I really debated about posting anything about Amazon, afraid that it would appear to be an advertisement. I will be honest and say that anytime you go to the Amazon site through a link on my blog I do earn a commission on what you purchase. I say that as a disclaimer, not as an advertisement and also as a way for you to help my support my family!

I have been purchasing and ordering from Amazon for years and over this past year this has increased greatly. As our dietary needs have changed, specialty ingredients can get very expensive and hard to find. I’ve discovered that if you are willing to buy in bulk then the prices on Amazon, for the most part, can’t be beat. There are a couple of secrets to save money on this site as well hard work, research and patience!

First off: Subscribe and Save. This program is free to join. The benefit is that anything you order (that qualifies for the program – it tends to be expendable items like groceries, toilet paper, etc and not cameras or dining room tables) is eligible for free (2 day) prime shipping for the first year and 15% off the total price. If you are able to find a cheaper price than a grocery store then you will still receive free shipping and a percentage off on top of it! After the item ships you can cancel the subscription part… although I’ve found it very helpful!

For example one of the items I have subscribed for is coconut oil. I use a lot of it and now I don’t have to worry about purchasing it in the store or carting it home! It arrives on my front step! I order two 54 oz containers every 4 months. The price does change so I often monitor the pricing. If there is a deal sooner before my item is supposed to ship I’ll often move the ship date to now, or if the price has increased and I still have some left I’ll move the date out until I find a better price. Often I can find this order for about $34, which is a huge savings. For this amount of coconut oil at Wegmans it would be about $65 for the same brand.

Another deal is Amazon Moms which gives a 15% discount for certain items that usually pertain to being a mom, like diapers, wipes, child clothing, etc. Often you can combine Amazon Moms and Subscribe and Save to get a 30% discount. Another saving tip is that in American Baby and Parents magazines there are often coupons for $10 off an order or 20% off an order. These can be combined and used at the same time. I believe there are coupon sites out there that offer discounts for Amazon as well.

I will give you an example of how this worked for me recently. I ordered a box of 180 disposable diapers (deplorable I know – I knew I was going to need them for our upcoming vacation. I’m not such a die hard enough that I bring the cloth diapers… I’m on vacation too! 😉 ). They were the Luvs brand which is one of the cheaper options and the box was originally priced for $34. I used two coupons, Subscribe and Save and Amazon Moms savings deals and ended up paying $7.27 for the box and had free shipping and it arrived the next day after I ordered.

The following are a few of the items that I’ve found that can be hard to find. Or it would mean that I have to frequent health food stores, Whole Foods, Trader Joes and my regular grocer on a regular basis, which isn’t an option. I’m not going to 3 or 4 grocery stores with 3 kidos in tow! We would all be having meltdowns, including me! Organic raw cacao nibs, organic goji berries, almond flour, organic coconut flour, organic vanilla beans, organic steel cut oats, and randomly fish food all seem to have better prices, at least when I purchased! I have spent a lot of time price comparing and maybe sometime I’ll post it in the future if that is something that sparks some interest.

I hope you found this interesting and helpful and not pushy or like an advertisement or sales pitch. If you did find fault with it, please let me know.