Honestly I'm just trying to figure out a few tips for making a dollar go further with a new baby in The House (she isn't even a month old yet). The only problem I might have is that the baby is my niece and my sister has yet to learn the value of a dollar. So if you could also help me figure out how to diplomatically introduce whatever tips you have to share that would be awesome. Thanks in advance even if it's just for reading.
Making your own baby food instead of purchasing it will help you save A LOT of money. Just purchase frozen peas, carrots, etc. and let them thaw. Then, simply blend them yourself in a Ninja or other sturdy blender. Plus, use cloth diapers instead of purchasing disposable ones. Save money by breastfeeding instead of purchasing formula.
There are plenty of things she can do in order to save money when a baby is concerned. These days, having a baby is NOT cheap but thanks to experienced parents, you are able to learn a few things on saving. Even if you are not going to use cloth diapers, it would be a great idea to buy a few. You can use it for many situations, such as, feeding and burping time, and you can also use it as a nappy mat, instead of buying one of those diaper mats. As hunysuckle said, your sister can make her own baby food - mash fresh veggies and then, place them in ice-cube trays. When the food is frozen, you can then place them in a container. This leaves you more space to make more baby food. Does your sister cook a lot at home? If she does, advise her to make a weekly plan of what she would be cooking the following week etc, and then go through the grocery items that she would need. Planning in advance can help save tons of money. Moreover, it wouldn't hurt to buy store brand items, as they are much cheaper than the branded ones, and they are just as good.
I had a set of twin boys 8 months ago. On top of that, I have three other children, ages 15, 14 and 10. I did not return to work after having the boys. So, I know a thing or two about pinching pennies! If she is not breastfeeding, spend the $25 and get a BJ"s, Costco, or whatever other wholesale club is around you. We have a Costco card and use Kirkland brand formula. (check with your pediatrician first) We gradually introduced the store brand. It has saved a bunch!! This is also true for diapers! We make all our own food, with exception of cereal. This costs a great deal less, as well as taking out the perservatives you find in jarred food. We were also able to start introducing spices to the boys. We purchase a few nice sets of clothing to have for special occasions and buy all their other clothes at the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or other second hand shops. The clothes generally get ruined anyways because of spit up, poop, etc. Without taking these steps, there is no way we could survive on one income with 5 children. Good luck!!
Thanks for the tips, although I will say that WIC takes care of the formula and thanks to the babyshower (and the hospital) we have a lot of diapers. A new store here has had lots of clothes on sale so that has helped.
If she is low income, there are plenty of program's she can get involved in such as Wic. If you could talk her into putting a certain amount of money back for the baby's needs once a week. Breastfeeding is definately cheaper than formula. Go Green! I pinch pennies all the time. I save all my change until I get a big amount and cash it in for extra stuff. Recycle and get the cash from that, which is usually not a lot but it goes to my penny pincher jar and adds up after awhile. If you don't want to use cloth diapers the luvs are a good brand that are cheaper than some of the other leading brands because I have always found that cheaper diapers aren't that good.
I used to male my own formula and babyfood. If you get a Ninja food chopper you can take any food and puree it. you can also chunk it when they start to need structure in the food. Baby's never wear all the clothes you buy. I recommend checking out yard and garage sales for baby items. I found so many things that still had the store tag on. Mine usually wore just a few of the outfits. More than 10 is way too many. I used cloth diapers for burping towels and that saved on my laundry. I had less spit ups on my clothes. I have raised 10 kids on a budget. It could be if this is her first that she is just excited.The first is always the worst expence wise because you feel like you need everything. Lol after that you know better.
I agree with the making of baby food. We did that with our second child and saved literally hundreds of dollars in the first year alone. We have about an acre garden that we grow our own, so it was an even better cost savings; but you could even look for foods at your local Aldi's if you have one and then freeze the food. If you have any questions about how to store it or anything, let me know and I would be happy to give you some tips on what to do. It is very simple and you don't need a lot of expensive jars or anything as some people think. We are living on one income with two little ones, so we have learned how to cut back significantly. You mentioned that your sister may not be on board, so that is kind of a hurdle. You could suggest using rummage sales or even online rummaging (we have a Facebook page for our area where people sell things and then you just set up a place to meet); but there are always a huge amount of clothes for children. You can also ask the pediatrician's office about samples of formula if you would ever run out for some reason with the WIC. Often times pediatrican's offices will get samples from the formula companies that they will give out if asked. Good luck to you and your sister! And, of course, baby!
You may want to use the shock treatment and save up the receipts they have. Then you can present these to her and show her where all the money is going and how much the new baby is going to cost her on a regular basis instead of doing it gently.
Do not buy too many clothes, I know its hard to resist buying those cute little garments but put in mind that babies grow really fast and they will practically outgrow them in two weeks time. My sister has a baby girl and instead of buying head pieces, she makes them herself. You can buy materials at craft shops, and malls, just tap into your creative side and i'm sure you'll come up with cute designs that are unique and nice but costs a lot cheaper.
All very good tips given here and I have to agree with making your own food will save you tons of money, especially in the toddler stage! If you can get involved with other parents that also have children slightly older than your child, you can sometimes get clothes for free from them because their kids have outgrown them.
Try making your own baby food, breastfeeding, using free seminars to get things such as samples, free diapers, free bottles, etc. Tell her to consider purchasing baby things in bulk to save up in the long run. Amazon.com has an awesome amazon mom program that helps with saving on thousands of baby items.
I always got coupons for formula through friends, the newspaper, and the hospital had given us a few. Plus I used Gerber formula and they have a site where you can sign up and when you buy a product I believe you can enter a code in and they will add up points and send you something that looks like a check. It's really a coupon to use for formula. So I started by using a coupon I got from the hospital then Gerber sent me checks. I also went to nice neighborhood garage sales for clothes. You can't do this at all ages, but as a baby it was great. I would find Ralph Lauren, baby Gap, and other name brands for .25 to .50 each! And they didn't look used at all. No stains, no wear and tear or faded. They looked brand new. There are a few that looked worn, but I just wouldn't buy those. There were lots that didn't look worn.
I have a 2 month old, so I am working on saving money. We use cloth diapers, breastfeed, use as many reusable products as possible. Those save money that would be spent each month, but our biggest money saver right now is just not buying things that we don't really need. For example, when it comes to clothing, I do at least one load of wash daily, so why do I need 20+ outfits for my little guy? I don't, he has 7-10 outfits, and even on days full of spit-up and dirty diapers, he hasn't gone through more than 3. We have not purchase a fancy swing, exersaucer, bumbo, bouncer, or those other costly items. Baby lays in a bed to sleep, and when he's awake, he is being held or enjoying tummy time on the floor (on a blanket surrounded by a few toys). Not buying extras has saved up over $200. Also, what we do need, buy used when possible. Little babies outgrow clothing so quickly, so even used clothing usually looks new, and cost only a fraction of new clothes. If you are able to turn around and resell those, it makes the cost even lower. I hope you find some useful tips here, I love being frugal, and know every little bit of savings add up in the long run.
My wife made our baby's food when he was just starting eating solids. She just usually boil vegetables/fruits then put them in a blender. Then she puts them in the freezer, she just thaw when she fed our baby. We were able to save lots of money because we didn't have to buy jarred baby food which doesn't come cheap. She also buy baby clothes on discount racks.
I employ a lot of these strategies as well and it has helped me to stay home longer with our daughter. I would like to add that making some of your own hygiene products can help as well. Websites such as tip nut and Crunchy Betty provide instructions on how to make your own laundry detergent, toothpaste, deodorant, and so much more. I currently make my own toothpaste and laundry detergent. It comes out much cheaper than using the fancy name brand detergents and the clothes come out just as clean. To the original poster, I think it is great that you are trying to guide your sister to make better financial decisions. Please keep us updated on how things are going!
We use cloth diaper and cloth wipes. Plus we make our own baby food. And we buy clothes on sales and on discount racks. These little things can help your sister save lots of money.
I bought a stash of around 16 cloth diapers when my daughter was born and used the same ones until I potty trained her. I used the same cloth on my second daughter as well! They were Goodmamas, and are around $32 per diaper but even at $500 for my original diaper purchase I still came out way way cheaper. I liked the AI2 diapers. Log In
I bought a food processor to make my own baby food, bout really inexpensive clothes at Kmart and I coupon for things like diapers and wipes. You can make a lot of baby products (like lotions and shampoos) that are safe for sensitive skin if you go to your health food store. There are tons of tips on how to make your own baby wipes too on the web.
Even if the mother is fashion conscious and only buys luxury brands of baby clothes, Goodwill has designer baby clothes for cheap. I've seen DKNY, Hanna Andersen, Zutano and many other good baby clothes brands at Goodwill for around $4 so she should consider thrifting.
