Affordable toys and games shopping through 12 steps

Children are irresistible no matter what age they are, you cannot resist cuddling them now imagine being a parent it is almost impossible to say no to their kid's pleasing smiles and puppy eyes. Being a parent is tough you constantly want to smother your children with your unlimited love and shower them with tons of items. Every parent wants their children to wish to come true that is why they get everything their children desire, to make their children happy they can go to any length which sometimes results in the empty bank. Parents work very hard not only to make their end meets but also to provide their children the very best of everything, this attitude sometimes can put parents into trouble, most precisely out their budget in trouble. The cost of money that is spent on toys and games if saved can later be spent on more essential commodities and education but every toddler needs their share of toys and you cannot simply say no to toys.

Children already have a ton of expenses, in midst of clothing, shoes, foods and other thousand items another very significant expense are toys. No child can live without a toy, it does not matter how much toys they already have they will constantly nag you and plead you for more. The toys cost does not seem too much at once but once you start purchasing a handful every now then you will see how it throws away your entire budget.

I am myself the parent of two boys and I have been through financial trench more than once because of fiery expenses of children that includes toys and games shopping. I have buckets of Legos, puzzles, the range of remote-controlled cars, helicopters and other countless toys but my kids are constantly asking for more. Initially, I was overwhelmed as there is no way you can skip this necessity so I had to look for other ways to make toys and game shopping much more affordable. So after a lot of self-research and talking to countless mums I gathered few handful tips and tricks that saved me from a lot of trouble and cost of toys, if you are also a cash-strapped parent and looking for new ways to afford toys for your children then keep on reading;

Fix A Reasonable Amount

At stores, you can get carried away and purchase toys which cause a dent in your budget. Fix an amount for each month that you can spend on toys while maintaining your budget if you cannot fix monthly amount save an amount for every two or three months. This limit will keep your head straight when you are shopping for toys and will aid you to sustain your budget.

Quality Over Quantity

Let it be food, clothes or toys, this statement goes with every matter literally! You can find stores which give a bundle of toys in a deal which is expensive and seems like a fair deal to parents, in reality, these toys are low-cost because they are built from cheap materials and after 2 or 3 times they break apart in pieces. Your kid won’t even be able to enjoy it because they have no longevity and before you know it you will be again standing in toys aisle looking for new toys. Get toys made of good quality; make sure they are sturdy enough to go through the wear and tear of children’s hands. The good quality toy will last much longer and save you from the trip of the toy store every few days.

Price Matching Is A Must!

It often happens that the same toys in two different stores have different costs, depending upon the name of the store they can increase the price because of their brand name and popularity of the shop. Always go through price matching to see which of the store provide toys and games at fair and relatively lower prices. Even if you are shopping online for toys do visit more than one store to see the price difference between both stores. Ask other parents where they prefer to shop and how much it costs them. You can look for toys in some of the online stores which are popular because of their low-priced toys range;

• Second chance toys

Swap

Amazon

eBay

Play it again sports

Swap me sports

Target

Consignment Stores Are Good For Kids

Kids grow in the blink of an eye; they quickly outgrow their clothes and toys. Only after a few days they can get bored with their current toys and will ask you for the new ones, consignment stores and thrift shops are the solutions to your toys expenditure problems. Often these stores are thought of as icky places and used toys are thought to be as contagious diseases passed be older kids but that is not true, there are plenty of toys and I am talking about the good ones, barely used and have a scratch on them toys, not ragged stuffy dolls. Because children have thousands of toys and they quickly get over them so the consignment stores are loaded with new shiny toys that have been discarded by kids. You can purchase these toys at the fraction of the original retail price and when your kid is done playing with them you can again sell it to these stores or exchange them with other toys.

Sale, Sale, Sale

We only gravitate towards clothes and shoes whenever the store puts out a sale, you can benefit cheaper toys from this sale too. On many eves the stores and toys put seasonal sale where they put a discount on each item available in stores that include toys and games too. You can purchase toys at discount during the sale and take them out time after time whenever your little cherub demands for a new one. Do look out for departmental store sales and grab a handful of toys on sale and thank me later. I always go for toy shopping on cyber Mondays, black Fridays, thanksgiving sale, Christmas sale, new year’s sale, whichever sale I can get my hands on, I purchase a handful of toys and take them out whenever my kids are about to throw a fit for a new toy.

Surf Through Yard Sale

Keep an eye out for yard sales; you can actually find very antique and good toys in yard sale which have been saved by parents for nostalgia. Though before purchasing toys, make sure they are not broken or injurious to your children in any way. You can get a good bargain for these toys and when your children get tired of these toys you can later sell or donate these toys. I once visited a yard sale where the couple had an entire collection of superhero figurines from Batman to Superman and at a very low price. I immediately bought these figurines, these toys served as a rare collection and my boys loved it in retrospect I was saved from purchasing all the action figures in future

Hide The Toys

On kid’s birthday 98% of a birthday present is toys, instead of letting your children take out all the toys at once, let them keep few of their presents and stash another present into the secret chamber which is out of children’s reach. Every year the children get loads of toys as a present they quickly use them and toss them in a month or two, by saving these toys you can give them each month and it will keep them engaged and save you the expense of new toys. Another trick I use is; if I receive a toy which my kids already owns, I keep it as it is and give it as a present to another kid, it has happened to me more than a few times and all those times I have been kept from purchasing a present and saved gift money.

Visit Local Toy Library

Yes, there is a library which is full of toys, you can lend, swap and exchange any amount of toys here, you can find a multitude of toys of different price range and age groups. Find a local toy library in your town and visit there as soon as possible to save some dough.

Kiddie’s Meal

Yes, you heard it right! Another excellent way I found to save my money on toys was to take my children to eateries where kiddie’s meal is offered along toys. McDonald’s, KFC and other tons of diners have a special menu for kids where you get a special toy. Once in a week or every two weeks I take my children out for quick lunch where they get their favorite kiddie meal and a toy as a freebie, this is very exciting for my kids because each time they are given new toys and they love to anticipate what new gifts they will get. You can also find snacks and cereal in the store which offer these toys along the packet of two bowls of cereal or with the bag of flavored milk. Make sure your purchase such items and make use of these free toys. These toys will keep your children thrilled and in hindsight will save your money.

Toys Swapping

I am sure you have met plenty of mums facing the same problem, you can swap toys with them. Talk to fellow mum and tell them about toy swapping they will be happy to do so. The toy swapping will allow your kids to have new toys every month or so, without you blowing you’re hard earned money. You can not only swap toys with parents who have kids the same age as yours but also from the parents who have grown-ups and they still have kept their children toys in the attic. You can always return them back when your children are bored with those toys. I have swapped toys from relatives and friends and least to say I was relieved and so were the other parents I swapped with.

Exchange Them Right

There are stores present where you can exchange your toys with other toys, this does not cost a dime and your children are rewarded with new toys that they have never played with. Kids do not care if these toys have been used as far as the toys and games are new to them they will play with them and cherish them. You can exchange these toys again and again without spending a penny.

Make Use of Gift Cards and Saving Coupons

Often we are given gift cards as a present which goes unutilized because apparently the store has outdated collection if you cannot find anything relevant to shop at the particular store checkout if they have toys section and make use of your gift card for purchasing toys. Especially if you are given a gift card for any departmental store then you can get toys from there without taking spending money from your own budget. Other than gift cards you can also use saving coupons, today most of the store give out their saving vouchers to their loyal customers, you can get these vouchers from these stores directly or look for them on the internet. Plenty of websites is available where you can find promotional codes exclusively for toys and games shopping. These promotional codes are entered at checkout and you get a discount as much as 70% and offers such as free shipping that will save you the cost of traveling as well.

These are my favorite tricks I used to save my money whenever I am purchasing toys. it was not easy for me at first to look through so many things before getting toys but once I get the hold of these tips I am now pro for purchasing toys, I have saved a huge amount by just reducing expense I used to spend on toys. I have shared these tips with fellow mums and they are also pleased and use them constantly whenever they go for toys shopping. I hope these tips work for you too as they have worked for me and my friends. Do mention in the comments below which of the tips you are going to follow on your next trip to toys and games aisle. If you have any trick of your own on how to save money on toys for parents with a limited budget do share it in the comments below!