2020 Budget Planning: The Best Time To Buy Cars, Dishwashers, Baby Crap + More

As a homeowner, it never fails that every few months something leaks, squeaks, breaks or dies. For the things that can't be fixed, kicked, patched or rigged, knowing when to buy a replacement could save you hundreds of dollars, even waiting a week could make all the difference. There really is a, best time to buy a car.

According to Consumer Reports:

"In these high-tech times, you might think the days when the calendar dictated when consumer goods would go on sale are behind us. Not so. Consumer Reports' market analysts have found that deep discounts for many products are still tied to a particular month of the year: Some sales are timed to the introduction of new models, while others are long-standing traditions, such as January white sales.  Consumer Reports' market analysts have found that deep discounts for many products are still tied to a particular month of the year: Some sales are timed to the introduction of new models, while others are long-standing traditions, such as January white sales." 

Below is a list of the best time to buy various big-ticket items according to consumer reports. 

For the best time to buy a car and the free Consumer Reports Car Buyer's Guide click, here.

For the complete Consumer Reports Buyer's Guide click, here.

Happy Budgeting in 2020! 

Do This Before You Buy Back-To-School Clothes

No doubt back-to-school (BTS) shopping and preparations can send even the most budget-conscious family into financial hell. I'm constantly trying to find ways to save, repurpose and trade my son's toys and clothes. I had a garage sale last weekend, that wore me the fuck out, that not only cleared out our junk and clutter but helped pad the budget for BTS shopping.  

The goal was to shed the crap and clutter weighing my family and house down. This includes all of the clothes we all no longer needed. I have a super method for plowing through the clothes quickly. The goal is to clear out the crap, make as much money as possible, then use it as a guide to my back-to-school shopping budget. Let's just say, creativity keeps my family clothed. 

So, if like me, you live on a budget, have limited closet space, and would like 50-75% of your child(ren)'s  school clothes paid for, keep reading...

Here is how this whole thing works. I have two or three storage tubs for each of us and two for our coats as well. I start by emptying out the storage bins into four piles; Keep, Donate, Dump and Delusional. Let me explain...

Keep:

This is, of course, the clothes I/Ollie/FTD plan on wearing for the season. This pile also has the Spring Break t-shirt from 1996 that holds too many memories to part with, the tops I spent too much on, and the hideous grandparent gifted sweaters I have to keep readily available for surprise invites and drop-ins.

Sell/Donate:

This is the pile of clothes needs to belong to someone else. Hopefully to paying customers at the yard sale... This pile is everything that will never ever be worn again by your people. The more you let go of, the more you will make, so be honest with yourself.  This pile also holds the Christmas, birthday and awful baby clothes I will NEVER EVER put on my body or my child's. Thankfully, my trash is someone's treasure. After all, someone bought these fine specimens of shit clothes thinking they were superb. These same people are also on PeopleofWalmart.com 

Dump:

This pile is the worst of the worst.  While it is meant for the city dump, it should be burned to ensure these articles of clothing never see the light of day again.  This one holds the clothes I painted the wall and myself in, things I wore until they fell apart. Literally. Things even the Goodwill will not take. You know it is bad when Goodwill throws the bag back in your car, screaming "LEAVE!"  Again, for examples go to PeopleofWalmart.com

Delusional:

This happens to be a very special pile. This pile is beautiful. All of my favorite clothes that I cannot fit into anymore,  or Ollie's clothes I want to save because parting with them would break my heart love so much I cannot part with are piled, very high, here.  Why do I call it the delusional pile and keep it separate from the keep pile?  Because I am so incredibly delusional, I think I will be a size 4 again, or that somehow I will be able to pull off that twenty-something look at thirty-something. No, really, I think it possible!  What if this whole, "Wait until you start chasing a toddler, the pounds will melt off," is true?  Granted the whole, "Breastfeed and the pounds will melt off," proved to be a load of horse turds. But, maybe, just maybe, the toddler marathon will get me into my pre-teen denim!

ONce finished sorting through the clothes, Put away the delusional, Dump the crap and start preparing for the yard or sidewalk sale. Believe it or not, clothes are the best selling item at a garage sale. You've got a good chance of selling most all of your clothes, and best of all, making enough to cover 50-100% of this season's back to school shopping. 

TIP: Now that the closets are fully clean, hang all of the new clothes with the hanger hooks facing you, once you take the garment off the hanger I turn the hanger back around. This way, at the end of the season what ever has not been turned around should be donated or dumped. 

The Wise Words Of My Grandmother Still Ring True... #JackandLily #Giveaway

*I've partnered with Jack & Lily Shoes to Talk about the importance of great shoes for little crawlers and walkers. All opinions are my own.

My maternal Grandmother was one of my best friends. She was a sassy lady who knew what she wanted. She loved good food, fashion and times, and never missed a chance to take me off to indulge in one or all of her favorite things.

When my mother moved my siblings and I out of Miami, I still went back to visit my grandmother every summer for a few weeks. Upon my arrival we always did the same thing; we went straight to the mall for a new pair of shoes. Gammy always said, "Honey, a great pair of shoes are essential for your growing feet." We only looked for shoes that fit her two main criteria, "looked as fabulous as they were made."

To this day, every time I buy a pair of shoes, I think of my grandmother. I employ her same reasoning about the importance of shoes being well made when shopping for my son.  I think of his growing feet, and know he needs a shoe that can support his crazy toddler running, jumping and climbing, and preferably have a great look too. That's why I absolutely ADORE Jack & Lily Shoes.


I love them so much, I recently got a pair for my adorable little neighbor as a birthday gift. He's just turned one and boy is he on the move!

Style: Jessie 

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In addition to the the quality and detail put into every Jack & Lily brand shoe, the styles are brilliant and every single one is unique!

Being the smart shopper that I am, I always keep an eye on their sale page, just in case a super cute pair pop up.

Jack and Lily shoes come in sizes 0 to 30 months or US/CA Sizes 2.5 to size 10.

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Cleaning out the Closet-Keep, Donate, Dump or Delusional?

Every Spring and Fall I take on the laborious task of cleaning out the closets.  Since FTD and I share a mid-size walk-in closet there is just not enough room to hold all of our stuff year round. To alleviate the clutter I keep what we will need for two seasons in the closet at any given time. I do this to our coat closet and now Oliver's closet as well. It's annoying, but it is necessary.

Here is how this whole thing works. I have two or three storage tubs for each of us and two for our coats as well. I start by emptying out the storage tubs into four piles; Keep, Donate, Dump and Delusional. Let me explain...

Keep:

This is of course the clothes I plan on wearing for the season. This pile also has the Spring Break t-shirt from 1996 that holds too many memories to part with, the tops I spent too much on, that I have never worn because they require an "occasion," and the hideous grandparent gifted sweaters I have to keep readily available for surprise invites and drop-ins.

Donate:

This is the pile of clothes I love, but know the time has come for them to belong to someone else. This pile also holds the Christmas, birthday and awful baby clothes I will NEVER EVER put on my body or my child's. What?  My trash is someones treasure. After all, someone bought these fine specimens of shit...er... clothes thinking they were superb. These same people are also on PeopleofWalmart.com

Dump:

This pile is the worst of the worst.  While it is meant for the city dump, it should be burned to ensure these articles of clothing never see the light of day again.  This one holds the clothes I painted the wall and myself in, things I wore until they fell apart. Literally. Things even the Goodwill will not take. You know it is bad when Goodwill throws the bag back in your car, screaming "LEAVE!"  Again, for examples go to PeopleofWalmart.com

Delusional:

This happens to be a very special pile. This pile is beautiful. All of my favorite clothes that I cannot fit into anymore, but love so much I cannot part with are piled, very high, here.  Why do I call it the delusional pile and keep it separate from the keep pile?  Because I am so incredibly delusional I think I will be a size 4 again, or that somehow I will be able to pull off that twenty-something look at thirty-something. No, really, I think it possible!  What if this whole, "Wait until you start chasing a toddler, the pounds will melt off," is true?  Granted the whole, "Breastfeed and the pounds will melt off," proved to be a load of horse turds. But, maybe, just maybe, the toddler marathon will get me into my pre-teen denim!

I'll tell you exactly what I tell FTD every time he questions this pile, "I will NEVER give these clothes up. I will wax nostalgia with them every year and then be buried with them."

Side Note: Before baby, marriage and grown-up bills I had a consignment pile. Until consignment shops start buying Target, that pile will remain non-existent.

Ok, so once the bins have been sorted, I start doing the same with the clothes in the closet. I fold the keepers and delusional items and put them in the tubs, then bag the donates and dumps. I do the same with the shoes and coats.

 A trick a friend taught me was to hang all of the new clothes with the hanger hooks facing me, once I take the garment off the hanger I turn the hanger back around. This way, at the end of the season what ever has not been turned around should be donated or dumped. Truth be told, 75% ends up folded in the delusional pile.

Ten hours, a war won in "F" bombs and 44 "Really?"s from FTD and I'm finally finished. I step back and admire my hard work. While the task is laborious and time consuming, once I am finished I am filled with my favorite thing, self-gratification.

I have a feeling I am not the only one undertaking the closet swap each or every other season. What are your tips or tricks for making this process less laborious and time consuming? Or do you just say screw it and keep the same clothes all year long?

Tips and tricks for buying baby clothes

"Well at least he got to wear this once or twice."  I said that to First Time Dad (FTD) today while packing away some of Oliver's summer clothes. With Autumn around the corner I've started packing away summer clothes Oliver will not wear anymore. As I put a few of his super cute dressier outfits away, I couldn't help but sulk about the fact that he had barely wore them. This summer we spent most of our days hanging around the house in light weight onesies. There was no point wearing the cute Osh Kosh B' Gosh Overall outfit to just sit around and drool on.

What really mean by "putting away" is bye bye cute outfit forever. Of course I am going to keep a few of his best outfits, just in case I need them again, or have a friend who has a 4-6 month old boy next summer. But lets face it, most likely these clothes are probably not going to be used again by my own child. I'd have to be pregnant, by 3 months, right now for that to happen in the next year, and trust me I am not!

Today's experience taught me that when I go buy his seasonal clothes, I need to remember that we are not a very social, go-out-all-of-the-time family, we will benefit more from one piece long sleeve footy zip ups, not super cute complicated clothes. Besides, Oliver doesn't give a crap what he wears. I have no doubt he would rather spend his days free balling. Diapers and clothes just get in his way.  In fact, in a perfect world he would spend his day wearing only a diaper... and a helmet to protect him from his face planting and poor attempts at thrusting forward while trying to crawl.

In order to not cry over barely worn clothes I need to...

1. Not buy that many-or really only get what I absolutely need at first.  We all know we fall for that super cute outfit on the sale rack every time we go to Target or TJ Max.

2. ONLY buy on super sale, clearance or at thrift and consignment stores.

3. Call every friend I have with kids and see what cute outfit they have stashed away for that "just in case"  scenario.

4. Save my damn pennies because I'm going to need them every season until my son is (at least) 18...

New Season. New baby clothes.

Slowly but surely the temperature outside has been dropping. So much so, we slept with the windows open last night. As nice as it is to give my air conditioner and electric bill a break, its still August, how can it only be 67 degrees? Where did my summer go? I’m still working on losing my baby weight so I can go to the pool. I’m not ready for the cool autumn weather. Neither is my son’s wardrobe…

This morning when I went to pick out a warm outfit for Ollie, I could not find one!  Not one long sleeved anything.  I ended up having to dig through a storage bin filled with odd baby clothes. Luckily, I found one of daddy’s finds from when I was still pregnant, a full camoflage baby outfit. (photo below) At that moment my heart sunk, I realized I needed a whole new winter wardrobe for my baby. 

Panic ensued…

The following is my line of thought… or panic attack. Whatever you want to call it.

1. Shit, we really cannot afford a bunch of new clothes.  OMG!

2. Wait. Does he really need that many clothes? It’s not like I need 30 new pieces of baby clothes. 

3.Oliver doesn’t care if he wears the same onesie everyday for a year. I could seriously only buy seven outfits and go with it.

4.No, I need nine outfits, so when he throws up or explodes, I will have a back up plan.

5.OK, this is ridiculous, nine outfits only. Really? 

6. I need to look at our budget.  Maybe I can move things around to afford a shopping trip.

7. I’ve lost the plot!  Baby clothes do not cost as much as mine do.  I bet I could get a bunch of clothes for $50. 

Hubs wakes up, comes into the living room and sees the boy in the camo outfit, does a “look at my camo boy” dance, then looks over at me. Instantly he is sorry he got out of bed and says, “What’s wrong?”  I take him through the last five minutes in my crazy brain.  He says, “Oh God, woman!”

I close my laptop and join him for coffee. We discuss the fact that this is not a bad thing. We can have fun with this. Then dad drops the big bomb, “Oliver is only 6 months old. We have to buy him heaps of clothes. You can’t freak out every time the weather changes.” 

Crap! We have been so lucky so far with hand me downs, shower gifts, and picking up odds and ends, that we have yet to buy a bunch of clothes at once.  I did a bit of research, called my sister (mother of two boys), and came up with a game plan. First of all, it's time to enter another line item on the family budget. Second, be smart, savvy and creative about buying baby clothes.

Bottom line, babies need clothes, and lots of them.  The biggest issue with that is the constant growth. Something that fits brilliantly one week, will not even snap at the ankle the next. There is a fine line between chubby baby and growth spurt. 

Being that most seasons last three months, it’s important to try to buy the correct size and just what you need for that season. Buying all at once is probably not the best idea. At about 6-8 weeks into the season all of the clothes for that season usually go on sale or even better, clearance. If you buy just what you need early in the season, you may be able to snap up the other half of your baby's wardrobe for a fraction of the cost later. Do I even need to add you may need a larger size by then anyway?

Here are tips on how to shop smart and savvy when buying baby clothes

1. Keep an eye on the Sunday paper circulars, and websites for places like Target, Wal-Mart (Big W), The Children’s Place, Babies R’ Us and any other baby clothes store for upcoming promotions, specials and exclusive online clearance.

2. Discount stores like TJMax, Marshall’s, Burlington Coat Factory and so on, are great places for finding name brand baby clothes at super discounted prices.

3. Thrift Stores & Consignment. Places like Once Upon a Child are fabulous for quality clothes at affordable prices.

4. Garage/yard sales.  The season for yard sales is not behind us yet. You would be surprised at what you can find.

5. EBay & Craig's List You can find an entire season of clothes bundled by one seller.  If you are short on time and cannot be bothered, this is the method for you!

6. Shop Online. I love Plum District for this. (Link Below)  Right now there are all kinds of spend $10 get $20 worth of clothes from Brand X being offered.  Check out the website of the company Plum District is offering the special for. If you find something you like, go back to Plum District and buy the special. 

I cannot recommend enough subscribing to them. I have found out about so many mom and baby sites I never ever would have known about. Plus, Plum District has been around for a long time and gets all of the best family deals. It's free to subscribe.

I will most likely use Plum District’s specials to find a great winter coat for Oliver. I want to get him something funky and fun and will spend a few extra bucks to get it.  Since that’s what people see when we go out, I want him to be stylin’!

I’m sure there are ideas and tips I am leaving out.  Please let me know what you do to cover a entire season of clothes.

While it's a fuzzy photo...

It's clear he's up on all fours and rocking away!

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