Buy Huggies at Store Brand Prices Every Time
If you seriously prefer name brand diapers as I do you can save quite a bit with this little known quirk of coupon redemption. I have two girls, 2 years and one day apart in age, so I was buying diapers for two for 6 or 7 months. It was putting a real bend in our grocery budget. I clipped coupons and waited for sales to stock up. Quite by accident, I learned that a coupon for Huggies Pull Up’s worked on a purchase of Huggies Supreme. This is only significant because although diaper coupons are common, they are not usually more than $1.00 to $1.50 of the retail price. However, training pants coupons are usually $2.00 to $2.50 off the retail price. I do not know if this works the same way with Pampers diapers and Feel N' Learn coupons but it can't hurt to try.
I have been using Pull Up’s coupons when purchasing diapers for almost a year now and not once has a cashier even noticed that the coupon was for a different item. I send the diapers through first then the groceries and hand over the coupons when it’s time to pay. This would probably not work at a store where items are rung in manually rather than scanned but the bar code readers in most grocery stores are none the wiser. I know for a fact this works at Wal Mart, Food Lion, Bi Lo, CVS, Target and Kroger.
To maximize savings I solicit coupons from friends, neighbors and family members and wait for the diapers to go on sale. You can also buy coupons here on E Bay for 10% to 50% of their face value. I buy large quantities of small packs to get more bang for the buck. This goes against the ’buying in bulk is cheaper’ train of thought but here is how it works.
- These are the prices at our local drug store
Q Cost Each
Store Brand Jumbo 40 $7.99 0.200
Store Brand Mega 60 $10.99 0.183
Huggies Baby Shaped Jumbo 40 $11.99 0.300
Huggies Baby Shaped Mega 60 $16.99 0.283
Huggies Supreme Jumbo 36 $11.99 0.333
Huggies Supreme Mega 54 $16.99 0.315
- And then they go on sale for $1.00 off each pack
Q Cost Each
Huggies Baby Shaped Jumbo 40 $10.99 0.275
Huggies Baby Shaped Mega 60 $15.99 0.267
Huggies Supreme Jumbo 36 $10.99 0.305
Huggies Supreme Mega 54 $15.99 0.296
- Diapers at regular cost using a $2.00 off Pull Up’s coupon
Q Cost Each
Huggies Baby Shaped Jumbo 40 $9.99 0.250*
Huggies Baby Shaped Mega 60 $14.99 0.250*
Huggies Supreme Jumbo 36 $9.99 0.278*
Huggies Supreme Mega 54 $14.99 0.278*
- On sale for $1.00 off AND using a coupon for $2.00 off
Q Cost Each
Huggies Baby Shaped Jumbo 40 $8.99 0.225*
Huggies Baby Shaped Mega 60 $13.99 0.233*
Huggies Supreme Jumbo 36 $8.99 0.250*
Huggies Supreme Mega 54 $16.99 0.259*
This is where the math comes in. Once you get past a certain amount off either by coupon or because they are on sale you are actually getting the smaller packs at a better deal. I used to take my calculator with me to check cost per diaper in the store. I also reccomend signing up for your local grocery stores' weekly ad to be delivered to your email. This eliminates the expense of driving around looking for deals. And let's face it, if you have a child in diapers you don't have time to shop around.
- I wait until they go on sale for $3.50 off which happens several times a year, use the $2.50 off coupon for Pull Up’s, and buy Jumbo packs instead of Mega packs which comes out to be..
Q Cost Each
Huggies Baby Shaped Jumbo 40 $5.99 0.149*
Huggies Baby Shaped Mega 60 $10.99 0.183*
Huggies Supreme Jumbo 36 $5.99 0.166*
Huggies Supreme Mega 54 $10.99 0.203*
So to make a long story short, you CAN buy name brand diapers for less than store brand with just a little clipping and shopping ahead. Every little bit helps when it comes to saving money.
*these charts do not factor in sales tax because it differs from state to state. when you use a coupon the discount is taken off after the sales tax has been calculated. if your sales tax is 5% and you use a coupon for $1.00 off a $10.00 product the total with tax is $9.50 as opposed to a total of $9.45 if you buy a $10.00 product on sale for $9.00.
