How to be a thrifty mom, especially in the OC

I am having my first child... She is due on February 14th, 2011.  I live here in Orange County where the cost of living isn't too bad, but the atmosphere of money is.  I grew up in a humble beginnings family (her father too) and I want to bring up my daughter the same, to have respect for money, material posessions, and to understand what it is like to earn something rather than just be handed everything.  So to begin this journey I am going back to my roots...

I never remember wanting for anything, that was the type of environment my parents submerged me and my two brothers in.  We were always well fed, had toys, and dressed like everyone else.  I do remember though that my mother clipped coupons, planned meals around what was on sale by browsing the latest grocery advertisement, and by shopping at the Goodwill at times along with plenty of hand-me-downs from my older cousin.  She also sewed lots of our clothing as back then it was cheaper then purchasing clothing at the local retailer.

Returning to present times...  My fiance and I make a decent living together.  A month after we started dating he was laid off from his job and has since found some work, but the two of us already lived below our financial means so it was not hard to make the adjustment.  I was blessed with many presents at my baby shower.  I received all of the big stuff like my stroller and my crib and some of the little stuff like clothing, toys, etc.  So here is how I am going about getting the stuff I do need still.

1.  I asked around to all of my friends and family for any hand-me-downs.  My mother and my cousin (the one who gave me all of her clothes growing up) also asked around for me.  Talk about "ask and you shall receive"!  I got two pack-in-plays, a baby swing, a high chair, and a ton of  0-3mos clothing and blankets.  It never hurts to ask around.

2.  Ebay-- I was an avid shopper on Ebay for stuff in general and now it has stemmed into the realm of baby items.  The key to this if you have not been an Ebay shopper before is to watch the price of things collectively and don't get "bid happy", set a limit for yourself.  I add up the bidding price and the shipping together and divide the cost by how many pieces I am purchasing if it is clothing that I am bidding on.  My threshold is no more than a dollar per item for clothing.  I also check the seller's price against a local retailer's price (via their website) to see if I am really getting a bargain or not.

3.  Craigslist-- I use the same guidelines as Ebay for this.

There are three venues ( two more specific to Orange County) that I have yet to check out, but both seem like great options.

1.   Children's Orchard which has several stores all over the United States.  From what I understand based off of their website and from a good friend of mine you can buy great used clothing, furniture, and toys as well as sell them items as well as long as they are also in great used condition.  I will be checking them out in the future.

2.  Classic Closet (Goodwill)18631 Beach Boulevard Huntington Beach, CA 92648-- this is where the local Goodwill has more of their hand picked selection of clothing, furniture, and a small amount of consignment goods.  I have purchased clothing here for myself, but I have not looked at the selection of kid stuff as of yet.

3.  OC Kids Consignment-- I found this one via a Google search.  Based on the information from their website I found that they do a giant quarterly sale in which you can buy needed items as well as be a seller for only $15 and get up to 65% profit on what you sell.  You can volunteer at the sale to get a larger percent and you get to name your own prices for your stuff.  The neat thing is that they have a "first time moms only" preview sale so you can get a bit of peace and quiet which is always nice.  You can sign up for notices/updates via email, Facebook, or Twitter for upcoming dates.  Go to www.ockidsconsignment.com for more information.

I will continue blogging about great ways to save the more I get into this "mom mode".  It is just amazing what I have found so far and I want to share it with others.  I believe it is important to be thrifty all the time, even when times are bountiful.  Check back from time to time and feel free to comment, ask questions, etc. as I am new to this whole blogging thing.  God Bless!