Who Wouldn't Want to Save this Kind of Money?

Today I saved money. Today I recycled. Today I saved the world.

I went shopping today at the thrift store two blocks away with $4 in my pocket determined to find some new books for my baby girl. I figured I might come home with maybe 2 or 3 new books, but instead I got 7! 7 new awesome books! And guess how much I paid? $3.50! I feel like I've won the lottery. After coming home and wiping them down with vinegar and water I tallied up the total cost of each book new and realized that if I had bought all these books brand new I would have paid $59.07! I saved myself $55.57! WOW. 

Now I will concede that some of the books look like they've been around the block a bit, but lets be honest, don't all brand new things given to a baby look like they've seen better days after a week in their wet drooly mouths?

So there you have it folks. Go to your local thrift stores and score a major deal. Also, donate to your local thrift stores so that others can use the awesome things you don't need anymore. You can even do one better and donate to thrift stores for a cause. The store I bought these books at not only recycles peoples goods back in the community at an incredible price, but a huge portion of all their income goes to stopping world hunger. So don't dump your stuff at Value Village where they'll mark up the prices so high you could spend a dollar more and get it new, but research the other thrift stores in your area and not only donate, but spend your money there too.

Some tips for finding books you can use/want:

• Do your research. Peruse Amazon.com for books in the age group you're looking for and read reviews. I searched for "books for babies" and found the books that most peoples kids loved were the "Bright Baby" books made by Priddy Books, so I kept my eyes open for those. I also learned that books that had textures were very popular, so I looked for those too. 
• Buy what your kid likes. I took my baby girl with me and we read several books in the store so that I could see which ones sparked her interest and which would be a waste of time. There we some that I thought would be great, but she didn't give two hoots about and didn't even bother looking at the pages as I flipped through.
• Think about the books you loved as a kid. I personally couldn't get enough of the Arthur series, or the Berenstain Bears series, so I kept my eye out for those too. 
• Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's worthwhile. There were several books that were in great condition, but I wasn't sold on the message they were selling, so I didn't bother even considering purchasing those. 
• Go the the library and try out books for free. You can then see which books your child is drawn to. Make a list of the books they liked and keep it in your purse, that way when you do go shopping you can just reference your list and see if you can find something that works!