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It's been a year of living diaperously. Every week for the past year I've noted which stores have the best sales on Pampers and Huggies jumbos. I've learned a few things along the way that can save you big:
Rule 1: Jumbos are often the better deal.
Why buy jumbos and not larger sizes? They're a better deal: the per-diaper price is almost always better on the jumbos when they're on sale, and you can use two coupons buying 60 size 3s if you buy two jumbos, but only one coupon buying 60 size 3s if you buy a supermega. Read more.
Rule 2: Diapers are ALWAYS on sale
You wanna know how many weeks there were last year when you couldn't pick up a jumbo of Pampers or Huggies for $8.99 or less? Around ten. You wanna know how many weeks there were last year when I didn't tell you about Pampers or Huggies jumbos, megas, or supermegas on sale at one of the five stores? ONE. I was on vacation (I'm going to go ahead and assume they were on sale somewhere that week). So how many weeks would you have had to pay full price for diapers? NONE. Diapers were on sale at Kroger, CVS, Target, Walgreens, or Eckerd every single week last year.
How cheap did diapers get? The cheapest the jumbos (Pampers or Huggies) ever got this year pre-coupon was $7.50. That was for two weeks in the fall at Target. The best sale price you should count on is $7.99 per jumbo, which we saw mostly in the fall. In fact, 10 out of 13 of the best diaper sales ($8 or less per jumbo) have occurred since the middle of September. The most common sale price by far on Huggies & Pampers, is $8.99 per jumbo.
Rule 3: You don't have to stockpile.
Because they're always on sale, you NEVER have to shell out a ton of money stocking up on diapers. If you're flexible and can switch back and forth between Huggies and Pampers, you only need maybe two weeks' worth of jumbos on hand to avoid having to run out and pay full price.
Rule 4 : Don't drive all over town
And we're not talking about driving all over town, either. At least not around Atlanta. I can be CVS, Walgreens, Eckerd, Kroger, or Target within seven minutes. And none of them is more than five minutes away from each other. This is true for just about everybody around here. Driving is an important consideration, since it's estimated that the real cost of driving a car is close to 50 cents per mile. Travelling across town in search of a bargain will cut into your diaper savings quickly! If you don't happen to live close to these stores, you can still count on getting a great deal at least once per month at Kroger, CVS, or Target.
Rule 5: Use a coupon every time you buy diapers
I've also never had to go without using a coupon for a dollar to $1.50 off. You shouldn't either. Sign up with Pampers and Huggies and you'll get some in the mail. Check the Sunday paper for coupons, too. You'll get extra savings with Target's baby club (create a registry). They're still sending coupons and my son's almost a year and a half old. If you have trouble finding coupons, try a coupon forum like the one at Gotta Deal. There are baby coupon trains out there and people just plain willing to mail some to you for the price of a stamp.
Etc:
So which store had the best sales in the last twelve months? This was a surprise to me. It was Kroger. Kroger had the best sale for about 17 weeks last year. Target and CVS tied for second with around 12 weeks each, and Walgreens and Eckerd came in last, with around 6 weeks each.
Some of you may be wondering where store brands come into play. I've tried a bunch of them, believe me (read the reviews), but I'm more comfortable using store brands during the day and premiums at night (read more). My favorite store brand? Target's at $5.74 per jumbo.
Dec 11, 2006
Five Rules that can Save You Hundreds on Premium Diapers
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30 comments:
Hi Angie,
Thanks for the e-mail! I put this up on my blog just now - so will share the post with my readers! Thanks for all your effort on compiling this!
I have had a LOT of experience with diapers.
We have 6 kids.
I even used cloth diapers exclusively with my second child as we lived in Raleigh at the time and had a diaper service.
But the best diapers I have ever found?
Luvs.
They are cheaper than Huggies or Pampers and they never leak.
Ever.
I was a bit upset when they switched from the glossy outside to the velcro-like cover but they still performed just as well.
I love the smell of them too.
I know you prefer store brand during the day (me too!), but my 23 month old tends to leek through his diapers at night. Any suggestions on a nighttime diaper?
We were having some leakage problems, too. The new Huggies Supreme and Pampers Cruisers are my choice. The high waistband is good for boys.
You might also try going up a size in diapers if your son is anywhere close to the limit.
If you're near an Albertson's, I heard they have diaper doublers. They're really inserts for cloth diapers but word has it they increase the amount disposables can hold, too.
Of course you could try giving fewer liquids / liquidy foods close to bedtime. Good luck!
When my son started leaking through his Cruisers at night, we switched to Huggies Overnight and haven't had a problem since.
We've had nothing but problems with Huggies diapers...occasionally the sale on them is too good to pass up, but every time we end up with lots of leaks.
Never had a problem with Pampers though.
These are some great tips - and I have noticed diapers are always on sale.
http://365parents.com
I agree that Target diapers are the best (and the cheapest) store brand diapers. We've rarely used anything else with my son. We have almost always put on a size up for night-night- that works great.
Recently I discovered a website 1800diapers.com. Has anyone used this? I'd love to hear reviews, as I have not yet had a chance to use this service.
I have to admit my "baby" is now 13. However I used to love Luvs. The price was better and like the commercial says they work. I just checked ebay and there are auctions for Luvs diapers coupons.
I have developmentally delayed sons with Autism. Because of their delay they were in diapers for a loooong time. I just wanted to share that if your child has a medical condition that interferes with toilet training you may be able to have the government pay for Pull-ups and when the child is larger, adults diapers such as Depends. I live in Illinois where my children have the state medical insurance card. Here, your child's doctor writes a prescription for the diapers. In one case the doctor's social worker did the approval process for the prescription. But the other times I called home medical suppliers and they submitted the prescription direction to the state Department of Human Services for approval. I got free Pull-ups and Depends (including free home delivery) for years. I suggest asking your child's doctor if your child has a medical condition that is delaying toilet training to see if your state will pay for diapers.
Here's a real way to save on diapers without pinching pennies and cutting coupons... Use them over and over again!
Cloth diapers are easy to use, can be washed safely in your own washing machine, are only a minimal amount of more work (do a load of wash instead of carrying a bag of diapers to the trashcan), make great rags when the kid's done, don't take 80 years to degrade in a landfill, aren't filled with chlorine and other harmful and allergy causing chemicals that chaffe your baby's skin...
try peapods.com.
Katie, I use 7th generation at nighttime for my kiddo and ordered recently from 1800diapers. it's a credible business with good prices.
OK, you have some good tips here, but I must admit, the biggest tip of all that is missing is, buy your diapers at amazon.com. Amazon carries all the major brands, they charge no tax, they deliver for free (quickly) and they always have promotions. Usually it is $20 - $30 off on an order of $99 or more. Sometimes it is an instant discount at checkout, and other times it is an amazon GC (which can be used for, you guessed it, your next diaper purchase). Yes, it is a sizeable order, but ya know, in my experience, kids use a lot of diapers.
Sorry, Amazon's deals on diapers just aren't that great. You can beat the per diaper price by using coupons and shopping the sales. Occasionally Amazon will have a decent deal (like the one that just ended), but you still need to make sure you're paying less than 20 cents per diaper.
With regards to 1-800-Diapers, here's the Baby Cheapskate review:
http://babycheapskate.blogspot.com/2006/10/1-800-pay2much4diapers.html
We have tried a lot of diapers from "premium" to cheaper brands. What I found out is that the cheapest were actually just as good as the ones that cost 50-100% more diaper. With expensive brands you are not investing in high tech as TV ads would lead you to believe. You are just buying corportations more time on TV.
I think cloth diapers are the best deal around. Try cottonbabies.com I use the bumgenius and they work great and never leak or stain. They have a one size that fits from newborn to potty training. You can wash them in hot water too.
Also, when you're done with them, you can return them to cottonbabies.com for some money back!
As far as disposables, I find Luvs to always be the cheapest and almost always on sale at Target. I've never had any leaking problems with them.
Congrats on getting this on Life Hacker! That will definitely boost your traffic! This post is excellent!
Thanks, Amy. It's fair to say that yes, Lifehacker has sent a few hits this way!
I hope people like what they see enough to bookmark us or subscribe to our feed!!!
costco.
we'd like to use cloth, or some of the more enviro-freindly diaper systems, but have a very care required kid.
Till he starts eating on his own? I am sorry, the environment is screwed for a bit.
But we go to Costco, buy the super mega jumbo, and a gignormous box of baby wipes.
yay.
We use cloth diapers "Racman" and ocasionally "huggies". But for teaching child to stay dry is the best cloth diapers. We also use alcholic vinegar instead of softeners and there is no troubles with skin.
There is a really neat store brand diaper that Shopko carries. The liner conatins the same diaper rash ingredients as johnson's diaper rash ointment. Zinc oxide. I loooove these dipers for day and night. I've had 4 children and about to have the 5th use these exclusively.
For those who argue that cloth are better environmentally, consider this:
You use alot more water washing all those diapers.
You use alot more detergent, bleach, and softener. All of which are bad for the environment.
Most detergents are petroleum based. So you are also adding to the countries oil demand and lining the pockets of the Middle East and Chavez in Venezuela.
Cloth diapers are an excellent choice for some, but don't delude yourself into thinking their are no environmental consequences with your choice.
I have talked with other moms about this and Huggies works best for shorter chubbier babies and Pampers works better for taller thinner babies with my daughter she can't wear LUVS because they are too wide between the legs. We used to buy diapers at Sam's but since you can't use coupons we went back to regular stores. We Love Sam's wipes they come in travel packs so you don't have to worry about containers
Thanks for this site! It is great. I am having night time leak issues...so I will try the huggies at night as some have suggested. We are a pampers family. My husband gets weird when I get different brands! haa
Luvs...we personally hate them. Yes they are cheaper, but they feel like paper. I bought those when DD was newborn, but quickly went back to swaddlers.
Whats your take on costco pricing? After 15 months, you'd think I would know whats the best deal! I always forget the number of diapers for price, since they're all differnt!
What have you guys found the difference, if any, is between Pampers Cruisers and baby dry?
The Pampers Baby Dry diapers are horrible! They don't move with the baby, so we've experienced a lot of leaks with these. I even gave them a second chance when they recently were "improved" but couldn't wait to use them up. We use Pampers Cruisers exclusively because the amount of elastic and the design of these diapers keeps our son more dry than "Baby Dry."
We use all 3, which ever one is on sale. My daughter we could use generic, with a name brand at night, until she was about 2 then we had to switch to a name brand to keep her dry. We also resorted to Huggies overnite with her. She's 5 and still wears a pullup at night. Would love to know which pullup everyone prefers. Our son we tried generic diapers, but he'd soak in the front, every time. I didn't even finish the pack. I've bought diapers on clearance, with a coupon, I've done Big Lots. My favorite, right now is Family Dollar. They put Luvs down to 5 bucks, and i'll use $3.00 coupons. When luvs puts out the $3.00 coupons i'll buy more on ebay so that I can stock up.
I've never purchased diapers at Costco, I have done wipes, but prefer Huggies. What we do buy at Costco, if nothing else, is gas.
Another one to say cloth is the best option! We use cloth full time and have since Oct. 06. It's easy, user friendly (pockets), and just TOO cute!! Of course there are always the environmental reason and saving money (IF you can fight off the addiction!).
We have a problem.My brother-in-love had surgery and we should buy diapers for adults.Any advice about that(size,make etc.)My e-mail is n.besic@yahoo.com
I LOVE Luvs diapers! Coupons are hard to come by but, even without a coupon, they are usually cheaper than Pampers or Huggies with a coupon. I have been extremely pleased with the quality as well. For those of you with night-time leak issues, I have the same problem (with every brand I've tried). I use the Diaper Doublers, which I think someone mentioned, and they help so much!! They're only $3 for 30. A lot of stores don't carry them, but my Publix stocks them all the time. I also go up a diaper size for night time. Between doing that and using the Doubler, my daughter rarely leaks anymore! Yay!!
For the anonymous poster that mentioned the following, a few counterpoints...
You use alot more water washing all those diapers. Ah - most modern home or commercial washers (esp. front-loaders) use a lot LESS water.
You use alot more detergent, bleach, and softener. All of which are bad for the environment. Only if you're using detergents, bleaches and softeners that are bad for the environment. There are plenty of safe options including inexpensive biodegradable detergents, cheap oxygen whiteners instead of bleach and vinegar in the rinse cycle makes for an excellent softener if you really need one.
Most detergents are petroleum based. So you are also adding to the countries oil demand and lining the pockets of the Middle East and Chavez in Venezuela. Again, only if you're using petroleum-based products... which you shouldn't want to on a child anyway, right?
One big selling point on not using disposables is that baby waste is still human waste and something that should end up in sewage for treatment, rather than in landfills. Disposable are supposed to be emptied before being tossed, but no one does that, do they?
A good middle-ground alternative is something like gDiapers, a re-useable diaper with flushable/compostable inserts.
Target brand diapers are the best a cheapest; comprable to Pampers in style and fit. Thanks Target!!
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