions too.

Remember to keep an eye on your local circulars, online grocery coupons, and retailers like Diapers.com for essentials such as diapers, formula, wipes, etc. You can usually find great savings, especially when you buy in bulk; you can rest assured that you're gonna need a ton of these types of products!

Posted by Ryan on June 18, 2010     Tags: Savings for Babies

I am the proud mom to an amazing, and very soon to be 10 year’s old, little girl, Maddie. Her birthdays are a day for celebration in our home, one I always want to make very special for her. If you don’t already know, then you will quickly find out when planning your first child’s birthday party, they can cost a fortune!

Since my daughter is turning 10, that means I have a decade of experience under my belt in planning fun, memorable and very importantly… affordable birthday parties. One piece of advice is to start planning early. Maddie’s birthday is in late February, we always start planning the first of January. That way, I know I have time to research, shop, and get the great DEALS!

All great parties start with a guest list and guests mean invitations. Don’t waste your gas on the trip to the store for those overpriced pre-packaged, fill in the blank invites. My suggestion would be to design your own and print with Overnight-Prints. If you aren’t a whiz with design programs, no worries! They have thousands of designs you can easily manipulate to make them your own, and then simply select your quantity. On the other hand, if you like to get creative, then you can design the invitations entirely on your own (how cool to have your child’s image on the invite!) and then upload directly. Once your quantity is selected you can simply sit back and wait for them to arrive in the mail.

Of course, no child’s party will get beyond the planning phase without a theme. From the tiny tots with Thomas the Train, Dora The Explorer, and Elmo, to the tweens who are all about Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place and The Jonas Brothers and even the teens who love the Twilight Saga…you simply have to have a theme for the party. The theme will be evident in all of your details and you can keep it simple with just cups, plates, napkins, etc., or you can go all out with balloons, wall decals, and even specially designed candy bars(how fun!). Regardless of the theme you choose you will want to start your shopping at ShindigZ. You can even get ideas for your themes here. My daughter loves to browse the site to see what they have for different themes and it gets her involved in the planning stages also. This is the fun part, and a very fun site! Shop and get great discounts on your paper goods, games, even party favors, all without driving around town from party store to party store and saving money in the process.

Enjoy your child’s birthday and party with them. They all pass far too quickly so make them special and memorable, but with these tips you can also make them affordable. After all, you still have the all important gifts to buy too.

Posted by Kelly on February 17, 2010     Tags: Savings for Babies

Christmas will be extra special this year. This will be my first Christmas as a dad. I feel like a little kid again with all the excitement and anticipation. We've decorated the house and hung our stockings. Next up is the Christmas tree. We'll go Friday to the local tree farm and cut down or first Christmas tree as a family. I know Hattie is way to young to know what's going on, but in time this will be one of her most (and ours) memorable experiences. We'll find that perfect tree to bring home and decorate. Then, Christmas morning, we'll sit down, underneath the tree and help little Hattie open up all her presents. I'll share them with you since we don't have to worry about her finding out. (yet) By the way, these are presents for both her and the family.

• Personalized Calendar - We used iPhoto from Apple to create personalized calendars for each family member. Each month has a picture of that family member with Hattie. Prices start at $19.99 so it's not too expensive for such a unique gift that's specific to each recipient.
• Handprint Ornament - We're making moulds of Hattie's hand and turning them into Christmas ornaments for everyone. It's basically just plaster, but you can get an ornament kit at PersonalizationMall for just $13.55.
• Canvas Print - I took a picture of Hattie and her mother and sent it to CanvasPress to have them turn it into a canvas print. Don't worry, she already knows.
• Your Baby Can Read - I'm a little bit of a skeptic on this gift so I won't recommend it until I see it first hand. It sounds really great. Supposedly you can teach your baby to read from as early as 3 months. It's available at YourBabyCanRead.com for $199.95 or you can take the 30 day trial for $14.95.
• Exersaucer - From my research, Evenflo makes the best Excersaucer. They're made for babies 6-24 months. If you're not familiar with this, the Excersaucer is an activity center that your baby can sit in. It's an active learning center. We found WalMart had the best price at $51.

Posted by Sok on December 02, 2009     Tags: Savings for Babies

We get manufacturer's coupons in the mail all the time, but we often let them expire. We either forget about them, prefer a different brand, or can't find a retail store that sells it cheaper than Walmart or Target (with the coupon). The bottom line is we miss out on these valuable savings.

What I found out today, though, is that I can use these coupons and get the lowest price. I know I've written blogs before about the tremendous savings at Diapers.com, but this is something brand new that I did not know about before. My wife actually came across this when she was shopping for some more diapers. What we found out was that Diapers.com accepts manufacturer's coupons for diapers, formula, and wipes.

Here's how it works. Gather all the coupons that you have for these items and mail them to:

Diapers.com
P.O. Box 1564
Montclair, NJ 07042

Include your name, email address, and billing address with the mail-in. Upon receiving them, Diapers.com will apply them to your user account. Diapers.com will then send them in to the manufacturer. In the meantime you can apply the discount to your next purchase of those specific items.

Quote from Diapers.com:
You can view your coupons by logging in and going to "My Account" and then clicking on "My Manufacturer Coupons." On the shopping cart screen, your coupons will automatically be applied to eligible purchases. *You no longer need to enter an electronic code to apply them.

Posted by Sok on October 05, 2009     Tags: Savings for Babies

By far, the most expensive item for an infant is formula. (aside from medical bills) If you can avoid formula, it can sure save you a bundle. Unfortunately, we were unable to avoid using formula. We first tried Enfamil because we had a free sample from the hospital, but had to quickly re-think things when we ran out. It was $27 for a 24 oz can of powder. That's a lot, considering we're going through one of those cans a week with our 1 month old (she's 1 month old today).

My first thought was to look online to see if it was any cheaper. Sadly, I could not find anything that was significantly cheaper. I thought I was stuck paying $27 a can until I noticed the generic brand at our local CVS drugstore. The CVS brand was $10 cheaper! Of course, my first thought was, "Does this have the same nutritional benefits?".

My wife and I did the research to see if there were any consequences to giving our child generic formula. We read all the message boards and baby sites and just about everyone said that there was no difference. I went back to CVS and compared the ingredients and nutritional information between the name brand and generic brand formulas and actually found that they were the exact same, word for word.

I came back home and researched some more and found that baby formula is actually heavily regulated by the FDA to meet certain nutritional standards. Congress actually passed the 1980 Infant Formula Act give the FDA more control over the manufacture and distribution of infant formula.

Now I was certain that the generic formula was just as good as the brand formula. So to sum it all up, here is how you can really save on formula. Go with generic. I chose the CVS brand, which was $10 cheaper. I also had a $5 coupon which was good for purchases of $30 or more. I bought two cans and used the coupon which made my unit cost just $14.50 a can. That's a cost of 6 cents an ounce compared to the 1.125 cents an ounce with the name brand formula. By the way, CVS gives us a $5 coupon with every purchase. I've got 3 saved on the refrigerator door right now. I know it's hard, but if you can get over the idea of giving your baby generic formula, you'll really save a ton of money!

Posted by Sok on August 30, 2009     Tags: Deal , Savings for Babies

Ok, I'm a bit of a dork, but I was so excited about this purchase I had to share. It was time for some more diapers so I shopped around for the best price and Diapers.com still had the best price so I went with that. I got a pack of 84 Pampers Swaddlers Newborn diapers for $20.99. Plus they came with a free Pampers Sensitive Thick Wipes (60 ct). I also needed some more Dr Brown's and found a reasonable deal at $16.99 for a 3 pack. By the way, these bottles virtually eliminate any air bubbles so your baby is not nearly as gassy! So the sub total came out to $58.97, which isn't bad, but I had a $10 coupon. (used coupon code: 10OFF49) That brought it down to $48.97 for the entire order. And to top it off they sent me another $3 off coupon for the next order. (CBJUL3)

I then followed up this order with one from Vitamin Shoppe where I found a great deal on Fenugreek. If you're not familiar, Fenugreek helps increase your milk production, though it makes you smell like maple syrup! Recommended dosage is 2400 mg per day so I was able to find some 610 mg Fenugreek pills so my wife wouldn't have to take so many. (the other pills were 250 mg) Anyway, Vitamin Shoppe had these capsules for just $6.89 for a bottle of 100. Didn't have a coupon for this order, but the price was still the lowest per unit that I found! Stay tuned for more baby Hattie supplies!

Posted by Sok on August 18, 2009     Tags: Savings for Babies

On July 30th I became a Dad for the first time. Our baby girl Hattie was born at 11:09 am, was 18.5 inches long and weighed just 6lbs 14ozs. It was truly the most amazing experience I have been through. From elation to exhaustion, every moment was truly worth it. Now comes the fun part of learning to take care of a child!

I do have some recommendations, now that I have some first hand experience. I think first and foremost, the most important thing we learned is to be willing to adapt and change from the current plan. We were determined that we were going to breastfeed. The problem was that Hattie was having a hard time learning to breastfeed. She wasn't getting enough and would cry and get frustrated. Finally we had to adapt and go to a breast pump and bottle feed. This instantly worked for us!

If you're experiencing the same thing and decide to give this option a try, I do recommend going with an automatic dual breast pump like the Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breast Pump found at Babies R Us. It has interchangeable breast shields so you can purchase the one that makes you most comfortable.

People kept telling me you went through a lot of diapers, but I never imagined this many. It made me start looking into other options to try and save some money. I found that it was cheaper to buy diapers online from stores like Diapers.com. Take for example the Pampers Swaddlers Preemie Diapers. (I highly recommend these over the Huggies) You can buy 80 diapers for $21.99. Enter the coupon code BCBABY5 and you'll get an additional $5 off. That makes it just $16.99 or 21.24 cents a diaper. (Shipping is free orders of $49 or more) Compare that to an average cost of 40-50 cents each at the store and you've got a huge savings!

I'm still learning about ways to save money and care for the baby. It's a lot of work, but I wouldn't trade it for anything else!

Posted by Sok on August 06, 2009     Tags: Deal , Savings for Babies