How Social Media Can Save You Money

Babies are expensive, period. Between clothing they grow out of WAY too fast and daycare that charges an arm and a leg, all that extra money you once had to spend on an evening out is now spent on more pacifiers (where do they GO?) and an extra car seat base for the car. Modern parents have become extremely savvy on ways to save money, and cloth diapering is no different.

We have all seen the figures; just type cloth diaper savings into Google and you can spend an afternoon looking at spreadsheets and calculators. But what if prefolds and covers aren’t your thing? Is there a way to save money even if you prefer the pocket or AIO route?

Pricing out a full stash of brand new, squishy newborn simplex got me sweating a bit. I could either become an extreme couponer and have a stockpile of canned goods in our garage or find a way to grow a stash without paying retail. Since the odds of the hubby giving up prime real estate in the garage was completely unlikely, I had to get creative.

For many moms, the idea of buying a used diaper creeps them out. If you fall into this category, have no fear; all of my tips are for scoring a brand new diaper for a fraction of retail. If you are ok with buying used, I will have more tips for you in another post.

Facebook
Even my grandparents have Facebook pages these days, so if you don’t have a Facebook page, it’s time to get one friends. Facebook is a wealth of information and giveaways. Just about every big brand name diaper has a Facebook page (Fuzzibunz, BumGenius, Rumparooz, etc) as well as many cloth diaper retailers (Kelly’s Closet of course is my favorite). All you have to do is like their pages to subscribe to their feed and wham-o, chance to win free diapers left and right. Just today I took a quick survey on the Fuzzibunz page that entered me to win a brand new, free diaper.

Maybe you are like me and have never won anything exciting in your life. Don’t stress, many sites also offer discount codes or flash sales only to their Facebook fans. You may not win that brand new diaper but buying one for 20% off feels like winning.

The last stop on Facebook is buy/sell/trade groups. These are groups that you can join and, you guessed it, buy, sell or trade specific branded diapers. These groups are a great resource and if you are patient you can score a brand new, with tags diaper at a fraction of the retail cost.

Blogs
Blogging is a great way to win free diapers as well. Many cloth diaper blogs have giveaways on their page. For instance, The Cloth Diaper Whisperer has Fluff Friday. You earn entries into the drawing by doing a variety of tasks, anything from liking a page on Facebook to blogging about the product/giveaway in your own person blog. These drawings are a little less popular, which increases your chances of winning.

Pinterest
Pinterest is another way to win free diapers. Follow your favorite brands on Pinterest and often they will pin links to sales, promotions and giveaways. It is a great source of information about cloth in general. And while you are browsing you can pin crafts you will never do with your kids.

Twitter
Unfortunately, I don’t know much about Twitter but it operates pretty much the same as the other sites. Follow your favorite brand or retailer and wait for opportunities to score free diapers or big sales.

Whether you pin it, tweet it, like it, or blog it, everyone loves free stuff. With a little bit of time and patience, you can put together a good-sized stash without breaking the bank.

Lindsay is a first time mom to a 2 month old little girl and a crazy dog. She lives with her quiet husband in Illinois and is slowly navigating the journey of motherhood one cloth diaper change at a time. Follow her adventures at thedogatewhat.blogspot.com.