Budget Shopping

Last Saturday my Mom and I decided to hit some Consignment Stores in our area to see what they had in terms of baby items. We had a list of about 2-3 stores that we had learned of and figured now is as a good a time as any.

I have never bothered with thrift/consignment stores or even discount stores, like Ross, simply because I do  not have the patience to "find" things however good a deal they may be. The racks upon racks of clothes are very overwhelming.  I need items displayed clearly where I can pick it off the shelf.  That is just my personality type, nothing against the stores or what they carry.

Since my pregnancy, however, I have become much more cognizant on how I spend money simply because now I am the sole earner for another person and its my responsibility to make sure she has a secure future. Plus with the potential job loss looming, I am buckling down even more.

When it came time for maternity shopping I decided that it made no sense to buy expensive maternity wear for two reasons (a) I work from home so luckily I do not need a full wardrobe  (b) this will likely be my only pregnancy so I don't want to spend a boatload of cash on clothes I will only wear for a  short time.  I decided to buy some over sized sweaters, maternity leggings and I also went to my first ever consignment store and bought two fairly decent tops.  I did buy a nice pair of maternity jeans from K.ohls which is my staple on weekends.  Most of the time I can still fit into my non maternity stretchable tops and all my winter coats so far.

In terms of shopping for baby, I want to keep things minimal and not splurge on needless items until I know more about what she will/will not like or use.

I decided early on that when it came to crib, stroller, car seat, mattress, play yard, toys I would buy new since they will get long use out of them. Plus I just feel its more sanitary (again my personal opinion).

I am however open to looking at unused baby clothes from consignment stores since (a) they can be washed (b) they will be used often and outgrown quickly, so while outfits from Gymobree or Baby Gap are nice, I don't see the point in buying everything from those type of stores.

I did end up buying three baby outfits from a consignment store, all of which still had original manufacturer tags on them so had never been worn.  I did not buy anything else but was good to know what is out there.
Later in the evening, I went to Ross to check out their kids section. 

It was pretty small section, but it had some really nice things so I picked up several onsies, bibs, washcloths, etc, so I am quite pleased with myself.  I even bought a cute set of 5 Calvin Klein onsies. I am, however, not going to buy tons of clothes in advance, just basics, since everything is available in stores, so I don't need to stockpile clothes at home.  Also, I do not know what her birth weight will be or how fast/slow she will grow.

Tomorrow, my Mom and I plan to drive to a store about 50 miles away which a neighbour told me has brand new baby clothes at huge discounts. It may be worth checking out.

In other news, the parts for the crib and changing table STILL have not shipped.

Luckily I have a direct line to the lady who placed my order. She too is frustrated since she had spoken with the warehouse manager on Wed.  Seems like since its a newer model, the new consignment is still in the dock and not been transferred to the warehouse. She thinks maybe Wed they will ship it and promised me 2nd day delivery.

Would have been faster to return these and get new ones online :-(  

I may still do that if I lose patience.