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Twins translates into terrific dealsFeb 08 '04 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Building Supplies
The Bottom Line Research associations in your area to find unpublicized sales and swaps.
After the birth of my son, our previously dual income was cut in half. I took a year long unpaid maternity leave and let me tell you, as a highly trained and highly paid professional, budgeting did not come easily or painlessly to my husband and I. We stopped eating out, started clipping coupons, even started renting movies instead of going to the cinema. But as usual, the best cost-cutting tip came from another new mom. We were garage saleing one Saturday morning when my son was about six weeks old, and we came across a sale that had two of everything--two high chairs, two play pens, even two tandem strollers. "You must have twins," I smiled at the garage sale proprietor. "We have double twins," she laughed. I stood on her front lawn with my unwashed hair, spit up dots on my t-shirt and perma-bags under my eyes from nights up with my colicky baby and contemplated the super-human stamina it would take to go through this for two children at the same time--not once, but twice. "You must not have slept for four years," I replied. "You must be broke," my husband (very rudely) interjected. "Yes to the no-sleep, no to the broke," she smiled kindly. She then let me in on the biggest mommy secret in town. There is a twins association. It is called the Multiple Births Association. You are not likely to have heard of it unless you are lucky enough to have been blessed with twins, triples, or other multiple babies. The secret is this, they have the absolute best used clothing and toys sale I have ever seen! The association in our town holds a sale twice a year. All the members bring used clothing and toys and sell them garage sale style in a Lyons Hall. And although they don't publicize it, anyone can attend. The clothing and toys offered in the sale tend to be in excellent condition because parents often receive doubles (or triples) of everything and many do not subscribe to the "dress the children identical" philosophy and so they often will keep the tags on one of the outfits and sell it at the sale. Prices range from approximately 1/3 of the retail price for an item which has never been worn used, to between 1/5 and 1/10 of the retail price for an item that has been gently used. There is often a wide selection of brand name clothing--one of the moms told me that friends and relatives tend to be generous with twins because they realize what a hardship it can be on the family and most parents of multiples could never afford brand names for their own children, but receive many as gifts. In my first trip to the sale, I picked up a bag of three to six month items including an Osh Kosh snow suit for $10, Tommy Hilfiger overalls for $8 and Gap overalls for $3, all in perfect condition. I managed to pick up 15 outfits for under $75. Best of all, the items are used, so there is no sales tax. I now keep on the lookout for associations that while I may not be interested in becoming a member, may offer the opportunity to connect with money saving events such as this used clothing sale. I diarize to attend every spring and fall and it has been a major budget-saver!  |
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