Diapers deals

I recently posted on my Facebook account that I stocked up on a bunch of diapers for my 2 year old and for my baby due in May. Diapers have no expiration and are always needed at my house, so when I see a deal, I try to stock up.

I follow a blog called Freebies 2 Deals and she posts all kinds of good deals. She posted some diaper deals on Amazon the other day and I decided that I need to put a new price list together for diapers.

That and the reaction from my Facebook post lead me to this post.

So first of all, I personally do not have a serious brand preference. I haven't ever had a problem with any certain brand so I just buy what is cheap. I have some diapers that I like (Walgreens brand, Luvs, and Pampers Swaddlers for newborns) but I just buy what's a good deal. And I base a good deal on the price of Wal-Mart's Parent's Choice brand price.

Here are the lowest prices on that brand, per diaper:

Newborn= $.14/diaper

Size 1= $.12/diaper

Size 2= $.14/diaper

Size 3= $.14/diaper

Size 4= $.16/ diaper

Size 5= $.18/diaper

Size 6= $.21/diaper

Usually the cheapest ones are the biggest packages, but not always so watch for that. For example, the smaller package of size 2 diapers at Wal-Mart are a little cheaper than the big box. ($.004 cheaper to be precise, so you have to be a super nerd like me to care about that.)

SO, now you have a basis of where to start. From here you can watch for deals. My favorite places for diaper deals are Walgreens and Amazon.

Every few months, Walgreens has a deal Buy One, Get One 50% off. If you love these diapers or if you don't want to go to Wal-Mart, the diapers are a pretty good price with this sale, although they are at least 2 cents more a diaper more than the Parent's Choice base price. About a year ago there was a sale that was Buy One, Get One Free and that made the diapers much less than the base price.

THIS WEEK: Walgreens diapers are on sale for 2 for $10. That makes them as cheap or cheaper than the base price. The smallest sizes are the best deals! Newborn=$.12/diaper, Size 1=$.10/diaper and Size 2= $.12/diaper. These are stock up prices!

To get them even cheaper, you can buy them online. If you use Ebates, a site that gives you cash back at certain stores, you can log in through there and get 3.5% cash back. And if you spend $30 or more, you can use the coupon code SURVEYTHANKS which gives you $5 off. Also, any purchase $25 and over is free shipping.

The only thing about buying them online is that you have a limit of 2 per size. For me, that didn't make a difference in getting to $30. I purchased 2 size 1, 2 size 2 and 2 size 3. With the sale, that brought my total to $30. Then I applied the coupon code and my total was $25. I will get $.88 back on Ebates and then tax was $1.50.

So in the end I got 256 diapers for $25.62!! That's an average of $.10/diaper!!!
 

Amazon is a little more complicated. First of all, prices on Amazon change constantly. Also, Amazon has a Subscribe and Save option, which gives you a cheaper price for signing up for a regular delivery of certain products. You can pick different increments, but you can also cancel at any time, so it's there are no strings attached.

Another thing about Amazon is that they have Amazon Moms and Amazon Prime which you have to pay a yearly fee for but it gives you 2-day shipping and discounts on a lot of products, especially the Subscribe and Save items. I personally do not have Amazon Prime because I don't think that I order enough to save me the $79/year fee.

If the prices on Amazon are close and you enjoy not having to go to the store for diapers, then this is a great option. I just ordered some size 3 Luvs on Amazon for almost $.15 a diaper, so about a penny a diaper more than the Parent's Choice brand. Usually, I care about small things like this because even a penny a diaper adds up...BUT I personally try to avoid Wal-Mart as much as possible. So buy ordering diapers on Amazon, I may be paying about $2 more than buying them at Wal-Mart, but I also save money on whatever I might have picked up walking around the store or even just the time I spend getting there. Sometimes the convenience of getting something shipped to your home is worth a couple of bucks.

If you have a specific brand that you need, you can make your own price list of that brand and compare sales to that price. If you like Pampers and Huggies, there are often coupons in newspapers and online, so be on the look out or ask your friends.

While we're talking about diapers, we need to pay our respects to the baby wipe. Also a necessary items in my household. Based on the Parent's Choice unscented wipes, my base price is 1.7 cents per wipe. Again, I don't have sensitive kids and like the good old cheap wipes, so I get whatever is cheapest. I'm spoiled though because my mom usually brings my a box of wipes from Sam's Club when she visits.

Although wipes do not last forever, they will last a year or so unopened and can be used for many things in addition to wiping baby bottoms, so this can be a great addition to any family's storage.