11 Money Saving Tips for Parents with Babies

When it comes to money saving ideas, some people go way out of their way to save a dime while others casually use products that cost hundreds of dollars. For example, is it worth drying a piece of Saran wrap?  Some folks (mostly from a previous generation) would put the wrap on the window to dry just to save a few cents. Because most people overspend on babies, I collected some money saving tips for parents with babies to share with you.

The thing is that some of these ideas are genius, and others are simply a waste of time.  For the frugal minded parents, many of these will be genius ideas. For the rest, they’ll probably sound like a complete waste of time.  Which is right?  I’ll let you decide.

At the end of the day, what is most important is that both the husband and wife agree that the effort is worth the reward.  Otherwise, you’ll end up with some more marriage and money problems.

11 Money Saving Ideas For Babies

1. Cloth diapers instead of disposables

Yes, it is nasty.  My counterparts in North America have told me there are ways to avoid the whole hand in the toilet thing, but we do it the old fashioned way.  Fortunately, you can become numb to the nastiness.

My vote: Disposables are for wimps.  Cloth is worth the savings.

2. Breast Feeding instead of Formula

Hey, I’m not going to say a lot about this one because I know this topic deals with a lot more than just money.  There are discussions about health and the mother’s schedule that I really don’t want to get into. But, in term of cost savings, this is one of the best ways to save a lot of money.

My vote: Why buy what God has already given?

3. Laundry basket instead of a bassinet

My daughter slept for about two weeks in a laundry basket.  Fortunately, we didn’t buy a bassinet — there was a bassinet in part of our Pack N Play.  However, if someone were going to buy an actual bassinet, I’d say just use a laundry basket.

My vote: Surely kids could survive a few week/months in a laundry basket — go for it.

4. DIY baby wipes

You can make your own inexpensive wipes by soaking small paper napkins or double-ply toilet tissue in a shallow bowl of baby oil. Once the oil is absorbed, put it in a Ziploc bag or plastic container. We actually make our own wipes, mostly because they are sometimes hard to find and often expensive.  We just cut strips of cloth and keep them moist with water.

My vote: The idea of making your own wipes doesn’t seem like the most effective money saving idea.  I’d use store bought wipes combined with the ‘strategy’ in #5.

5.  Use toilet paper instead of (in addition to) wipes.

I think round one cleaning should be done with …