3 Ways to Manage Your Toy Budget

This is a sponsored post, however all ideas and opinions on toys, managing your toy budget and everything else, are all my own.

Toys are a big part of childhood. But toys can also be so much more than just fun and games. Most toys provide at least some opportunity for kids to learn. And learning is good!  When my kids were little, the best part about play dates, was having a whole new set of toys to play with. Because face it, kids do get bored with their own toys, no matter how creative their imaginations are. And that can get expensive!

Here are three ways you can manage your toy budget, and still keep your kids entertained:

Online Yard Sale Sites
I recently sold my kids' play kitchen and a little play store on our local yard sale site. I didn't make any huge amount of money, but two families got great new toys for their kids at about a quarter of the original cost to buy it new.  I made sure to clean them all up with my non-toxic Thieves Cleaner and took nice photos of them to post. Search Facebook for your local town and the words "yard sale" and see what comes up. Ours is pretty active, and has everything from books to Legos and video games.

Subscription Services
What, subscription services? You mean like a new toy comes to my house?  YES! But with a service like Pley, it can be sent back when it gets "old and boring," and you don't have to deal with the clutter! Isn't that ingenious? Pley offers access to a large selection of educative toys, including 400+ LEGO sets and popular robotics toys, so there's something for everyone.

It's really convenient and helps reduce clutter: Pley packages get delivered to your door and when the kids are done playing, they can return them for a new toy. No more toys sitting unused on shelves! And all these toys come at a low price point vs. buying toys. The average member can save ~$800/year.

 
Consignment Sales, Toy Trades and Swaps
We have a couple large consignment sales in our area, and they have an incredible assortment of baby needs and toys, all at great prices. Some of them are even new and never opened. We also had a neighborhood "Toybrary," which operated much like a library - you could go in and play with the toys (new to you).  If you belong to a Moms' Group or Play Group, consider holding a "toy swap." Everyone brings one to three toys in great condition, and you take turns swapping what you brought for something new. It's a great way to get out and fun for the kiddos too!

So as you can see,  keeping your kids entertained doesn't always mean saying yes on every trip to Target. There are definitely ways you can save money and still keep your kids loaded up with fun and exciting toys to play with and explore!

What's your favorite budget-friendly way to get new (or new to you) toys?

catch you soon -