Perhaps my greatest disappointment with the book is that the biggest savings are either overlooked or outright dismissed. Most dismaying was the lack of discussion on savings provided by breastfeeding, homemade baby food, cloth diapering, and homemade baby wipes. After all, we’re talking about Baby Bargains and you’d be suprised how much these “repeat” necessities add up!

All of these “cost savings” techniques are easier than you think, but the authors either never touch on the subject or if they do, they dismiss it. For example, homemade baby food is never touched upon. I’m not implying that we must all make all of our own baby food; however, there are some cost effective ways to decrease what you spend on baby food (i.e. mash single food ingredients instead of buying them premashed in baby food jars, etc. . .) An excellent book based on the subject is Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. It is based on the premise that you can spend as much or as little time making baby food.

Moreover, it is clear from their tone (”Cloth diapers can’t hold a candle to today’s super-absorbent disposable diapers.”) that the authors have never cloth diapered their children. The authors mention that Mother Ease has a following. Granted, they make some nice (and pricey) diapers, but they’re not the only way to go (just like every family doesn’t need a Peg Perego stroller).

Many cloth diaper users use inexpensive Chinese prefolds, no pins, and snap or velcro wraps. The authors claim you’ll spend more because of the various sizes . . . hogwash . . . most of us are able to safely skip sizes. I know, my son is comfortably wearing the same size cover at 7 months that he wore at 1 month. We invested approximately $100 7 months ago and are still going strong!

Granted, cloth diapering is not for everyone, but it is easier and more convenient than most people think. Our biggest difficulty was the first couple of weeks . . . figuring out what diapers worked for us and how to care for them. Three dozen prefolds and an extra 2 loads of laundry a week. From the pail to the wash, I never realized how easy it could be. It’s a shame the authors didn’t try it themselves before dismissing it as “costing as much” as disposables and “most folks don’t have the time or energy”. It just isn’t so!

Finally, Baby Bargains totally misses the mark when it comes to coupons, particularly those available online. There are a plethora of sites dedicated to discounts, online coupon codes and rebates for the baby stores you’re most likely to shop at. Had I known about these sites when we did our shopping last year, we’d have saved hundreds more than the initial savings we realized from Baby Bargains.

Overall, I would recommend purchasing Baby Bargains. After all, it is a *really* good book for product information, what you need and what you don’t. However, it could definitely go farther in saving you money with low cost alternatives and online coupon website recommendations!