Who says raising a child is easy? There are sleepless nights, hidden costs, and a lot of stress involved as a parent. In fact, it can be incredibly difficult to raise a child when you’re trying to live frugally. Luckily, there are many ways to save money raising a child, and it just might surprise you how easy it is to make compromises! So without further ado, here are a few fantastic money saving tips for raising kids on a budget without making them feel like they’re living cheaply.
Money Saving Tips #1: Buy Used
One of the biggest costs when raising kids are clothes and toys. Don’t be afraid of buying ashamed to buy used or receive hand-me-downs from other family members and friends.
Garage sales are also an excellent source of fantastic items for a low price. If you’re worried about hygiene then this might not be an option for you. However, washing them in a hot cycle with a good detergent will remove almost all of the bacteria and germs and make them clean and fresh for your child to use the next day.
#2. Purchase Multi-Purpose Items
This next suggestion for money-saving tips when raising kids is especially important if you are a parent to more than one. Instead of buying two single beds, purchase a bunk bed. And rather than getting two computers, get a single one for your children to share.
Instead of buying a double stroller, invest in a sit-and-stand one. WiseMamma has plenty of additional advice on sit and stand strollers. This type of stroller is the perfect example of a multi-use product that will save you a lot of money in the future.
This point is even more important given the stroller becomes useless once your child outgrows it. You can still donate it to a pregnant family member or friend, or to a local women’s shelter though!
#3. Flexible Working Hours
Want even more money saving tips? This next one applies to the workplace. Instead of hiring a nanny or sending your child to daycare, consider asking your employer to:
- Change your working hours,
- Allow you to work remotely from home, or
- Provide you with monetary assistance for childcare
Paying someone to look after your child is very expensive, as you likely already know. It can sometimes reduce the quality of time you spend with your child too, so think about whether it’s the right option for the family.
#4. Raising Kids and Toy Limits
Children love toys. It’s not uncommon to spends thousands a year on different electronic toys and gadgets for kids. This is why it’s incredibly important for parents to try and limit the number of toys they buy – at least if you want to start using save money tips!
As with the first point, buy used, if possible. If not, then try and only buy new toys once they’re on sale, or if you have a related coupon.
#5. Watch the Grocery Bill
One of the golden rules of living healthily is to buy fresh ingredients and cook your own meals. You’ll not only find you save calories and fat when you’re not dining out on gourmet meals but you’ll also save your family cash.
Plus, you’ll also be teaching your kids good eating habits! As a rule, try to avoid fast food too as, generally, it is unhealthy.
When raising kids, you might start making your own baby food! Try cooking all family meals from scratch or at least once a day, if you can.
There’s a lot of easy meal prep recipes that are cheap and taste good too. By using this and other money saving tips, extra cash can then go toward other things, such as school-related expenses.
Looking for more ways to save cash on necessary purchases? Check out these 11 online shopping hacks to cut costs.
Top photo via Pexels, CC0 License.
EXCELLENT! Love this post…well done you! xx
When my kids were young, money was often tight, so I relied on second hand shops for much of their clothing, as well as sometimes books and toys. I used to take the kids on what we called “treasure hunts” to find valuable items like unopened board games or jigsaw puzzles buried in well, junk. I recall several times getting compliments from my daughter’s teachers about the cute outfits she would wear, only to flabbergast them when I told them where I had found the clothes.
Amy, your comment reminds me of one I read earlier today about the stigma surrounding second-hand stores. They’re a great place to find gently used clothes and shoes, as well as movies and books. Glad that you’ve had a good experience with stores like these and I think you taught those teachers a thing or two about being savvy money-wise ;)
I never had any kids, but your tips are all sound!
Another fantastic post my friend. My niece is a single mom and is quite crafty at seeking out ‘gently used’ toys, etc. for her little girl. She actually joined a Facebook group where mom’s exchange their kid’s outgrown toys for other things with other moms. :) xx
Debby, firstly thank you for taking time to catch up on posts here. I know we are all so busy and it means a lot to me. The Facebook group idea is a great one. And I send you many hugs xx
It’s my pleasure to read your posts Christy. I do my best. <3
Some great ideas! Need to save wherever possible :)
Excellent article, Christy, with several great ideas!
A money-saving idea I’d like to share is this: use the library extensively. When my kids were younger, we went to the library frequently for children’s books and videos … all free resources! Plus our library held special events, story time, reading contests, and more. In addition to instilling in kids a love of reading and learning, the library is a great resource for a variety of free entertainment. Oh, books on tape, too, for long road trips! Can’t say enough good things about community libraries :)
Wonderful suggestion about the library, G!! FREE entertainment and it includes learning – which makes me happy :) Thank you!