[USER]

I have an infant that os almost 7 months old and believe that I may be expecting again. Currently a stay-at-home mom, And my husband and I have been taking steps to live as frugally as possible but as you can imagine diapers and formula are expensive especially with the growing child. What are some of your best tips to bring the budget down even tighter? I am also looking into some work from home options.

However I am not able to have room in my house that locks for anything that requires security data entry or financial information. Currently we spend about $300 per month total on diapers and formula. And we have recently been introducing real food to our baby. My husband primarily travels for work and so unfortunately trading off shifts will not always be an option.

I will be watching my siblings children the summer But I am afraid that the couple hundred a month my sibling can afford will not be enough to supplement our already limited income. We live in the equivalent of a large studio house and due to the cost of rent we cannot afford to move anywhere else and still try to put money aside.

We do live in the country and sre working on getting a garden going though I must admit I do not have the greenest thumb and it has been difficult to start. I’m sorry for this being very long.

I am trying to get my bearings and figure things out. And yes before I have any negative Nancy’s decide to comment that birth control is cheaper, it is not always 100%, as with me.

Thank you very much in advance and I’m sorry that this is so long.

[Karen]

Breast feed next baby. Buy cloth diapers.

[Marilyn]

Check with your county social services to apply for the WIC program. It will help with formula for your babies and for you during your pregnancy.

[Ancella]

Are you on Facebook Buy Nothing? You can ask for needs on there. Like, clothes that the giver’s children have already outgrown. I just gave away a girl’s swim suit yesterday that someone requested. After my son was potty trained, I gave away all his pullups that were left too.

There are a lot of Buy Nothing Groups, based on city. If you live in a big city, there are probably ones based on what side of town, or the name of your neighborhood. I dropped off a half used bag of cat food earlier this afternoon.

Useful: Any recommendations for the best, most absorbent, brand of cloth diapers?

[Karen]

Cloth diapers and hand them to dry. Use he others when you leave the house. Breast feeding is free but doesn’t work for everyone.

[Nesha]

Well, you sound swamped! That’s a lot!

Are you eligible for WIC? The income requirements for that are pretty generous, and that would help with formula and milk.

Do you have your own washer? What about cloth diapers? You would spend a bit upfront but it’s really cheap over multiple kids and it is not that much work. I cloth diapered 3 kids and it was like 2 half loads of laundry/week.

[Kayla]

If you aren’t interested in cloth diapering, I’d recommend target up and up diapers and wait for their sale of spend $100 on diaper and wipes, get a $30 GC. Utilize food pantries. Sometimes I durance covers formula if the pediatrician writes an Rx.

[Eliza]

My kids were born 18 months apart. The first one will be walking by the time the baby arrives. I worried about that. You will have all the hand me down clothes. Boys can weat pink and girls can wear blue don’t worry about that either. The second one will learn everything faster by watching the older one.

I would think about breast feeding if that is an option.

[Liza]

The same thing happened to me. You will be ok. The first 2 years are hard. But after that having them close in age is awesome. Cut out everything… no haircuts, no new clothes. Buy used everything. If anyone asks if you need or want something say diapers or formula.

I worked 2 evenings a week after my husband came home and Sat mornings. We made just enough to survive.

Now the kids are 16 and 17 and we take vacations and eat out.

It was all worth it.

[Kaye]

Have you considered cloth diapers? Once the outlay for the diapers is made, if you have a washer, you will break even. Many times, if you let family and friend know you’re looking for cloth diapers, they are glad to give/lend you diapers they have.

Many people have found their children potty train earlier wearing cloth diapers because they can feel when the diaper is wet.

[Cheryl]

When my daughter had twins in Wisconsin, she was told about a group that set up a place for moms to go for free diapers and wipes, she was not able to breast-feed the twins, but she did write to the formula companies asking for coupons because of the high cost of formula, when we gave her a baby shower, we asked everyone to bring a package of diapers all different sizes, she did cloth diaper the kids and used the disposables for when they went out, she also joined a group and was given a lot of stuff, good luck it is doable

[Vanessa]

Dear lady…I pray now for you. My parents were so poor at first.

Do you supplement with cloTh diapers sometimes? Also ate you in contact with food banks?

Lastly, can you have your church help?

If you r not part of one, find a good one that teaches the Bible. Ask for help…there will be a layer time you can give backm.

[Danielle]

So many people said breastfeed and use cloth diapers but this is not always feasible. Compare nutrition on store brand formula versus brand name, many are just as good. As long as your baby isn’t allergic, use store brand diapers.

It’s been quite awhile, but Target used to have really good quality store brand formula and diapers.

I’ll bet Costco and Sam’s club does too and you can buy in bulk. Just be careful of diaper sizing. Don’t get so many of the smaller size that your baby will grow out of them but don’t size up too quickly because you get more diapers for the money in the smaller sizes.

Check for sales and stock up when possible. You can get amazing baby stuff at garage sales for little money.

Check if you qualify for WIC or other community based programs, food shelf, etc… you’d be surprised what is out there if you look call around.

[Ann]

I used cloth diapers with my first 2 I did use these liner things for second that you could flush not sure if it’s still around I didn’t flush I threw them out my next 4 I did used disposable but I was working full time by then I never used baby food I made my own didn’t have paper towels or wipes then either just lots of white washcloths

[Crissy]

Maybe you can try a potted garden while you “get the hang of it”, 2 or 3 pots/buckets of potted tomatoes and peppers can be canned or prepped and frozen for soups and stews and take you through with some basic veggies.

If you coupon, you can save a lot (I have been couponing for years).

I’m not sure about the requirements but maybe you can apply for becoming a daycare since you’re home and then you can receive some of the stipends or write offs?

And there is no need to apologize for wanting to better yourself, I wish you luck.

[Author]

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