Saving money...

So babies are expensive and twins are even more expensive. What do you do to save money?

I just discovered the Amazon Mom membership and Subscribe and Save. I am getting my diapers from there for super cheap, they will send me a box a month in the mail with free shipping (for a trial period). It's worth taking a look.

 

I make my own laundry soap, with ivory soap (so it is gentle enough for the babies' clothes), washing soda & borax. Our clothes no longer smell 'Downy Fresh', instead they just smell clean. I feel it is a cost savings. I make a batch every 2-3 months... and it cost me about $15/yr.

 

I use coupons more and buy things on sale, especially when it comes to baby gear. I've signed up for e-coupons at most stores where I regularly shop so I almost always can get at least 20% off on an item. If I don't have a valid coupon right away, I'll wait until o get another one. Babies R Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, JCPenney, and Old Navy all frequently have good coupon offers, even if it's just free shipping it saves me a trip.

 

I use lots and lots of coupons. From the paper, coupons.com, and several other websites. For clothes, I either buy used, or I wait until things are on sale. For example, Kohl's will regularly having the Jumping Beans things for $5 a piece, and I try to put a coupon on top of that, usually for 15% off. I'm on tons of email and mailing lists so I get lots of coupons unsolicited, too.

When I buy online, I always search for a coupon code to see if I can get a discount, free shipping, etc. I am usually successful at finding something. I do lots of eBay buying, and buy and sell on craigslist, too.

Target now has a credit card that you get 5% off on every purchase, so I buy most of our baby food and diapers there. I actually love the Target diapers, which are cheaper than the others, plus 5% off.

We have to buy Nutramigen formula, which is VERY pricey, but I buy it at Martin's (our local division of Giant) and use my rewards card - for every $100 we spend, we get ten cents a gallon off of gas. One month I stocked up on formula and got to fill up DH's truck for less than $1 a gallon.

We also hardly ever eat out like we used to, and I try to stock up on groceries when they are on sale. For example, when cereal is on sale 4 for $8, I buy about 8 boxes. We also have a deep freezer and butcher a cow once a year that we split with my parents, which means big savings on meat - we live in a big agricultural area and my brother is a cattle dealer, so not everyone can probably do this like we can.

DH and I share one cell phone - it is a free, basic phone - I don't pay extra to be able to use the internet, etc. We have nothing but the basics on our home phone, too (no call waiting, etc). We have one step above basic cable (about $40 a month), and we have the slowest DSL internet for around $20 a month. One thing we do not skimp on is how we set the thermostat - I cannot STAND to be cold in the winter, so we keep it on 74.

I have a mom and a MIL who like to buy things - we have more toys than we need for sure. My mom likes to buy clothes - the really cute, dressy things they have (for pictures, etc.) she usually buys. And my MIL usually brings a box of diapers when she comes to visit, which is about once a month. We are very lucky to have supportive family!

 

I shop at consignment sales for everything the boys and grown ups. We also buy our diapers and formula at Sam's. Did you know that you can use Similac or Enfamil checks at Sam's.

 

Best saving for us: Second hand clothes. I have lots of second hand clothes for the babies. They grow out of things so fast, baby clothing is not worn out after one or two babies. I get most of the things from mom friends with older children (including one with twins) and I in turn pack them up sorted according to size and season and hand them on to a friend who just had twins too. If we have more kids the things will return to us, if not they will go to the next family. Although most items have been worn by four to six babies they still look pretty good. This system plus the clothes the children get as gifts from family cover nearly all their needs. The only things I have had to buy were warm winter overalls as the sizes of the inherited one did not fit and shoes which I believe need to fit absolutely perfectly so I buy them new.
We also do coupons and no-name diapers which work pretty well. And of course, BFing is great for saving if you can do it.

 

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opcorn:

 

Instead of buying similac rs (the formula that most agreed with my spitter) I buy the Kirkland brand (generic Costco brand) and add a little rice cereal (makes the "rs" in the similac formula). We now get twice as much formula for half the price! Our ped even confirmed that generic is the same as name brand formula. And speaking of generics, I only buy generic meds-acetamenaphin, etc.-they are identical and cheaper

We also just get the Kirkland brand diapers unless I have a really good coupon, or that Amazon offer is great. You can get 30% off the trial offer, and there's a 20% off coupon code you can stack on top

I'm signed up for a lot rewards programs at places I regularly shop...if I'm going to shop there anyway I might as well get a little back. And I always use coupons/promo codes, can't remember the last time I bought any clothes regularly priced.

I also buy and sell a lot on craigslist.

I also meal plan and get groceries only twice a month. Planning it all out, and making a list, makes me think about what we actually need instead of going up and down the aisles and grabbing whatever sounds good. I do have my groceries delivered, but because I only shop twice a month I always spend their minimum for free delivery so it not only saves me money by not getting side tracked by all the extras that sound good, but it saves me time...priceless! :laughing:

 

We use Babies R Us formula- in the lids of a lot of the cans are $5 off coupons and they let you buy 3 on on coupon so that's about $8/can. They have had some cans clearanced for $10 so I am getting them for $5 each. Last week I brought a bunch of the $5 Similac coupons in- the liquid is $5.50 and great for if we go visit people or are out for the day. It's on sale now for about $4, but they take the formula check first at full value so I made $1 off each one. I got 8 liquid Similacs and then used a coupon on 3 cans of their $10 powder. It was $7 for the 8 liquid containers plus three cans. Can't beat that!

We do use only Pampers, but I have a lot of cloth as well. The generics I have tried were like cardboard (the Babies R Us brand...ugh!) and had terrible absorbency compared to Pampers, but Luvs were a decent and less pricey alternative. I probably should use cloth more, but to be honest I usually don't that often. I do for awhile after they poop because I prefer to just wash pee out and minimize dealing with poop in cloth. Doesn't always work, but I try. Diapers.com has 10% (I think...maybe 15%?) cash back on diapers through the end of the year and free shipping over $50. If you buy something from their partner site, soap.com, the shipping is free after $25. And you get $10 for referrals (hint hint!!). First order has a 15% off coupon code too. They sell everything!

We will be making our own baby food as much as is feasible, but are buying some now so we have a supply already once they start.

Their clothes are used, but I am picky about what I buy at thrift stores. I won't buy unless it's something I would like new and it's in good shape, and is cheap. Rummage sales are better. And eBay as long as you don't get caught up in bidding. I pick a price I am willing to pay and if I lose, I lose. I have a ton of Old Navy and Children's Place stuff- watch their clearance. I just got a TON of cute stuff at Old Navy 50% off clearance. Long sleeved onesies for $2- cheaper than Goodwill!! I got some supercute stuff from Children's Place at half off clearance as well. I very rarely buy non-clearance items.

 

I buy all their diapers through Amazon's Subscribe and Save and the Mom program. I also just switched to Fisher-Price diapers as opposed to the Pampers, and I save another $.03 per diaper (yeah, I know...but it adds up!). We also recently switched to Target's Up and Up version of Similac Sensitive as well as their snack puffs.

I also try to make at least 50% of the girls' baby food if not more. I definitely save money that way.

I also use coupons like crazy. Besides clipping and going online, I get coupons from Target since we were registered with them. I signed up for Publix's Baby Club and get monthly coupons. I also signed up for Gerber and Similac and get occasional coupons from them.

 

I know a lot of people scout for coupons and rebates and things like that.

I'm sure I am repeating some of the suggestions because I didn't read them all but here's what we do...

There is an organization that is in our town called "Mother's Helping Mother's" they supply us with baby wipes and diapers when whenever we need them and baby food when the boys were on it. It's an amazing program to help parents who can't afford essential items for the babies and I am so fortunate to have found them.

As for most everything else it's all about thrift stores and sale racks. We haven't purchased clothes or toys for the boys because friends of ours have brought trash bags full of toddler clothes and toys for the kids. So in that regard we haven't spent any money on strollers, car seats, diapers, wipes (all came from Mother's Helping Mother's), clothes or toys.

We've been very lucky so far!

 

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Mortels

 

I used generic products a lot. PBM makes a lot of the generic formula on the market. They make Target, Wal-Mart, Kroger, and BabiesRUs brand formulas. It's all the same. So I shop where I can get it the cheapest. I just discovered the BRU formula and the coupons. They send out coupons once every couple of months. One of them is always for formula. I think the one I have now is save $4 off two cans of formula. That would make it $10 a can. I also stocked when I saw it for $10 a can because I had those $5 off coupons that someone else mentioned.

My obgyn office gave me a paper to send into Similac. It's for their Strong Moms Gold program. Haven't recieved anything from them yet but they claim it is really good. We shall see. Since my girls are good about going back and forth I will use Similac when I get it for free or next to nothing. My pedi is okay with this.

I use generic diapers or the name brand depending on sales. I also like cloth diapering as well and have a nice stock built up from my two older girls. I just need to buy a couple new covers for my one diapers and I am all set. I love the Up & Up brand wipes. I can't stand Huggies wipes but use them when I have coupons. Target will let you stack a coupon with one of their Target brand coupons. Last month I got $2.50 off a refil pack of Huggies. I paid $15.00 for one of those super giant tubs of Tide that normally is $20.

This all reminds me that I need to go through my coupons today since I am going shopping tomorrow!

 

You can save money by buying cheaper clothes. I know that we all want our children to look beautiful but it is possible even with cheap dressing. We ust need to know where to buy good dressings. For example, at BeleneChandia blog you can find more good shops where clothes are high-quality and cheap

 

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