- Breastfeed: it’s free (almost). If you’re home full-time you may not even need to bother buying a pump and bottles. If you only need them for once-in-a-while, there are some good hand pumps you can get for less than $50—saving you almost $150 off the cost of an electric pump. The San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition found in a 2001 study that breastfeeding cost about $300 per year in extra calories for the mom, and that formula costs varied from $1,188 per year for powder formula to $3,996 for some brands of “ready to feed” cans. Plus, breast milk is the best food for your baby.
- Make your own baby food. When your little one starts to eat solids, you can save a bundle by cooking and mashing your own food for him. You can do this in batches and freeze it in ice-cube trays. One study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest suggests that American babies eat on average 600 jars of commercial baby food by their first birthdays. Baby food jars cost from about $.59 to more than $1 for toddler foods. Assuming an average of $.70 times 600 is $420. You can save more than $300 off that by making your own.
- Eat at home and have your working partner take bag lunches to work. If it costs $7.50 on average to eat lunch out and $2 to pack a lunch and you eat out 250 lunches a year, you can save $1,375.00 per year. My husband cut back on restaurant lunches, although he didn’t cut them out entirely, and found that he was eating healthier as well as cheaper meals.
- Have fun for free. Go for walks, or to the park. Don’t go the mall unless you really need to buy something. Don’t make shopping a pastime.
- Have cheap dates. It’s important to keep up your relationships with your spouse and with your friends, but you can do it less expensively. Invite a friend over for coffee instead of going out to the coffee shop. If you give up a five-day per week latte habit at $2.75 per latte for a $.25 cup of home-brew, you’d save $625 per year. Rent a movie and have movie-night at home with your partner, cuddle up on the couch and make popcorn. A night at the Cineplex can cost $20 for tickets, $7 for snacks and don’t forget the $25 or more you’ll now need to spend on a babysitter. You can rent a DVD for about $3.50 and microwave popcorn for less than $1. That’s a savings of $47.50.
