Tips from a seasoned mother: where to buy cheaper clothes, toys and strollers.
In one of the carefree months, I suddenly realized that there were a miserable couple of thousand in my wallet, and almost a week before my husband’s salary. It seems like you can live, but the aching feeling of financial insolvency did not let go. It was also tormenting that I am a mistress, apparently, so-so and my husband is not an oligarch.
– From tomorrow we begin to bring all income and expenses here, – I presented a lined notebook to Andrey at dinner. – Now we will take into account and write down all your unauthorized cakes and chocolates.
The husband grinned, but for the first couple of weeks he regularly reported expenses. Gasoline, food, rent – that’s all clear. But the most basic line is our daughter Marusya. There was not a single day when an expense did not appear in the Marusi column. That diapers, then a charming blouse, past which I just could not pass by, shoes and sneakers, panamas and books were multiplying.
At the family council, they decided: something must be done with materialism in favor of Marusya. And they did: the costs were reduced by more than two times.
Apparel
Each trip to a famous chain children’s store ended with a check for a couple of thousand. That the child needed pants, then a panama hat, then panties for diapers and instead of diapers. One set of socks – minus 500 rubles, a pair of T-shirts under the dress – another 900.
Having put an end to specialized children’s stores, we go to chain hypermarkets for underwear. The panties cost us 59 rubles. Quite decent. I bought three more pairs in a thrift store. Do not rush to throw stale tomatoes at me: I would not have bought used underwear myself, but then I got the set in its factory packaging. The calico set is simply created for the beach and for thrifty mothers, as it cost me 160 rubles, that is, a little more than 50 apiece.
In general, you can dress your child beautifully, fashionably and inexpensively in second-hand shops. Sometimes, at discounts, especially successful mothers even manage to buy something very branded and in perfect condition. There are no special shops nearby or are you shy? Direct path to free classifieds sites. That’s really there expanse. Clothes of expensive brands can be bought at a big discount, and besides, they are almost new. Wealthy people always have a lot of things, some of them children do not even have time to put on. A bit of advertising: now I’m trying to sell a DKNY jacket for 900 rubles. Even taking into account the fact that our dad ordered it from the States at a discount, it cost almost 10 times more.
Footwear
This is very expensive. If you buy shoes for yourself and wear them for several years, then the child has not really looked like in shoes, and his toes are already torn out, like in a cartoon about a wolf and a hare. There are several ways to minimize costs. First, buy shoes at sales. But here you run the risk of buying the wrong size. Now I am tempted to buy Marusa boots for the winter at a discount, but there is a danger that the 23rd size will be too small for her, and will she grow to the 24th? For example, since last winter, we have never worn charming pink felt boots – I took it for growth and did not guess.
The second option is, again, to buy shoes from hands. But not worn! Still, each child has his own foot position, someone clubfoot, someone shuffles, someone’s heel wears out unevenly. Orthopedists and adults do not recommend wearing shoes for someone, let alone children whose feet are just forming. But parents in the season sell a lot of new shoes, which they took for growth and made a mistake. For example, Ecco sandals can be bought for half the price. There are also private traders on these sites who buy wholesale children’s clothing in Europe and offer it on the Internet.
Diapers
Oh, how much money we send to the trash heap! Whether it was before – at first reusable gauze diapers, and then endless planting on a pot and washing, washing, washing. Our child prefers diapers from a popular Japanese brand. One large pack without a discount costs about 1700 rubles. After searching the Internet, I managed to find a store that offered diapers for 1000 rubles per pack and even kindly brought them home. The store has closed and I am now monitoring discounts using a dedicated app. If the price suits me, I buy the box right away.
By the way, my friends strongly recommend that I try my own brands of chain hypermarkets, they say, in quality they are not inferior to my Japanese ones, and the price pleases the mother’s heart. While my husband is on a business trip, perhaps I’ll buy and mix with ours. If he notices, he will run over that I am saving on the child.
Food
Say no to canned food right away if you want to save money. Banks will quickly clean your wallet from both unnecessary and not at all unnecessary bills. Even out of season, a head of cauliflower will cost you several times cheaper than ready-made puree. You can also use vegetables and fruits frozen in season. For example, all winter Marusya drank compote from frozen cherries and plums, which we sent for storage (after careful sorting, washing and packaging). Now is the season of strawberries and cherries – everything is in your hands.
Also, porridge from the package should be banned. If you don’t have time for long cooking, use cereals. They retain all the benefits of whole grains, but some don’t even need to be boiled.
From meat – turkey: quickly cooked, easily mashed, the absolute champion in health benefits.
Strollers, bicycles
We bought our strollers in the store. When I see prices for the same, only on the site of free classifieds, a buy-in tear comes to my eyes. The husband chose the lightweight stroller. I can’t say anything bad about it, as in advertising, it was easy to understand with one hand, weighed less than 6 kilograms, was bright and comfortable. But! Marusya skated on it ten times, and then refused to sit. More precisely, she sat in it, only raising her legs to her ears, rounding her back. I had to sell until a fragile spine began to strive for a circle. The transport was sold for less than half the price. But he was in perfect condition, on wheels and you will not say that they went out into the street.
In such an “ideal” on ad sites, a good half of strollers at quite ridiculous prices. Now all textiles can be removed, washed, there are dry cleaners that specialize in cleaning baby accessories. However, doctors advise against buying used wheelchairs. But walking is possible.
You can also buy sledges, snow-scooters, bicycles and balance bikes at online flea markets. Especially for the category from a year to three. Children grow up very quickly, practically do not have time to use it, and some simply refuse a gift from their parents or loving grandmothers.
We bought a new running bike for kids, in a package. It was just that some child was given two at once for a year. In the end, Marusia was not interested in him, and I, having reduced the price by half more, handed it over to an excellent boy for use, who immediately realized what to do with him.
And also – catch promotions for strollers in stores. Just the other day, in one of the St. Petersburg hypermarkets, a cane stroller was sold for 199 rubles. Previously, it cost 1800. But by the season, marketers decided to stir up interest. By the way, in some stores they have not even been sold out yet. The stroller is simple, but it goes for 199 rubles – and great. If it breaks, do not mind.
Furniture
This time I will not advise Avito and Yulu, nevertheless furniture for children is a rather intimate subject. Although, with good processing, it is quite possible to afford a used bed, only replace the mattress. But I would recommend a well-known Swedish furniture manufacturer. Only his furniture is not at the full price, but from the Out department. They sell exhibition samples and items with minor defects, as well as furniture out of the range. For example, we bought a growing bed for Marusya for 4 thousand rubles instead of the standard 10.
We also bought a highchair there. Of course, everyone has their own requirements for this piece of furniture, but this particular model, according to the reviews of familiar mothers, is the most successful. The chair costs less than a thousand rubles, it is durable, it is not for nothing that you can find it in almost every restaurant and cafe, it is easy to clean due to the fact that it is made entirely of plastic, takes up little space and is very popular with children.
Toys
We bought a lot of toys in stores with a fixed price. If in children’s department stores a doll costs about 500 rubles, then there we found a baby doll for only 99. A decent baby doll, to which you can add a stroller, a crib, a car seat, a pot, a set of dishes and many, many outfits to the dowry. There are also sold wonderful books, educational kits, crayons, pencils, plasticine, sketchbooks.
My parents have kept many toys since Soviet times. Marusia gladly accepted a huge potato sack with my dolls as a present. And dishes from Soviet childhood are the envy of her one and a half year old friends in the sandbox.
Do you save on children?