How to be Frugal as a Mom

by Diana Grezlovski

We all know how expensive it can get to care for kids.

In this post, I’ll share with you how you can save money by being a frugal mom.

You don’t realize how quickly everything adds up until you have your first child.

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Let’s take diapers for example.

For the first couple years of your child’s life, you will have to buy diapers every month and let’s say on average a box of diapers costs about $35. 

If you multiply that by 12 you get about $420 (more or less depending on the brand you buy and if you get more than a box per month).

Now take that amount and multiply it by 2, you get $840 for 2 years just on diapers alone!

And that’s not including the extras like care products, food, clothing, wipes, other supplies, etc. 

So here are some tips on how you can save some extra cash by being frugal and not looking cheap.

How to Save Money with Kids 

1. Sales/Clearance 

I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of mom who hates to spend a lot of money on clothing.

Kids grow so fast that spending a lot of money on brand names or nice clothes is not ideal. Plus, kids get stains on everything!

Don’t get me wrong, having a couple of nice outfits for special occasions is fine. 

I’m referring to everyday clothing.

Sure, if you have a bunch of money, go right ahead!

But, if you’re looking to save money then I suggest shopping in the sale or clearance section. One of my favourite stores to shop for my son is Carter’s. 

They always have great doorbuster and sales. Their clearance section is awesome too!

I remember buying some pants and t-shirts for $3 – $5! I thought that was a steal! And the best part is that their clothing is pretty good quality for the price you pay. 

Most of my son’s clothing pieces from there have lasted a long time. I still have clothing that is in pretty good condition even after washing them over and over again. 

The next best thing after sales/clearance items is Coupons.

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2. Coupons 

Coupons are a fantastic way to save money!

Carter always offers coupons and they even have a loyalty program that gives you cashback to spend on your next purchase after you accumulate a certain amount of points!

I always take advantage of it because it’s basically free money.

They also do special promos where they double your points for every purchase you make. The point system is getting $10 for every $100 you spend. That’s amazing! At least I think so. 

Coupons can be used for other items as well. Sometimes you can find coupons on other baby products that you need depending on where you shop.

Here are some of the best Cashback sites that give back up to 40% on your shopping

• Swagbucks – Earn almost daily with them (you even get paid to search the web!)
• MyPoints
• Ibotta – get cashback within 48 hours!

 

3. Hand-me downs 

Another great way to save money is to use hand-me-downs. Now, most people aren’t crazy about this because the items have been used. But, if they’re gently used and washed/sanitized I don’t see anything wrong with it. 

I’m not a big fan of hand-me-downs myself but if I really needed something and it was in like-new condition then I’ll take advantage of it. Of course, I don’t recommend hand-me-downs for products like bottles or pacifiers but things like clothing, toys, activity gyms/swings, etc. are fine.

Off-brands 

What are “off-brands”?

So basically anything that is similar to a brand name but sold for a cheaper price. A good example of this is Target’s Up & Up brand, which sells similar items that most major brand names do for less. 

It’s essentially the same product but for a cheaper price. Sometimes off-brands are better than brand names. It depends on what you buy.

I like to choose off-brands just to save an extra $1 or 2. It may not seem like that big of savings, but trust me it adds up! 

 

4. Bulk-buys 

This falls along with my previous tip. Stores like Sam’s Club and Costco are big on this! They sell items that will last you for a long time for a decent price – like sundries or diapers. 

Costco will sell a box of over 120 diapers (depending on the size of course) for a discounted price of $39.99. You can compare this to a box of the same brand with fewer diapers at the same or a much higher price. 

It will also last you longer so you don’t have to keep making trips to the store every time. This is a perk to bulk-buys.

 

5. Stick to what’s needed 

I always like to tell anyone that is looking to save money to stick to what they need. I’m not a fan of buying items that are not necessary.

For example, I don’t need to purchase a 5 pack of baby bottles if I have one child. You will not need that many.

I purchased 4 baby bottles for my son and guess how many of them I use? Just one. The other 3 were basically a waste of money. They just sit on my drying rack. 

Even if you’re in the newborn phase, you won’t need more than 2 bottles (in my opinion). It’s always good to have at least 1 extra but you really don’t need a pack of 5+. You simply won’t use that many. 

 

6. Only buy what you can afford 

This is a big one for saving. You simply cannot buy items that are out of your price range or budget. I have been guilty of this. Technically, I was able to afford it but the wiser decision for me to make was not to buy it. 

If you are looking at the price tag thinking to yourself “yikes that’s expensive” then you can’t afford it. The best way to do this is to have cash on you when you’re shopping. (I know most people don’t nowadays) 

By having cash on hand, you’re able to stick to your budget. It keeps you under your limit instead of over your limit. Think about it, if you go to the store with only a $100 cash and not a penny more then you have no other choice but to spend under $100. 

 

7. Cook at home 

Food!

Obviously we need it to survive so we have to eat something right?

Well, the best way to save money on food is to cook at home. One of the biggest things my husband and I spend money on is food. 

If you look at our statements, a majority of our spending goes to food. We used to eat out all the time and the $$ was adding up fast!

I couldn’t believe how much money we were spending on buying meals here and there. 

The meals we were purchasing weren’t fancy restaurant meals either. Once I started cooking at home, it cut our spending in half!

I try to make meals that can last us for at least 2 days so I don’t have to buy new ingredients all the time. It goes a long way, trust me. 

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8. Have a baby shower – or ask for help from family/friends 

I know this tip may not fall along with the others but when you’re an expecting mom, throwing a baby shower is a huge help! Most people will purchase items from your registry or gift you money or gift cards. 

It’s a great way to have others help you purchase all the items you need so you don’t have to!

Most of my family and friends purchased all the items I needed so we really didn’t have to buy too many items. 

If you don’t want to throw a baby shower, you can still do a baby registry and inform all your family and friends about it to see if they’d like to help. 

So there you have it, some simple solutions to help save you some money.

Even if some of these don’t feel like they’re saving you much at first, it adds up in the long run! 

Share your thoughts below and share this post with your friends!