In Part 1 (Click here to read) I mentioned that I was able to save $10,516.37 on my baby’s first year. Let me clarify. That number was from my list of things that I bought for our first baby. I took what I paid and subtracted it from what I would have paid by just ordering on Amazon.com or purchasing at Walmart; if I used Babies R Us’ prices the amount I saved would be even GREATER!
I just wanted to point out that I did not factor in health care expenses, maternity expenses, or other non-baby related expenses. I have made additional posts about how I saved significantly on these items as well. How to save on maternity expenses click here. How to save on pregnancy-related medical bills click here. For a 1st Baby Checklist of items click here.
If you would like to see my list, please subscribe (top left of desktop site, or bottom of article on mobile) and you will get the free money-saving tool as an instant download!
Now here are another 23 unique ways (plus bonus tips) to save on your baby’s first year…
1. Stock up on baby wipes for at least 4 months before the baby arrives. For baby wipes stock up price for me is .03 cent or less per wipe.
Bonus Tip: You may not agree but my pediatrician told me that when the diaper is just peed in and it’s changed fairly quickly I didn’t need to use a wipe. I did that and my son never had a diaper rash. It was convenient and saved us 2 wipes every pee change (he is a boy so this may not be good for girls). It has saved us a little less than $70 for the year and it was much more convenient. Amazon mom Subscribe and Save gets you 20% off wipes shipped for free straight to your door. I highly recommend this option. They end up being cheaper than Costco and its hard to get enough coupons to buy wipes in the bulk you need them in.
2. Stay-at-Home Mom/Dad– Although not working may seem counterproductive to saving money, a stay-at-home-parent actually does contribute a lot of monetary (not to mention emotional) worth to a household. Studies from Forbes.com and Salary.com have shown that a stay-at-home-mom’s equal pay would be around $45,00-117,856 a year depending on location!! By working in the home, cleaning, doing the bills, cooking, taking care of the baby/children, shopping (smart/frugally), laundry, and a host of other tasks (including not spending money on commuting, day care, lunches out, work clothes, etc. by having a job), a stay-at-home-mom really does save money. Although the parent may be cutting their salary significantly or off altogether, staying at home will save in so many ways, it is often the least expensive route (whenever possible). Or you could try working a little from home. This is the option that works best for me. Want to stay at home and work? Check out my series Money-Making SAHM’s.
3. If you are going to return to work and need daycare, search around to find the best most economical way. My neighbor is wonderful and has a daycare. It’s less than most and has superior care. Although I’m a stay-at-home-mom I had a neighbor girl come in the summer for 4-6 hours a day so I could work from home on some summer projects for my brother’s company. I paid her $3.00 an hour. Think outside the box, ask around. If you love one company or individual but they are more than the competition ask them to price match the nearby competitor. Price matching could save you A LOT of money.
In my book co-wrote, Living a Rich Life as a Stay-at-Home Mom, my sister and I went into get detail on what numbers to add up to see if working vs. staying at home is more financially affordable. You can buy it for a few dollars on Amazon.com or on my secure order form here.
4. Check at least 2 places online and 1 offline before you buy new items. All the baby hangers I saw online were over-priced. The cheapest I could find were $0.50 each (on Walmart.com). I was surprised to see them at Walmart for less than .10 cents each. Sometimes you’ll find an item that is way over priced either in the store or online and you can find them cheaper elsewhere.
Bonus Tip: If you don’t have a good memory (let’s face it, pregnancy-brain is a real deal) then make notes of the prices on your ‘things to get list’ (see my 1st Baby Checklist) and shop around.
Bonus Tip: If the quality is much higher and you are planning on having additional children, buying the better quality may just save you in the long run. Base this decision off of trusted reviews and not brand names (you can find reviews on Amazon.com on just about anything). If you do decide to buy anything online (Amazon, Kohls, Walmart, other big sites always check Ebates.com before ordering. Rakuten.com earns you cash back on your purchases (sometimes significantly!). Rakuten really is a great way to save an extra 1-10% on your purchases without having to do anything extra.
5. Borrow items you only need for a short time. After my son could hold his head up I bathed him in the sink or in the shower with me. After he could sit up I bathed him in the tub. For the first few weeks the baby baths are useful, but after that they just take up space. If you can borrow a baby bath for a month or two then you don’t have to buy it or store it. Borrow baby car seats that good family or friends don’t need for a year (they expire in about 5-6 years anyway) and any other items you can.
6. Get a membership to Costco or Sams Club if you are going to formula feed for over a few months. First, make sure that Costco and/or Sam’s Club carries the type of formula you chose, and wait to completely decide until you have made sure your baby reacts well to it. Then compare the prices vs. quantity with other local stores. My son was on Similac Sensitive and I bought 2 times the formula at Costco than I could get for the same price at Walmart, and almost 3 times what I could get at Rite Aid. Having a membership has saved me at least $870 in the last 7 months of formula feeding. They also take the $5.00 formula checks the major brand companies send out.
Bonus Tip- Costco and Sam’s sell gallons of milk for much less than other food and drug stores. Coupons and sales of milk are difficult to come by. Once your baby goes to full cow’s milk you will be buying about 2 gallons a week. Saving $1.50 a gallon= $3.00 and ~ $12.00 a month at Sam’s or Costco. Bonus Tip 2: AmazonPrime/AmazonMom/Subscribe and Save allows you to not only get things shipped to your door for free, but to save 20% on them. I wish this had been around/I had known about this option while my son was drinking formula.
7. Start supplementing cow’s milk with formula once you get your pediatrician’s approval. Our son was always in the 100 percentile or higher (Navajo babies are known to be big). We were told to start adding milk to his formula (1/4th milk, 3/4th formula) when he was 10 ½ months, at 11 months we went (½ milk, ½ formula), at 11 ½ months (3/4th milk, ¼ formula) and 1 year 100% milk. This saved us at $90.00 on formula and helped my son get used to the milk.
8. Price match at Target for Amazon.com items. Often Amazon.com has lower prices but doesn’t accept typical manufacture coupons. If you match these prices at Target you can couple the savings with a coupon. Bonus Tip: Babies R Us does price match but they don’t allow you to use a coupon with the price match like Target does.
9. Subscribe to and watch baby discount sites. Often baby discount sites will surprise you! I have found swaddles, books, and clothes for very very low prices even with shipping calculated. At Zulily.com.
Bonus Tip: You can find great savings on diapers online by watching for them and subscribing to AmazonMom.com. Amazon Mom offers 20% off diapers, Free 2 day shipping, and a host of other benefits including Amazon Prime. They also often have manufacturer diaper coupons that you can add to save on your order. In my experience, Amazon Mom is worth the price (you get 3 free months, then it is $79.00/ year) if you are going to order diapers, wipes, and other items off Amazon.com regularly. When they have a sale + coupon + 20% off you are going to get diapers close to stock up price shipped straight to your door. I checked out the prices and they beat out Costco and often beat prices shopping with sales and coupons! Sign up for AmazonMom here.
10. Make nursery decorations yourself or buy used: I made: the mobiles ($5.00-$7.00 feather mobile), a big collage ($25.00), bought a bookshelf ($5.00), a frame ($5.00). I got the nursery set (in pieces it was much cheaper) on clearance. My mom and I bought an extra set of clearance curtains ($10.00) and used it as fabric to sew a baby blanket. I sewed fabric on a $1.00 bumper pad I got used tutorial here.
Nursery 1 (click here) shows tons of ways to save and the second nursery 2 shows even more ways to save on decor! Bonus Tip: Buying fabric on sale with coupons can often but not always be cheaper than a pre-made set on clearance. Check both prices.
11. Cloth diaper. If you are wanting to cloth diaper, buy them used or on sale or with coupons. Hang them in the sun to dry and bleach them naturally and save on energy of the dryer. (I have heard that Sun Baby diapers are the best and the cheapest). Another reader mentioned getting a pattern and sewing your own cloth diapers! That is such a great idea!
12. Brush up on your laundry skills. In the first year of a baby’s life you will be shocked to see how many stains are in your laundry basket. From spit ups, blow outs, throw ups, baby food, snot, and just about anything they can get their hands on will be on their clothes and yours. One thing that was helpful is having a bucket to soak the items in. Once something is badly soiled I’d throw it in our soak bucket with OxyClean and water until I was ready to do a whole load. Then I would pull it output it under running water and spot treat it and wash it. Here’s a way that I get stains out before and even after they have dried. Bonus Tip: If you are ambitious enough and you aren’t getting detergent and spot remover at rock bottom prices through couponing, making your own detergent and spot remover can save you money.
13. Try non-brand name diapers. Personally, I got such great deals on brand name diapers (on great sales with coupons) that they were much less than the off brand or store brand diapers. My sister told me she tried multiple off brands and didn’t like them near as much. I’ve only tried Kirkland and Luvs and I didn’t like them as much at all! But if you’d prefer to use the off brands then stock up when they are priced no more than .20 cents per diaper.
Bonus Tip: I read hundreds -possibly thousands- of reviews on almost every diaper out there. Save yourself time and just try the diaper out on your baby. The reviews were/are so contradictory I felt like I knew less about the diaper after hours of review reading than before. As for my I love Huggies and Pampers.
14. Watch for kid/baby consignment sales. There is a huge bi-annual Methodist church consignment sale by my house that my friend told me about. There were all types of baby items, books, toys, baby and maternity clothes, etc. there. Goggle your area for baby sales, kid sales, etc. Go early to score the best deals.
15. Offer to buy things from people who are done having kids. My sister had a nursing pump that was $250.00 new and I offered to buy it from her for $50.00 when she told me that she was, “Done having kids”. If someone mentions somewhere in a conversation that they are, “Done having kids” you may want to use this as an opportunity to ask, “Oh that is so great, your kids are so cute. I’m not sure if you would want to sell any of your old baby items that you no longer need or not, but I’m looking for used stuff to buy.” If they say they are, you may just end up with some great items and they will have more storage space and money.
16. Look for sale and coupon deals on bottles, binkies, baby lotions, baby food, etc. and stock up when they are rock bottom deals. I got 16 nice Avent bottles for .50 cents each new. The binkies I bought were all .75 cents each or less, the baby lotions, shampoos, bubble bath etc. were all $1.00 or less and the baby food was .50 or less (check expiration dates on the baby food and buy the ones that have the furthest expiration dates).
Bonus Tip: Have a few different brands of binkies…babies seem to like/take to certain ones and will just spit out others. Our son loved MAM and would spit out NUK, Avent, & off brand kinds. Other babies do the same but take to a different one. Here is a Beginner’s Guide to Couponing.
17. Accept friend joint gifts- If all your friends want to go in on a big gift, accept graciously and ask them to get you something large on your list within their budget.
18. Use a library card for baby movies, sing-a-longs, CDs for white noise, etc. It’s free and they get to view new things for variety.
19. Subscribe to the diaper and baby companies that you like and sign up for rewards online. They usually email you or mail you coupons, checks, or even samples. You can also input codes and get rewards and gifts.
Bonus Tip: You may want to create a separate email account for all of the baby email subscriptions you opt into.
Bonus Tip: Write reviews on the company’s websites and send them emails. Companies usually reward reviewers quite well. They will send free products or high value coupons. If you have time, review items for additional savings.
20. Don’t feel like you have to go all out for their first birthday and first Christmas. I got a few gifts for my son used or on a deep discount for both his Birthday and Christmas. It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway, they are babies and won’t remember anything. All you need are a few photos of them with a cake or a cupcake to remember this milestone. But if you want to go all out, then party it up.
21. Sign up for formula checks if you use a specific brand (these can be used at Sams Club and Costco and are run as a check and not as a coupon).
Bonus Tip: Register every address you can. Sign your parents, friends, etc. up. If you use brand formula you will save hundreds by using the free formula checks. I have never once been asked to show ID for these formula checks. I noticed that the formula companies mail the checks out strategically; they sped up the amount of checks I got in the mail if I wasn’t redeeming them quickly and then they slowed down the mailings once I had started redeeming them.
Bonus Tip: Look on local classifieds for people who are selling them. I bought $120.00 worth of formula checks off a lady for $20.00 and used every single one of them. Just be sure to use them before they expire! And sell the ones that you are not going to use to make extra money!
22. Utilize accounts like Shutterfly for free announcements. Shutterfly and other sites similar to it offer 50 free prints when you sign up. If you design your own announcements for your newborn or his/her first birthday, you can get them practically free!
23. See what your health insurance covers- Although this tip needs an article written about it all alone (which I will post soon). It is important to mention that often times your insurance covers (and does not cover) baby items that you may not be aware of. Some insurance companies cover/pay for breast pumps. Some cover the diapers, wipes, and other supplies they give you at the hospital. Find out before hand and bring your own stuff if they are going to charge you for it. We took our own wipes, diapers, clothes, binky, breast pump, etc. so that we would not be charged for them. For more information call your insurance provider.
WIC- Some may ask why I didn’t include WIC in any of my 46 tips (plus multiple bonus tips) of ways to save…WIC is for a select few that truly need assistance to feed their children. Being on WIC when you can afford to feed your babies and children does not encourage thriftiness, independence, or rich thinking. Unfortunately, a lot of people abuse the system. They actually can afford to feed their babies and let the government do it. Some dishonest people even sell the baby food they have gotten from our tax dollars. If you truly cannot afford to feed your baby then WIC will be another way to provide.
Posts you may like: How to Save While Pregnant, What to Take to the Hospital (embarrassing items no one wants to mention), 11 Pregnancy Tips that Will Save You Thousands, and 17 Must-Have Items That Will Make Your Pregnancy Much More Comfortable .
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For cloth diapering, Alva’s are awesome. You can actually order direct, and if you’re ordering 20 or more the shipping is even free. The more you get, the cheaper they are per diaper, so go in on an order with a friend. Our cloth diapers for both of our babies cost us about the same as 6 months of disposables for one child (we have two in diapers right now, so it’s really a HUGE savings. We’ve been using cloth for 2 years now.) We have also switched to cloth wipes (which we either made ourselves from extra flannel that we had already from other projects or that I found on clearance for $1 a yard, or bought large packs of baby wash cloths when they were on clearance at walmart). We got a spray bottle from Dollar Tree, and keep it filled with water and a few drops of baby shampoo. Works fantastic, super easy on baby’s bum, and super easy on the budget.
Shannon,
Thank you for the great information. That is awesome that you were able to save so much by cloth diapering and using cloth wipes. AND saving even more by purchasing things on sale and going in on them with a friend to get a higher quantity discount. Cloth diapering would add a significant savings to anyone’s baby budget (especially if you have multiple children). It is a great way to save.Thanks again for your comment!
Something to add: I found out (after taking a free breastfeeding class) that most insurance companies are required to offer coverage for breast pumps. After one call to my insurance company I received a list of medical companies that I could contact to order a breast pump from. It ended up being completely covered by my insurance. That saved me $200+ and it was delivered right to my door.
Jelena,
That is awesome! Yeah I encourage all readers to check with their insurance for sure. My insurance was really bad and didn’t cover hardly anything. We have a great plan but there are so many babies born in Utah the average deductible is well over $5,000… so I ended up paying for a bunch of this. But if your insurance covers a lot of maternity costs that is awesome. thanks for the comment!
Few older plans won’t, but by law all new insurance plans have to provide breast pumps. See here for more information and sample letters to send to your insurance company. http://www.nwlc.org/our-resources/reports_toolkits
Great advice! Thanks for the resource!
Great tips Anita! I can’t wait to look into some of these now and when our baby comes so we can save!
Aimee, You are welcome. Yeah a lot of these tips you can actually do before the baby comes 🙂 I’m so excited for you. Babies are just the cutest little things in the world.
I wish I would have read this before my kids came! 🙂 As we’ve started selling our old baby/kids things on local trading sites, it made us wish we had known about that option when we purchased our baby gear. It’s a great way to save money!
Kimberly, Thanks for the comment. Yeah babies are expensive and there are so many ways to save. I’m glad you are trading them for other soon to be parents that is great!
I’m ready to start implementing many of your tips! We have twins, it’s expensive!
Ashley,
Wow! Yes twins are expensive! I hope you get a few baby showers. I’m glad you found this list and I hope it is helpful!!
Seriously awesome tips! I used quite a few of these myself with Jack. I feel like people always say babies are so expensive (and of course, in many ways they are), but there are so many ways you can make it a little more manageable!
Thanks Katie,
Yeah I think people just think people are told they are expensive so they figure that they are. It’s good to look around and find ways to save 🙂
Thank you again! You have hit somethings that I am excited to use in look into. I didn’t realize Target will price match off Amazon. I am also a cloth diaper mom. A lot of people think they are like the old cloth diapers with pins, but they are not. They are stylish and you use snaps or velcro to keep them on. Clean them at home. We have saved money this way, and it is healthier for your kid. Again thank you!!
Kayla- You’re welcome. Yes, cloth diapering is great. Which brand do you use? Is there a particular one that you like the best?
We used cloth with our second out of necessity, as disposables caused severe rashes and burns. This turned into a blessing for us when we got behind on our house and were barely scrapping by. I also breastfed and fed her pureed foods that we normally ate. I used coconut oil instead of diaper creams or lotions. We used cloth wipes as well. We also make our own detergent and wow that saves so much I spend around $12 for the year! My parents and friends were also our babysitters/daycare for free. I would watch their kids when needed they would watch mine. Instead of formula when the time came, because she absolutely refused it we used goats and rice milk per the supervision of her Dr and some supplement vitamins until she could have whole milk. And of course hand me downs and clothing swaps are a huge money saver. I also didn’t buy all those things they say you need. Bassinet nope we used a Mose’s basket that I picked up for $20 at T.J. Maxx’s until we moved and could set up her crib. We didn’t use a highchair either instead used a bouncy chair until she could sit better in her fisher price booster chair which was also like $25 and easier to clean since I could just put it in the dishwasher, I used a hand pump instead of an electric pump, even though I was gifted with the fancy electric pump but it made me feel uncomfortable. The hand pump was only $25. When I was in the hospital I asked about things that would help me breastfeed and they gave me a whole bunch of Medela items for free.
Great ideas! That is wonderful that you found so many great ways to save! Thanks for this helpful comment.
I love your addendum about WIC! My husband and I are finishing up college and expecting our first baby a week after graduation. However, we planned, saved and are paying cash for our baby and all baby accessories. While we could easily qualify for WIC I’m sure, we can also live within our means and sustain our growing family. In fact we feel it is very important to live within our means and provide for our family and not seek assistance unnecessarily. I have been surprised at how many people have tried to get us to go to WIC simply because it is there. One well meaning friend brought it up no less than 5 times despite us telling her that we did not need or want to use WIC. I was starting to think we were the only people who cared about thriftiness, independence and rich thinking. Thank you for supporting it on your blog!
Lisa- Thank you so much for this meaningful comment. Good for you! I’m so happy to hear that you are doing that. It is so amazing how people who think this way make ends meet and succeed. Congratulations on your upcoming baby! You have such a great outlook and attitude, I know you’ll make it.
loved the wic comment, too. totally agree with you and anita. we did fine without it too even though we easily would have qualified. thriftiness and self-reliance are amazing
Laura, thanks for the comment and your support. I appreciate that. That’s awesome that you made do without it even though you could have qualified!
Thank you so much for all 46 tips. I’m a first time mom with baby due on New Year’s Eve of this year… I will be keeping your page to read again in the future. Thanks again. Take care!
Melissa- You’re welcome! I hope it really saves you a lot! I’m glad you found the tips helpful!
Completely agree with the WIC comment also, glad you put that in there! 😉
Thanks Melissa- I’m glad to have others comment that they agree 🙂
Most of these are AWESOME ideas….when it comes to cloth diapers, we’ve used it all…I honestly prefer alva baby pockets, or flats and wool (or alva pockets unstuffed as covers.) My splurge diaper that I love is Goodmama. Prefolds are good, but flats get cleaner for me, easier.
Even if you can get rock bottom prices on detergent, homemade is cheaper, and healthier…detergent is not regulated by the FDA, and can contain chemicals that can be harmful. All natural soap, water, washing soda, and borax is much safer, and still works great.
Love the oxy clean tip…I use dollar store brand oxy clean and it works great for a fraction of the price…I also just saw a stain remover recipe (blue dawn, peroxide and water) that is supposed to work great…I use Ajax dish soap with bleach alternative…a few drops in a spray bottle full of water works great! 🙂
Kelley- Thanks for the great info. Yep, I always tell people to check with a pediatrician.
That stain remover recipe does wonders for me! I saw that recipe in college and started using it and haven’t gone back to regular stain remover! I’ve had family ask me for the recipe too. I use one that uses blue Dawn, baking soda, water, and peroxide.
I love how you are always so polite when commenters criticize you! I don’t know how long it takes to make a list this inclusive but I can imagine someone slaving away for hours on this just to be given, what I would take as, harsh feedback. Thank you for taking time out to help other people! It’s nice to see someone remain so positive!
Thanks, you are so kind! Yes I spent a good 20+ hours on these 2 posts. It took a long time to add up what I bought an item for and look it up at full price on Amazon or Walmart and do the math. Then listing it all, editing, adding photo, etc… So I really appreciate your kind words. I honestly think some people may be angry they paid full price & went into a lot of debt for their baby and perhaps comment in their anger. Others think they are right about a ‘certain way’ of mothering (which I don’t blame them, I think I’m right about certain things too)…I may be wrong on these assumptions. I just try to take it all with a grain of salt. That said I am an emotional person so I don’t love mean or critical comments. But kind people like you who take the time to comment something nice makes me happy :D!
Thank you SO Much for these posts!! I volunteer to help underprivileged/in need/at risk moms and am going to be sharing these posts with them at a workshop this coming Monday to help them see how many ways they can be saving money! I was going to come up with my own but when I found your posts you hit all the points I was going to bring up and then so many more! Raising a baby really is only as expensive as you make it out to be–thank you SO much for this awesome resource!
Nicest comment ever! Thank you so much. And that is so great that you are helping moms who need it! I love it. Keep up the good work and I’m glad you found the posts helpful. I hope they do too! I recently did a post today on how to garage sell effectively. It may tie in well too if these women start garage selling for baby stuff which is a gold mine! Thanks again!
If you have a sewing machine, you can actually go buy a pattern on Etsy for cloth diapers (really cheap) and make them yourself too!
Thanks Brooke that is an excellent and creative idea! I’ll have to add it to the article. What type of fabric/material do you use?
Actually research shows that WIC is rarely abused. It’s an awesome program. There’s no shame in people asking for help. I liked your tips, but I thought that last part wasn’t necessary.
When it is misused there is shame in it.
but that doesn’t mean you need to shame those who are using the program appropriately…
I used WIC, though I likely could have managed without. That $20 in coupons we got each month, meant that I was able to provide things for my children I otherwise would not have been able to. It meant that instead of only being able to use the ‘cheap’ fruits and veggies for baby food, I was able to include some more expensive (and very nutritious) items like asparagus, broccoli, kiwi, etc. Sure, they would have been sustained with peas, carrots, and apples; but my low income shouldn’t be what keeps my kids from having healthy variety.
You’re absolutely right that abuse of the WIC systems is disgusting. But please don’t criticize those who choose to use WIC even when they could make due without; because life isn’t only about quantity, but about quality as well. And WIC has been proven time and time again to increase the quality of life for expectant mothers, improve the outcome of childbirth, and lower risk for developing childhood obesity and diabetes.
You only got $20.00 a month from WIC? The people I am referring to get much more than that. A lot are unmarried but living with a partner who they don’t claim makes money when they do. I’ve seen it all over. Mainly I’m trying to stress the importance of being self-reliant. Taking care of your family yourself is always the better way to go. But I can kind of understand where you are coming from though. Poverty is tough and I understand that any little bit helps. I just have seen that people are abusing the system and becoming more reliant on government vs. self-reliant. Self esteem and confidence come easier when people provide for themselves and their family rather than being taken care of. It’s a fact. Thanks for you comment. It was heartfelt, I can tell and best of luck.
I ordered imperfect quality disposable diapers from the diaper company in big quantaties. Neather my twins nor I minded that the motives were printed upsidedown.
Tina- What a great suggestion! How did you go about doing that? I’d love to highlight it for other moms.
Love the tips! I’m currently pregnant with our first baby. Money is tight – my husband works full time (it’s a very fulfilling, but not well paying job) and I work part time/from home. I didn’t know or even consider if I qualified for WIC, but I heard great things about our local health department so I paid them a visit. I did qualify but I have a lot of “pride” and debated not going on the program – until the worker talked to me about it. It’s not a lot really (at least in our state) – it’s a supplement program that helps ensure that pregnant, nursing mothers and children help receive the extra nutrition they need to be healthy. The worker explained the extra calories (only 200-300) per day I would need and other nutritional information. I thought I was eating fine – I’ve always pretty healthy, but on the skinny side. After we discussed my current diet I realized what I wasn’t doing what was best for my baby. I went hungry between meals or sometimes skipped lunch to save money. When money is tight I hardly buy fresh fruit and vegetables. I wasn’t eating enough variety and milk was used sparingly – not because I didn’t like it or want to drink but because it can be expensive. In the end I did opt in for the WIC program – I receive $10 in fruit and vegetable coupons a month, lots of 1% milk, some beans, cereal, rice and juice. Basically just some healthy extras. Could we have gotten by without it – yes, but it has helped ensure that I eat healthier and more often. The staff was wonderful and I was amazed by all of the programs/assistance they offered – a breast feeding support program, a nutritionist on staff, counseling/emotional support programs, first time mother education programs and much more. Many of the programs are ran by volunteers (not paid workers). I agree that people who abuse the system are a disgrace, but I wouldn’t discourage those in need (or even just at risk) from speaking to their local health department about their programs. By the way – NO I do not work for them or ever have! Sorry for the insanely long post, but I’ve really changed my mind about WIC and I just wanted to share my thoughts on my own experience. Oh, and I really love your blog. Thank you again for sharing all of this wonderful information 🙂
Thanks for the info. That is great to know. Best of luck and congratulations on your pregnancy and becoming a mom!
This is an amazing collection! We’re not expecting, but I’ve most certainly pinned this for later. There are so many articles about how expensive the first year is, and it is refreshing to see an article about keeping costs low in SANE ways! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
That stain remover recipe does wonders for me! I saw that recipe in college and started using it and haven’t gone back to regular stain remover! I’ve had family ask me for the recipe too. I use one that uses blue Dawn, baking soda, water, and peroxide.