Kids are expensive
The one thing no one told me about having kids-they are expensive. Ok, well maybe they did tell me, but I refused to believe it was so.
Now that I have three kids–I know the expenses in raising a family are no joke. Diapers for two, formula for a hungry boy, plus clothes and toys adds up fast.
Ways to Save Money on Baby Expenses
As much as I can, I try to find the best deals and save money on the things we need for the kids. One of my biggest shopping loves is Amazon Prime. When we were stationed in the middle of nowhere Louisiana, we had the PX (Post Exchange) and a Walmart nearby. The nearest mall and Target (my other favorite!) were over an hour drive so we would only go there 1-2 times a month. Often times we could not find items we wanted close by or they would be out of stock at the store.
When I was expecting baby #2 (Miss L), we signed up for Amazon Prime to get free shipping on the baby items we needed. Almost everything we bought for baby came from Amazon. Additionally, they have a program called Amazon Mom, which offers a 20% discount on diapers and a 5% discount on wipes when you order a recurring subscription.Amazon Prime does current run $99 a year, but you get many benefits in addition to free shipping. Using the link above, you can get a 30 day trial to see if it will work for you. We saved money by canceling our Netflix subscription (which more than covers the cost of Prime) and use the Amazon Instant Video instead.
If you don’t regularly shop Amazon or won’t use any of the other benefits of Prime, then you should look into other ways to save on diapers as your savings on diapers will likely not outweigh the cost of Amazon Prime.
Get diapers for less
We order all our diapers through Amazon’s Subscribe and Save and I set mine up to get a case of diapers per month (per child) and wipes every month (this is for two kids). We don’t go through a full case of wipes every month, so if we have enough of a stockpile to last for the upcoming month, I just cancel that particular subscription for the month.
We get a big box delivered each month for each of the little ones and you can find the same brands you find at your local stores. With the Amazon Mom discount, I save $6-7 on each box of diapers. Between Little Man and Miss L, we’ve saved close to $300 in the past 3 years just with this one tip. If you use Huggies or Pampers, your savings will be about $10 per box (for the biggest quantity).
*If you order a subscription, be sure to pay attention to sizes and increase the diaper size when needed. You don’t want to be stuck with a box of diapers too small for your baby.
Additional ways to save on diapers
- Target run specials on diapers pretty regularly, usually a $5 gift card when you purchase two boxes. Sometimes it goes as high as $20 when you buy three boxes.
- Check your local Sam’s Club or Costco. With my first kiddo, we purchased all our diapers in bulk from Sam’s Club for less than what you’d spend at Walmart.
- If you are into couponing, then check out drugstore deals. I personally don’t have the time to go to several different stores, but there are people who do and get diapers dirt cheap. Gretchen at Retired by 40 has a great example of how she scored cheap diapers using coupons at a drugstore.
Save money on baby formula
If you formula feed your baby, there are ways to save on this expense too. Little Man was formula fed, and as a growing boy, he ate a ton! We would go through 4-5 cans of formula each month.
We have a Costco membership and they have great prices on their store brand formula. For example, Target’s store brand formula runs $24.99 a can, but the Costco brand formula is $16.49 for the same size can. This adds up to $34-$42 saved per month or a grand total for the first year of over $400!
If you prefer to use name brand formula, such as Enfamil or Similac, be sure to register on their websites. You can get coupons mailed to you regularly to help with the cost of formula.
Save money on baby gear
Consider buying gender neutral baby gear. Yes, the pink stroller is adorable, but what if you have a boy later on? When we were expecting Miss L, all our baby gear (stroller, car seat, pack and play, etc) was bought in gender neutral colors (I didn’t have my baby gear from Miss H due to the large age gap).
We knew that that there was a possibility we would want more children and didn’t want to have to worry about having pink stuff with a boy. When we found out baby #3 was a boy, we were glad we had gone gender neutral. Other than clothes, we had everything we needed already for Little Man.
Saving money on baby clothes
Buy versatile pieces for kids’ wardrobes. We stick to separates (my kids never seem to be in the same size for both tops and bottoms so sets never work!) and keep items easy to match. They wear jeans or their pants/shorts are in colors that match with most shirts.
Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, and Children’s Place are our favorite places to find versatile kid’s clothes at an affordable price. I can’t justify spending money on name brand clothes when they will be outgrown before I know it.
You can also save tons of money by shopping thrift stores (like Goodwill) or resale shops that deal specifically with children’s items.
You can also save big by shopping clearance clothing. Depending on your kid’s growth patterns, you can buy clothes at the end of season for next year. When the stores start bringing out spring and summer items, you can find winter clothing marked down.
At the end of last summer, we found plenty of deals for Miss L in a size above the size she was wearing. She has a summer wardrobe for this year based off of items we bought on clearance last summer.
Be careful with this tip-your children could grow faster or slower than the next size up for the upcoming year.
Save money on toys
I try to buy toys that will be played with for long term and not just a fad. My favorites spark their imagination and can be used over and over in different ways; blocks can build a castle, zoo, or giant tower. The play kitchen and food can be used to play house, restaurant, or even sorting games.
Obviously, I love Amazon, so I tend to look there for toys, but many times I need to see a product in person before purchasing it.
My favorite new found way to save money on toys is through Target’s new price match policy. You check to see if the toy is offered cheaper on Amazon. If so, you can take the product to the customer service desk, show them the price on Amazon on your phone, and they will match it. I recently purchased a toy listed at $25 at Target for the Amazon price of $18.
