Best Deal For Earth Day in Baltimore!

April 22, 2012, the National Aquarium in Baltimore is celebrating with a tree-planting ceremony and various other "green" activities.

Ride your bike, and get a free tuneup from Joe's Bike Shop.

No Fool Here.... Multiples Discounts

BOGO Baby: The Blog began as a treatise on how to save money with twins (or more). I recently heard about a group Mothers of Super Twins, "founded in 1987...the leading national nonprofit provider of support, education and research on higher-order multiple births."

They provide this handy list of company freebies and discounts for multiples families. Shoes, formula, portraits, various toy companies.... the list is long. The site includes a sample letter for you to copy and amend for your needs.

They also have a list of freebie sites, coupons, articles, and more for mothers of multiples.

Savings Idea #3: Earn by Selling

Savers are “scrappers” at heart. It’s a funny old term. Scrapper. My Granny was a scrapper. The dictionary definition is: “a person who removes or does away with scraps,” which fits nicely with my desire to reuse and recycle. It can also mean a fighter. To Granny a scrapper was someone who got down and did the work necessary for earning a living.

The consignment sales discussed last week can be money-makers for you. In 2011, I participated in two Consignment sales for our mom’s group (CAMOM), and earned serious cash for the twins’ 529 Plan. I sell books to a local reseller, and have sold off old appliances rather than letting the delivery guys haul them away (even broken ones can be recycled for cash). I have sold some small items on eBay, though it makes more sense to me to use an intermediary like I Sold It for larger items ($50+) than deal with it myself.

If your community hosts a yard sale day, join! We earned over $200 at each of our last two yard sales for scraps we didn’t want or never used: lamps, building supplies and tools, old bikes, kitchenware, working electronics, and goods NWT sell easily (more about yard selling in the spring). Consignment stores earn you the lowest percentage, but I’ve tried them. Even donations can garner your extra bucks back in tax breaks, but keep careful records.

Scrappers know nothing is scrap. Everything has some value, and it may be worth your time to sell that old appliance on Craig’s list. Have a beat up auto that hasn’t run in 10 years in your yard? Sell it for scrap and get $300 to $500 and have it hauled away free. If a contractor offers to haul off the “scrap” from a job for free, consider carefully. Those holey copper gutters you replaced, brass faucets, and ancient chandelier are composed of valuable metals. Even old wiring has copper in it which recycling centers will pay for. These will earn your contractor a profit at the local for-profit recycling center; insist he leave valuable metals behind for you to recycle into cash.

Stop lugging around those old college texts and half-read books. BookHolders has locations in MD, VA, Austin TX, Tampa FL, and Morgantown WV. Half-price books has locations in various states. Essentially, these resellers will buy your books outright, or list them online and pay you as they sell. Bookholders mails me a check when they sell something. Bookholders will store them, list them for 18 months, then donate or return them. We figure we’ve earned more than $200 since we began lugging our unwanted books to their storefront shop in College Park. Check near your local university for second-hand booksellers.

You can also find resellers for CDs and DVDs, auction houses for old furniture, jewelers who buy the vintage jewelry you never wear, and pawn shops for electronics, valuable coins, and scrap jewelry. Even Amazon will outright buy your out-of-print books on occasion.

Granny used to keep everything for 7 years; if she didn’t find a use for it, she’d pass it on to someone who did. The point is, before you trash or donate something, think creatively. Is it intrinsically valuable (made of a valuable material), or still useable (good items for Craig’s list)? Do you have a place to store items for a yard sale? Before you unload all your old goods into the donation pile, take them first to an appropriate reseller, who will buy what they want and return the rest. If you can’t sell it, or don’t want to, donate the old car to Purple Heart, books to the library, clothes and household goods to Goodwill, and take the tax write-off; for every $100 you create in taxes you get a $30 refund. Just keep careful, honest records! And enjoy the de-cluttering.

Lastly, if you have a blog, monetize it!

How to Hit a Consignment Sale. Hard.

Most people drive by a consignment sale sign and pop in to see if there is anything they like. Saavy shoppers prepare. Start by researching area consignment sales on the Internet. Check out twins’ moms groups in your area; most have biannual sales and there are two or three of everything and lots of double (and a few triple) strollers. These biannual sales usually occur in March/April and September/October. In Maryland, try the roving Totswap, which holds 2 to 3 sales annually around the State.

Second, get an advance ticket. Advance tickets are usually available for a nominal fee if you have an infant or toddler, or are pregnant, or are consigning items. (Consider joining a Mom's group that holds regular sales; by belonging to CAMOM, I get in early; by volunteering, I get in the night before!)

Third, prepare a careful list of what you actually need. I’ve attached a worksheet at the bottom to help you out. Look over their wardrobes, consider how tight their clothes are right now (you might skip a size), and think about what goods you want for their rooms.

Fourth, recognize that time is an essential element of breezing through consignment sales, so, have a clear idea of what you want before you go in, scan the aisles quickly and zero in on items that fit your needs. Note that these rules also apply to consignment stores and yard sales too.

The Plan:

1. Leave the kids at home.
2. Get a supply kit: Your list, 3x3 Post-its, a marker, a measuring tape, cell phone, and a checkbook or cash.
3. Clean out your car. With multiples, I am always lugging around two car seats and a double stroller. These eat up most of the space in my roomy Prius. Leave them with the kids.
4. Make a list of items you absolutely need, with dollar figures and numbers to buy, and stick to it.
   Big Ticket items: Changing tables, high chairs, play yards, exersaucers, strollers, swings. Measure your space for furniture, and note the maximum available space on your list. Do NOT buy a used crib.
   Baby Care: Bottles, feeding items, blankets, sheets, nursing pillows, breastfeeding supplies.
   Clothing: Kids need pretty much the same wardrobe you do. Buy enough for 2 outfits and one pair of Pjs per day for 5 days at least. That’s 5 Pjs, 10 shirts and 10 pants/skirts (or rompers), 5 pairs of socks, two light jackets, a winter coat or bunting, a sweater, and a hat or two. Buy sizes for the next 6 months, to cover your kids until the next sale. (If you have a 6-month infant, buy two sizes ahead at least, three if your baby is growing very quickly. For older children, buy a size or two ahead.)
   Toys & books: Buy for the next 6-12 months. Consider holidays and birthdays. Get some ideas of what will be age-appropriate online. Include a maximum number of books, DVDs, and toys on your list.
5. Research prices online, especially for big-ticket items, to avoid overpaying. Best places to research: eBay’s completed items, Amazon, Overstock, and Froogle give an idea of current low prices. Write average prices on your list. If you know your favorite stroller is $220 new, then you won’t pay $150 for a used one, but $70 is a decent deal, $40 is a steal. I try not to pay more than half the cost new, unless the item is NWT.
6. Have a budget. Include on your list how much you want to pay for each large item, and a total for clothes and toys. Research big-ticket items new and used prices, so you won’t overpay.
7. Strategize. Hit your most important big-ticket items first; high-price items sell the quickest because the savings are bigger and there is a smaller selection. There is usually a huge selection of clothes, so scan the racks later. If you want a big-ticket item, take the ticket off the item, and use your Post-its to put “SOLD” and your name on it. Make sure a salesperson knows it’s for you, or move it to the hold area. Head to baby care items next, because most people will still be crowding the overfilled clothing racks. Once the clothes are thinned out a bit, hit the racks before grazing along the age-appropriate toys (6-12 months older than your kid). Of course, if your primary need is for clothing and you have no big-ticket items, hit the racks first, but prepare to be elbowed.
8. Review your purchases before checkout. This is a vital step. It’s easy to overbuy or make mistakes with all the commotion and excitement. While shopping, spend no more than 15 seconds considering basic items, no more than 5 minutes looking over big-ticket items. If you’re unsure, put it in your bag or reserve the big item; you can always put it back, but purchases at these weekend sales are final. So grab anything that fits your basic criteria for size, color, brand, and style, then find a quiet corner and go through your choices carefully—at your leisure—before you buy. Literally sit down on the floor, lay out every piece of clothing one at a time (you’ll be cleaning them anyway), and consider each carefully. Look for busted seams, fraying, buttons, zippers, fading, labels, washing instructions, pilling, hems, and price. Consider the brand name in the cost. Eyeball the size, or measure to make sure it’s larger than your kid. Your goal is to return 10% or more of your selections to the sales floor.
9. Check large items for recalls. Either have a smartphone with you or a friend with a laptop waiting for your call. By Googling the brand and model no. of large items, you can quickly ascertain whether the item’s been recalled. I never buy recalled items, even if they’ve been repaired. It is illegal to resell recalled items, as per the CPSC website. Don’t waste your money.
10. Don’t waste time or money on broken goods. If it’s cracked, missing parts, badly stained, or torn, it shouldn’t even be for sale. I bypass DVDs with missing labels, pop-up books with small tears, anything that looks chewed-on, or items that look ratty. Let someone else have it.

By planning ahead, sticking to your needs list, and reviewing your purchase before heading to the checkout, you'll save time and money. Happy hunting!

Sample Shopping list:

Category	Item	No. to Buy	Price NEW	My price
Big-ticket Items
(Brands)	Stroller
	Car Seat
	High Chair
	Exersaucer
	Changing Table
	Swing
	Play Yard
Baby Care Etc.	Breastfeeding
	Bottles
	Blankets
	Sheets
	Nursing pillows
	Pump
Clothing	Onesies/Rompers
(Brands)	PJs
(Colors)	Shirts
	Pants/Skirts
	Suits/Dresses
	Sweaters
	Jackets
	Hats
	Socks
	Shoes
Toys
Books
DVDs