Why buy new?

Kids are expensive! We’ve all heard the statistics and reports, but as a parent, I don’t need to be reminded how much money I’m spending on raising my children. Instead of spending my money on movies, dinners out, clothes, accessories and other irrelevant things, I spend my money on my kids. Daycare costs, car seats, strollers, clothes, toys – I haven’t had a disposable income in over five years. Each and every dollar is budgeted.

So to save money or make a couple of dollars go further when shopping – I buy used, especially clothes. My kids are at an age when they don’t care where we go shopping. We go to used clothing stores like Value Village and Once Upon a Child and the kids have a great time picking out “new” clothes. The selections are great and the prices are fantastic.

For strollers, wagons, outdoor toys and other stuff, Kijiji is a great place to find gently used items. I’ve bought and sold a lot over the years. Whenever I need to upgrade something, I sell and then buy. With the arrival of baby number two, we needed a double jogging stroller to get out for our daily walks with the dog. So I sold our single stroller for $50 (which I bought used for $50 a few years earlier) and bought a used double stroller for $150, which I just happened to sell this week for $100 because the kids have outgrown it. Not a bad deal!

Another great place for used stuff is your network of friends who are parents! Friends with kids older than yours are often quite happy offer hand-me-downs. We’ve been fortunate enough to benefit from a few friends who have kids about six months older than ours. As their kids grow out of clothes, our kids grow into them. Then when our kids have outgrown them, we hand them down. A perfect system which can save you loads of money!