Babies bring tremendous joy as well as incredibly large bills. You can save a bundle caring for your newborn baby in a variety of ways. Your savings can be used to start a college fund and that would be a truly wise investment.
Formula
Infant formula is a necessity for mothers that choose not to breastfeed. Formula is astronomically priced but there are ways to cut the cost. You just need to take a little time and it will pay off in savings.
Sign up on the product’s website. Enfamil, which is one of the major baby formula producers, will mail you Enfamil checks. These checks work just like coupons at your grocery store. They usually send you one each month valued at anywhere between $5.00 and $15.00. Occasionally, you will receive a check for a free can of formula. Utilizing this program will definitely save you some money.
Diapers
Cloth diapers are really the most cost effective way to go but nobody wants to deal with the stench. Soaking and washing them may wind up cheaper but your time is worth something too. If you don’t mind dealing with this, by all means do so and you will not waste money.
Disposable diapers are more convenient, more sanitary and more expensive. It is possible to save money buying these products.
Scour your newspapers and store pamphlets for diaper coupons. There are usually tons of them available on a weekly basis. These can be combined with rebates for huge savings.
Each diaper company has a website and a rewards program. Huggies has a great rewards program. When you purchase their brand of diapers, there are “Huggies Points” on the product. The buyer can enter the product code to put the points into their point’s bank on the site. The points can be redeemed for coupons or you can play games to win gift cards from Starbucks, Amazon or a variety of establishments.
Vaccinations
We all know that taking the baby to the doctor can be costly. We also know that it has to be done for the child’s health and well-being. There are ways to save even at the physician’s office.
Hopefully you have insurance and don’t have to worry about medical bills. For those that don’t have it, you can negotiate with your medical provider. Believe it or not, when you are dealing with getting an infant his shots the doctor is usually good about cutting you a break. Call and explain that you want what is best for your baby but just don’t have that kind of money to lay out. They will probably offer you a payment plan but keep pushing for a discounted rate. If you have used this doctor before, he will more than likely help you out with the price. In the event that your doctor won’t work with you, your local health department might offer free vaccines for your newborn.
College Fund
Every parent wants what is best for their child and that usually means being able to pay for college. It is pertinent that you open a savings account for your child as soon as possible. This will not only be an incentive for you to save for his future but teach your child the importance of personal financial stability.
Even if you don’t have a ton of money, you can still find ways to save for your baby’s education. When you go to the store and pay cash, put the loose change into a jar. Once every month either take the jar to a Coinstar Machine or roll the coins. Bring the money directly to the bank and deposit it into your baby’s account.
Babies and children often get money as gifts for holidays and birthdays. Always get those checks into the bank for his college fund. The best gift anyone can give your baby is a paid education.
This is a guest post from Charles @ CreditDonkey where you can find credit card deals and more ways to save money. Charles says “remember, financial literacy begins at home.”
Cloth diapers do not have to be soaked anymore. They are so easy! They are made with fabric that most feces doesn’t stick to, you just dump and whatever doesn’t fall out will come out in the wash just fine. No dunking in the toilet! Plus, they go on and off just like a disposable, with velcro straps. It’s easy, fast and beyond economical! I diapered my son for 3 years for around $300! Plus, I still HAVE the diapers for another child!
I agree about the cloth diapers not needing to be soaked. In fact, ours specifically say not to soak them. They are very simple to use and wash, and save a TON of money over the diapering years. If your mental image of cloth diapers is pins and plastic covers and hassle, check out some of the newer types of diapers. They have changed drastically!
I love the idea of saving money on everyday baby cares and siphoning that money into a college saving account.
My friend is about to have a baby (okay, in a few months) and she is going to try out cloth diapers. I hope it works!
A diaper service is a great alternative too. At an average of $0.22/diaper for a diaper service, it sometimes comes out cheaper than disposable and you don’t have to do the washing! (Though you’re technically suppose to scape)
oh! about the formula – if you ask your pediatrician, they almost always have sample sizes for you. they usually keep every brand and type in stock. i found this out when my son quit cold turkey on me at 6 months and i was complaining about it to his doc. he said “oh well what do you use?” and he came back with 3 cans for me!
Charles-After having 3 kiddos, I have to add that the greatest cost saver for us has been store brands!
We love using Target’s Up & Up brand for formula, wipes, diapers, baby soap, etc. You will likely not be able to beat the store brand prices for diapers even with stacking coupons! I used only store brand formula after the formula company checks ran out (which they stopped sending after a few months). The formula is nutritionally the same (believe me, I checked!)
Also, if you don’t have health insurance, the cheapest way to get vacciations is through your local health department.
I have to chime in about the cloth diaper issue. I got mine as hand-me-downs from a friend of a friend and only use disposable at night. I get diapers for 10 cents a piece through sales/stacking coupons. I have a 7 month supply that cost me around $20 out of pocket. This took some foresight and dedication, though, so most people would spend more.
But cloth is definitely something people should look at. With our current obsession with going green — a good direction to head — the environmental impact of diaper laden landfills alone should cause a great deal of concern.
But a big pet peeve is one of the ‘drawbacks’ you mentioned. II really don’t understand how people complain that it’s unsanitary. If the baby wets his crib sheet, what do you do with it? Throw it away and get a new one? Or throw it in the laundry? My students found out that my son uses cloth diapers and were disgusted. “What do you do, wash them? That’s so gross!!!” Well, we all know how often kids have leaks or pee on their onesie during a changing. Do we then throw the garment away because it’s ‘soiled”? Nope. We wash it.
Sure, they smell. They smell just as much as a trashcan full of used disposable diapers. If you change your trash often to combat this smell, then you’re just as likely to throw in a load of laundry to combat the smell of a day’s worth of cloth. If you’re the type to leave things sitting around too long, your trashcan would smell, as would your pile of used diapers.
Make the choice that’s right for you, but give cloth a chance. They’re MUCH cheaper. Handling them is not particularly messier than disposable. Think about it. Do you get a little messy when you’re cleaning up a newborn blowout? Yes. What do you do? Use wipes and then wash your hands. Works the same no matter what kind of diaper you have, because newsflash: children are messy. They wear their own waste and ask you to personally clean it off of them. Fussing about ‘unsanitary’ seems like selective squeamishness to me. Unsanitary is just part of the job description.
We don’t soak our cloth diapers either. We bought a $30 sprayer to hook up to the toilet, and rinse them then and there. Washing on hot sanitizes them well. I was even able to convince our day care to use them.
We use formula as well, and I was able to get several friends and family members to sign up for formula coupons as well. I combine these with sales and gift card deals to get a $25 can of formula for $10-$14 usually.
I really like reading your blog but in future I hope you only allow guest posts when people actually know what they are talking about.
We use cloth diapers and as others have mentioned, there is no soaking. I am not sure why the writer thinks cloth diapers are unsanitary. Typically, disposables are more unsanitary beacuse people do not empty the “solids” into the toilet before putting them in the garbage.
There have been many comments about that sentence. Actually, I think his comments regarding cloth diapers are a reflection of many peoples’ conceptions. I myself used cloth diapers almost exclusively with my son, but when I used them with my daughters, my neighbor (who we have to share the washer with) was upset and sanitized the washer afterward. I was also talking with a father of one of the kids at my son’s school; we got on the topic of cloth diapers, and he said said the idea of it made him want to buy another washing machine so they would have one for diapers and one for everything else. Seriously!
Not to add fuel to the fire, but a second washing machine is a GREAT idea.
Green Mountain Diapers has some good tips on a second washing machine ( http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/washing-diapers.htm ). Keep in mind the downhill slide top-loading washing machines are facing with the new energy efficiency guidelines ( re: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704662604576202212717670514.html )
Re: soaking. From what I remember from various diaper websites, cold water soaks or overnight soaks (e.g.: cold water + 1/2 cup of baking soda — baking soda helps neutralizes the urine) is helpful, but to each their own.
In any case, I plan on using both a cloth diapers and disposable.
I love Green Mt. Diapers. That is where we got our cloth diapers. Also, we used cloth the majority of the time, but used disposable when he slept at night and when we went out.
Formula savings: Yes, our pediatricians office has sample size cans that they give us at visits (sometimes I have to ask to remind them) but they are happy to give them out, this is great especially since you spend so much time at the doctors office during the first year! Plus you can request the formula bags at the hospital (Enfamil, Similac, Good Start), and my most recent discovery is that my OB’s office has formula samples and gifts too! They even had the hospital carryall! The nurses have been great and loaded me up!