The funny thing about being home with the kids is life gets simplified, as my focus is much more narrow than it used to be, while it also gets more complicated in that everything (even the most simple thing) is more difficult to execute than it was before. But this is the good stuff we've been waiting for. :)
So I thought I'd share a few things that have made the last year or so easier for us in our neck of the woods, but are also national or can be found by anyone living in a major metro. And before you even have to think it, I have no shame to admit that yes we are do in fact likely fit many of your suburban yuppie (though my family was hippie 40 yrs before it was yuppie to be) stereotypes, though thankfully we don't do things for any other reason than it is want we want. Now that we have that out of the way, in no particular order:
1) Door to Door Organics: this is our weekly organic produce/CSA/home grocery delivery service that I've generally been happy with and which has service in several other major metro areas. We use them primarily for fruits/veggies and the kids' whole milk, though they deliver many other things too.
2) Tazo Chai (tea latte) concentrate: Chai latte has always been my drink of choice at Starbucks, as somehow the caffeine doesn't affect me the same way that coffee or espresso (even decaf) does. Even though we live in the suburbs, and have access to their drive-thrus (thank goodness), it is nice to be able to make the exact same thing at home (thanks to our milk frother) because someweeks days (for many months) there we didn't leave the house. Costco sells the cartons for $8 for a pack of three (instead of 5/ea at retail), which makes it about 90% cheaper than buying it prepared in store. But they are a good company, which I like to support, so now that we get out more I may be able to keep up my gold membership between the drive thru and Target.
3) I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love Costco. Love may seem like a strong word, but if my husband were a store, he would be Costco. I love them that much. There aren't many stores that have regular double carts, not those weird things that Target has, and beside being able to buy so much of our stuff (organic food and household miscellany) there (which obviously requires a cart rather than a stroller), and return anything with no questions asked, the kids absolutely love it there too (I think because there is so much and so many people to look at). And the sample ladies make up a good contingent of their fan club. :)
4) Whole Foods: I've loved this store since I moved to Boston nearly 20 yrs ago (when it was known as Bread & Circus) and lived across the street from the one in Lincoln Park, and dreamed of getting our own for several years when we moved here and they finally opened one nearer to us three years ago (not that the old one was that far away). This is where we buy our fish and other things that we don't get elsewhere. They also have awesome prepared food, because sometimes you need a pizza or a rotisserie chicken and you don't want to eat crap just because you don't want to cook. One of the huge and unusual advantages of the one near us is they have underground parking, which is a dream getting in and out of the car in the cold winter or rainy spring with little kids. And since hardly anyone uses it, it is less busy and safer and you can park right next to the elevator. Easy peasy.
5) Bright Start 529 Savings: How does one love a 529, right? Well how about free money? Yes, you heard that right. We've gotten a free (and tax free) extra grand from these guys (since we had four accounts) when they did a matching promotion a while back. Not too shabby. That definitely makes up for not getting the state tax credit, if you don't live in Illinois. We do automatic monthly contributions, but extra ones are super easy to do online too.
6) Gap Brands: (Gap/Old Navy/thank goodness they don't have BR kids, right?): If you love classic styled baby clothes, I recommend getting a Gap brands credit card (any card works at any store/online). I've had a BR card since I used to buy most of my work (and otherwise) clothes there, and it has come in handy now with the kids. They have great sales, have lots of lines to choose from (so you don't have to turn your kid into a free walking billboard, unless you want to, of course), and the card always gets you additional savings (and rewards credits back). If you aren't getting at least 40% off everything you buy there, you are overpaying. You save more every Tuesday in store, though the web sometimes has better deals.
7) Once Upon a Child: This place is the easiest way to get rid of no longer needed baby stuff, from clothes to gear. They pay fairly well, especially since it saves me the time of dealing with Craigslist. And honestly I often do exactly what they love and usually just spend what I make back on "new" clothes. I've found some great stuff here (like nearly new Lilly for her, Polo RL for him, though both of these also have great sales online too). I buy the vast majority of our stuff new, but as you know, I'm all for recycling. ;)
.
8) Honest Company/Seventh Generation: I've mentioned both these guys before, but I just have to say if you are doing disposables (which I didn't think we would), I hope you order them online from somewhere instead of dragging boxes from the store and maybe even consider using ones that are "greener" for baby's bottom and the planet, if you can. Woot.com often has deals on the 7 gen ones. They both make great wipes and skin products too.
9) You probably have seen my affinity for IKEA all over the blog/our house. While it is super close, we don't go that often. They have double carts too, though they don't keep them in the parking lot, so we usually just do the stroller since I don't take the kids if I'm buying big stuff. They have somewhat decent stuff for the kids to eat, lots to look at, and I can not wait until they are big enough to play at Smaland.
10) Sweet Tomatoes/Bahama Breeze: We take the kids out to dinner at least once a week, to get all of us out together and get them used to eating in restaurants. These are two of our stand bys that are chains. Sweet Tomatoes is a salad bar buffet, which means that they can try even things that we don't usually make at home. Bahama Breeze is a Darden restaurant which makes it sound more lame than it is. They have an enclosed patio (w/live music) which the kids love and their kid's menu is actually healthy. They like the corn cakes, baked fish or chicken, which comes with broccoli and fruit. It is nice that they don't have to eat crap, since nearly every kids' menu is awash with chicken fingers. Blech.
The real reward to saving, since I don't budget, is seeing the extra money go to the kids' college savings, especially since I just finished paying for my education a few years ago...
What helps you save your money, time, sanity?
We are looking forward to changing things up for summer. New classes through the park district, and besides the local pools, which are cheap (and free for the kids) and mornings at the one of choice is open for toddlers only, the Botanic Garden and the LP zoo are both free (save membership/parking) and Ravinia is free for the kids at classical concerts. Our local farmer's market starts and the Green City market (in the city) moves back outside soon, respectively.
Summer is what gets people coming to and staying in Chicago. It worked for me. :)
So I thought I'd share a few things that have made the last year or so easier for us in our neck of the woods, but are also national or can be found by anyone living in a major metro. And before you even have to think it, I have no shame to admit that yes we are do in fact likely fit many of your suburban yuppie (though my family was hippie 40 yrs before it was yuppie to be) stereotypes, though thankfully we don't do things for any other reason than it is want we want. Now that we have that out of the way, in no particular order:
1) Door to Door Organics: this is our weekly organic produce/CSA/home grocery delivery service that I've generally been happy with and which has service in several other major metro areas. We use them primarily for fruits/veggies and the kids' whole milk, though they deliver many other things too.
2) Tazo Chai (tea latte) concentrate: Chai latte has always been my drink of choice at Starbucks, as somehow the caffeine doesn't affect me the same way that coffee or espresso (even decaf) does. Even though we live in the suburbs, and have access to their drive-thrus (thank goodness), it is nice to be able to make the exact same thing at home (thanks to our milk frother) because some
3) I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love Costco. Love may seem like a strong word, but if my husband were a store, he would be Costco. I love them that much. There aren't many stores that have regular double carts, not those weird things that Target has, and beside being able to buy so much of our stuff (organic food and household miscellany) there (which obviously requires a cart rather than a stroller), and return anything with no questions asked, the kids absolutely love it there too (I think because there is so much and so many people to look at). And the sample ladies make up a good contingent of their fan club. :)
4) Whole Foods: I've loved this store since I moved to Boston nearly 20 yrs ago (when it was known as Bread & Circus) and lived across the street from the one in Lincoln Park, and dreamed of getting our own for several years when we moved here and they finally opened one nearer to us three years ago (not that the old one was that far away). This is where we buy our fish and other things that we don't get elsewhere. They also have awesome prepared food, because sometimes you need a pizza or a rotisserie chicken and you don't want to eat crap just because you don't want to cook. One of the huge and unusual advantages of the one near us is they have underground parking, which is a dream getting in and out of the car in the cold winter or rainy spring with little kids. And since hardly anyone uses it, it is less busy and safer and you can park right next to the elevator. Easy peasy.
5) Bright Start 529 Savings: How does one love a 529, right? Well how about free money? Yes, you heard that right. We've gotten a free (and tax free) extra grand from these guys (since we had four accounts) when they did a matching promotion a while back. Not too shabby. That definitely makes up for not getting the state tax credit, if you don't live in Illinois. We do automatic monthly contributions, but extra ones are super easy to do online too.
6) Gap Brands: (Gap/Old Navy/thank goodness they don't have BR kids, right?): If you love classic styled baby clothes, I recommend getting a Gap brands credit card (any card works at any store/online). I've had a BR card since I used to buy most of my work (and otherwise) clothes there, and it has come in handy now with the kids. They have great sales, have lots of lines to choose from (so you don't have to turn your kid into a free walking billboard, unless you want to, of course), and the card always gets you additional savings (and rewards credits back). If you aren't getting at least 40% off everything you buy there, you are overpaying. You save more every Tuesday in store, though the web sometimes has better deals.
7) Once Upon a Child: This place is the easiest way to get rid of no longer needed baby stuff, from clothes to gear. They pay fairly well, especially since it saves me the time of dealing with Craigslist. And honestly I often do exactly what they love and usually just spend what I make back on "new" clothes. I've found some great stuff here (like nearly new Lilly for her, Polo RL for him, though both of these also have great sales online too). I buy the vast majority of our stuff new, but as you know, I'm all for recycling. ;)
.
8) Honest Company/Seventh Generation: I've mentioned both these guys before, but I just have to say if you are doing disposables (which I didn't think we would), I hope you order them online from somewhere instead of dragging boxes from the store and maybe even consider using ones that are "greener" for baby's bottom and the planet, if you can. Woot.com often has deals on the 7 gen ones. They both make great wipes and skin products too.
9) You probably have seen my affinity for IKEA all over the blog/our house. While it is super close, we don't go that often. They have double carts too, though they don't keep them in the parking lot, so we usually just do the stroller since I don't take the kids if I'm buying big stuff. They have somewhat decent stuff for the kids to eat, lots to look at, and I can not wait until they are big enough to play at Smaland.
10) Sweet Tomatoes/Bahama Breeze: We take the kids out to dinner at least once a week, to get all of us out together and get them used to eating in restaurants. These are two of our stand bys that are chains. Sweet Tomatoes is a salad bar buffet, which means that they can try even things that we don't usually make at home. Bahama Breeze is a Darden restaurant which makes it sound more lame than it is. They have an enclosed patio (w/live music) which the kids love and their kid's menu is actually healthy. They like the corn cakes, baked fish or chicken, which comes with broccoli and fruit. It is nice that they don't have to eat crap, since nearly every kids' menu is awash with chicken fingers. Blech.
The real reward to saving, since I don't budget, is seeing the extra money go to the kids' college savings, especially since I just finished paying for my education a few years ago...
What helps you save your money, time, sanity?
We are looking forward to changing things up for summer. New classes through the park district, and besides the local pools, which are cheap (and free for the kids) and mornings at the one of choice is open for toddlers only, the Botanic Garden and the LP zoo are both free (save membership/parking) and Ravinia is free for the kids at classical concerts. Our local farmer's market starts and the Green City market (in the city) moves back outside soon, respectively.
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