Mommy Cheapskate

Mommy Cheapskate Event #1 - an outing to BJ's Wholesale Club. Mark and I were temporary members of BJ's this summer, when they mailed us a coupon for a free 60-day trial. We learned during this trial that we don't need to buy in bulk, and that most things on their shelves are pretty much the same price at Wal-Mart or Big Lots anyway (but without the members fee), so we decided not to extend the membership. However, before our summer trial expired, we did stock up on cases of baby food and Zyrtec (remember my hives?), two things that are substantially cheaper at BJ's than anywhere else we've found. Little did we know (back then, when we were naively optimistic about the whole hive situation) we still had months and months and many many doses of Zyrtec in my future. (Do you know how expensive that stuff is? If you don't, count your blessings.) So when we got a BJ's one-day membership pass and a $5 Zyrtec coupon in the mail, I jumped at the opportunity to get back into the bulk-buying mindset. Except by the time I got around to going to BJ's (yesterday) and redeeming said coupon, BJ's had stopped doing the one-day membership thing. Even though my coupon had expired (not their fault), and even though I wasn't a member with them, they graciously offered to set me up with another 60-day trial (I promise I told them I had just done it over the summer but they insisted it was ok), so I took it. The bad news (besides a slight lingering guilt over the second free trial that I feel relatively sure I won't end up purchasing) is that it's still cheaper to buy Nathan's diapers in smaller packs (with a $1.50 coupon per) from Wal-Mart, and submit each receipt for a $1 rebate from the Caregivers Marketplace (again, only on the small packs) than to buy in bulk from BJ's (that $1.50 coupon doesn't lower the per-diaper cost very much when you're applying it to 200 diapers instead of 40). The good news is that we did stock up on Zyrtec and Tylenol, and we still have 60 days to pray for BJ's diaper coupons, which (word on the street says) are worth $5 instead of just $1.50.

But this whole issue brings up a question: Am I the only one out there who doesn't like the idea of paying a membership fee to save money? I don't even like paying for insurance; this whole mindset sort of escapes me (pay money now, in case you have to pay more later.... whaaaaat?) ... even when I crunch the numbers, we only save if we shop there and nowhere else. Which seems to help the store more than it helps me.

Mommy Cheapskate Event #2 - yard sale rummaging. One designated Saturday in every spring and fall, our neighborhood (snobbier than it deserves to be, let me assure you) allows yard sales, and all the streets are filled with cheap secondhand goods, and the middle-aged women (since it's Raleigh, they're all Claymates; let's just call a spade a spade) who weave their cars in and around (blocking traffic in most cases) to shop for said secondhand goods. Normally I spend these weekends inside my house with my hands clamped over my ears, curled into the fetal position, humming loudly. But today I ventured out there with the Claymates and did some negotiating. I actually did my shopping on the way home from Gymboree, in the last hour of the sale, when I figured people would rather sell me their stuff at a fraction of the original yard-sale (already cheap) price than haul it back into their houses. Boy, was I right. Yes, I did miss out on the early morning prime goods, but since I needed mostly baby stuff (of which there is an abundance in the yard-sale market), that was ok with me. Here's what I scored:

1.) A small statue of half a football (complete with tiger paw) sunk into a pedestal. How can Mark's sports room be complete without this? (Really my nice old lady neighbor came to the house yesterday to give me first dibs on the sale, so I couldn't not buy it.) $4.
2.) A push toy for Nathan. He needed one oh-so-badly and I know we're bad parents for not providing him one yet. We were very specific with what we wanted (tall enough for him to actually hold, no bar he had to straddle when pushing, etc.) The one I found today was originally caked in dirt and old garage-dust, which took some bleach, water (don't tell the draught authorities, mmmkay?) and elbow grease to remove, but now that it's all cleaned up, I am reassured it was definitely a steal. $1.
3.) A collared shirt for Nathan, size 18 months, that buttons under the diaper (read: stays tucked into pants), onesie-style. Do you know how hard it is to find church clothes for a toddler, especially ones that will stay presentable for more than ten minutes? Score! 25c¢.
4.) A stack of books including one by the supernanny, what-to-expect (toddler years), and several plastic bath books and board books for Nathan. $2.
5.) A plastic rocking horse. No, it's not as cool as Wonder, who still lives at my mom's and is now entertaining his second generation of children. But it's small, and therefore a little more manageable for Nathan at this age. He loves sitting on anything with handles, and rocking himself back and forth (yes, this includes grocery carts... I'm sure people are staring as we shop). And anything that results in a happy (and busy!) toddler is money well spent. $5.

Mommy Cheapskate Event #3 - timing a diaper sale just right. No, I'm not done talking about diapers. (Sorry.) I had a coupon valid for $5 off a $20 purchase at a drugstore nearby, valid yesterday and today. This same drugstore is scheduled to have diapers on sale starting tomorrow. I read somewhere online that that their sales, advertised to start on Sundays, actually go into effect once the signage is posted on Saturday evenings. So I went to check it out, and it was true. So I got to take advantage of the sale and the coupon. And I'm glad I went early, since I got the last two packs in Nathan's size (and also learned why they never have had his size in the past, when I show up on day three of the sale). Know what else? I didn't even really need the coupon, since a very nice man saw me loading up on diapers and gave me his coupon (they didn't have what he wanted anyway). Cheers to generous strangers, right?