Frugal Living - Saving Money Raising Kids

The best piece of advice anyone ever gave me when we started having kids was not to get rid of anything until I had something permanent done that would prevent me from having any more children.  I stored everything in the vacuum sealed bags inside of tubs until the next child came.  There was really very little that was worn out and needed to be thrown away.

Another way we saved money was buying things that would grow with the child.  We have the 3-in-1 car seats for both our children.  Our highchair converts to a booster seat.  We bought our crib to convert into a bed, but due to fire damage we won't be converting it.  There are many many products that convert into the next stage that the child will need.  For the most part they cost roughly the same as the one stage or considerably less than it would cost to buy each product designed for the individual stage.

Now that we will not be having any more children, we consign the things that the kids outgrow.  The consignment shops in the area around us prefer name brand clothing only, so my grandmother helps in this area.  We give her all the stain free clothes, toys, and baby equipment as the kids outgrow it  and she takes them to the store for us.  We then take the money made and reinvest it in things the kids need.  

We also never say no to hand-me-downs.  The neutral clothes my daughter outgrew are passed down to my son.  It helps that she has a wide variety of interests (such as Thomas the Train).  If someone offers me clothes for the kids, I gladly accept the sizes they will be going into.  I then go through them and pass on what I will not use, usually to Good Will.


Another way that we have saved money is cutting back on the waste at dinner time.  We give the children smaller portions of things at meal time, even if its something we know that they generally like.  They know that they can have seconds or even thirds if they really need it, but this keeps us from wasting as much food.  If they are trying a new food we may put as small a portion as a bite on their plate, just enough to give it a try.  The same goes for foods we know they don't care for.  If they are surprised and find they do like the food, then they can have more.