How to get cheap diapers

Since having a baby, one of the greatest new household expenses has been diapers. Unless you are going the eco-friendly cloth diaper route, you are probably using up about a pack of diapers a week, and this can really add up! One popular solution is to buy large boxes of Kirkland brand diapers at Costco. These are pretty cheap; at $39.59 for a box of 208 size 3 diapers (a baby who is a size 2 in another brand might be a 3 in Kirkland, since they sell only size 1-2 and none that are just size 2), you'll pay about 19c per diaper. However, there is an even cheaper way.

Here is how to buy diapers for less at CVS:

1) Get a free ExtraCare card at your local CVS to take advantage of their ExtraBucks deals. The ExtraCare card is linked to your phone number, and it keeps track of your CVS purchases. CVS often offers deals where you can purchase an item at a sale price but then receive ExtraBucks in return. These may total the whole value of your purchase, making the item effectively free, or they may be worth only a part of the cost of the purchase. The ExtraBucks will print out at the bottom of your receipt. They can then be used as money on a future purchase at CVS, but they do have a two week expiration date.

2) Sign up for a CVS.com account to receive store coupons periodically by e-mail. One of the best coupons they send out, which you might receive every few weeks, is a $4 off $20 store coupon. This is a coupon that you print off your computer and that will allow $4 to be deducted from the total cost of your purchase at CVS, as long as you are buying at least $20 worth of merchandise. It can be used in combination with manufacturer's coupons.

3) Check your Washington Post Sunday insert for diaper coupons. You may also sometimes be able to find diaper coupons online; for instance, at P&G (Procter & Gamble).

4) Check the CVS ads in your Washington Post Sunday insert to see what diapers are on sale for the week as well as what other items come with ExtraBucks.

Use deal-finding websites such as slickdeals.net or iheartcvs.com to help you find when there is a good diapers deal at CVS.

You could get a really cheap pack of diapers if, for example:

1) that Sunday's CVS ad showed that Pampers were on sale (sale price is usually $8.99); pick up two packages of Pampers

2) that Sunday's CVS ad also showed that there was some item or items costing about $2.50 but that would be free or really cheap after ExtraBucks; pick up about $2.50 worth of that item

3) you had received a $4 off $20 store coupon via e-mail; print it out, and give it to the cashier along with your ExtraCare card (or phone number)

AND

4) that Sunday's Post had a $2 off Pampers coupon; try to obtain two of these (a second one could come perhaps from a friend who gets the Post but does not have a child in diapers); give these to the cashier after you have given the store coupon

Your items will total $20.48, but you will pay out of pocket $12.48. You will receive $2.50 in ExtraBucks, making your net cost $9.98. You have now spent $4.99 for each package of Pampers. That is only 13 to 17c per diaper (depending on how many are in the pack)--even cheaper than Kirkland, and you didn't have to pay for a Costco membership or take a long trip out to the nearest Costco (Arlington is the closest you'll find to DC, whereas you're probably never more than a couple of blocks away from the closest CVS). Just make sure to save your ExtraBucks and use them on something else you need at CVS before they expire (tip--you can buy milk or paper towels or something else you would usually buy at the grocery store. Just keep checking the CVS ads on Sundays to see what's on sale that you would have to buy anyway).

Although the $4 off $20 coupons usually expire only a few days after you get them, diapers coupons usually last a while (and, off the record, CVS often accepts expired manufacturer's coupons), so save them up until they can do the most good.

(All calculations do not include sales tax; this will vary depending on whether you are in DC, MD, or VA.)