So, What IS a good deal on diapers?

After reading Baby Cheapskate's post on the rising price of diapers I started thinking more about what I've been paying for them. If diapers do continue to rise I may consider going back to cloth diapers again. In the mean time, I thought I would share the best deals I've found on disposable diapers and invite you to do the same in order to set a sort of "ceiling" on what you should expect to pay and how to know when you are getting a deal.

Now, just a year ago I could expect to make a weekly run to the store to buy diapers never thinking or planning where I might go or what coupons I have or even what was on sale! I could usually count on our favorite coupon lady at the local corner drug store to help me out but I didn't always stop there. Oh the insanityof buying diapers at regular price! I will fondly tip my hat to the old me and hope to never, ever shop like her again!

So, this regular price breaks down to roughly $.29 per diaper for Jumbo Packs and about $.22 each for the mega or jumbo packs! And now I have seen the light...I can't bring myself to pay more than $.20 ea for diapers and I usually get them for $.16-$.18. I'm getting this lower per diaper price buying the Jumbo packs on sale at $8.99 (size 3/4 = 35-40 diapers) and using $2/1 coupons. You can also get this price by buying the big boxes of diapers on sale for $18-$19 and using a $2/1 coupon. You can do even better when stores like CVS or Target have extra store incentives to go along with this, such as Extra Bucks or free Target Gift Cards with purchase. Now, this is for Huggies or Pampers. I personally prefer Huggies because I can always get a good deal and every Huggies diaper purchase is eligible for the Caregivers Marketplace Rebate Offer making the unit cost even lower! Luvs tend to be cheaper at the outset but I haven't seen a lot of manufacturer coupons for them. You can expect to pay about $.18-$.20 per diaper for Luvs regular price. I did a quick search today for coupons and did see that if you sign up at the Luvs website, you may be able to pick up some valuable coupons via e-promotions. The same goes for Huggies and Pampers.

Another trick to saving money on diapers (and any other long-term stockable item) is to stock up when they are on sale! If you've had children before you can probably make a good estimate as to how much of a particular size you will need. If this is your first foray into diaper buying, a good expectation to have is that your child will spend much of his or her diapering months in size 3 diapers. Remember that you can always exchange unopened packages for a different size down the road if needed. To make your savings even greater, create an account with Coupon Masters or Coupon Clippers and buy additional diaper coupons to use when your favorite diapers go on sale! You'll pay about 10% of the coupon value (i.e 10 cents for a $1 off coupon, plus the cost of mailing and there is typically a minimum $3-$4 purchase)

As for store brand diapers...I know many people who use them and love them. We used to buy only Sam's Club Smiles Diapers (until they quit selling them) and I've heard good things about their Members Mark brand which also tend to run much cheaper (around $.16/ea). I personally haven't used any of the other store brand diapers so I can't say what a good price is on those.

If you are interested in taking the less conventional route of cloth diapering I would highly reccommend doing some reading on the topic before you jump in. They will save you money but they do require an initial, large cash outlay to get started. If you don't fully understand what you are buying or what you are getting yourself into, you will ikely give up due to frustration and your investment will be down the toilet!

Look for more information on my adventures in cloth diapering soon!

Tell us your best price on diapers...and if you use store brands we'd love to know what you think of them!

So, What IS a good deal on diapers?

http://centsablebaby.blogspot.com/2008/02/so-what-is-good-deal-on-diapers.html