Raising a family is an expensive endeavor: it is estimated that the average cost of raising a child is around $150,000 from birth until adulthood. While there are unavoidable expenses that cannot be trimmed from the budget, there are many ways to cut costs without sacrificing the precious memories that you will forge with your children as they grow.
Make food at home, rather than going out. Eating one meal at a fast food restaurant can cost a family of four around $20. For the same price, you can make 2 or even 3 meals in your home. Include children in the cooking process, if possible. Even the act of simply stirring a bowl gives a child the feeling of independence and accomplishment. There are many cookbooks geared toward children as well, with food that is visually appealing to even picky children. Skipping just one trip out for food per week can save up to $960 per year.
Play cost-effectively! Make your own modeling clay, memory cards, finger paints, and more. Children are more interested in playing than they are in the perfection of a toy’s packaging. Take advantage of their eagerness and save some money. Unlike store-bought toys, when you make your own, you can customize your creations to fit your children. Enjoy knowing that you’ve saved money while enriching playtime in your home.
Visit the library. Antiquated though the concept might seem to adults in the digital age, books still fascinate children. Your local library will offer you free access to books appropriate for children from birth to college. Many now also offer movies, music, and even video games – FREE! No need to visit a video rental store! Get your child his own library card, and allow him to take his time selecting his books and exploring the surroundings.
Consider consignment. Purchasing used can seem like a scary prospect, but consignment shops take pride in offering a selection of clothing, shoes, and even toys and books that are in good, clean condition. While most consignment shops require an appointment, all of them will purchase used clothing from you. You will receive more if you exchange items for store credit than you will for cash, but either is possible.
Put down the keys. If possible, walk, or bicycle to your destinations. Gasoline costs an average family $368 monthly. Walking and bicycling provide exercise, and allow children the opportunity to explore their world in a much more intimate way than riding in a car affords. If your daughter stops to admire a window display, take a break and ask her what she likes about it.
Cutting costs while raising a family is absolutely possible. With a little imagination and frugality, your family can easily save thousands of dollars each year.
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Tim Lee is a financial consultant, and a big promoter of the Kanetix comparison service. You can compare multiple car insurance quotes in minutes, and often cut your auto insurance expense considerably.
, I receive a small commission but will not know what you purchased and it will cost you nothing extra. You can even use your gift cards. Thank you for supporting our family.)
There is a site called freecycle (ours is a yahoo group, but not all are). It has helped me when I could not afford clothes or shoes for my children, and other things for the house. My son was able to create a relaxing pond and garden area pretty much for free by asking on freecycle. He even found an old spa shell without the base to use as a pond. Freecycle was created to help keep good useable items out of the landfill. You and your readers can check to see if there is one in your/their area. If not, one could be made and moderated by anyone wanting to help the community. We also have a BST yahoo group (buy, sell, trade). I have found a welder for my husband and a cradle swing for my new baby on there. I usually check thrift/consignment stores as well, especially if a particular item is out of our price range for a new one. Friends come in handy as well. I have purchased a bassinet from one friend and an infant car seat from another (If you buy a used car seat, make sure it has never been in an accident as it can weaken the structural integrity).
I know and understand not all people can or want to do some of our personal choices and that is fine. I’m not judging, just offering information. 
(I think I’ll quit now, lol)
We also utilize Netflix and the internet instead of purchasing cable or satellite tv. My husband has a few shows he likes to watch (via hulu), and he can watch them in his spare time as well (a big plus). The internet is very important to us and is a great help in homeschooling our children. Also, because of homeschooling, our children do not need as many (or as nice) clothes to wear to school. We don’t go school/clothes shopping every year. I keep some clothes for the younger/smaller children (only if another child can wear it in a yr, to save space) and when the weather changes and we need warm or cool clothes, I take out what I put away last year and see what fits who. If we need more, I check freecycle to see if there are any on there that someone does not need, but only if we need them. What I can’t use, I freecycle as well to someone else. I just freecycled a car load of things that I didn’t need and it felt good they were going to someone who needed them (and I was glad to get them out of my house so we have more room, lol).
Certain sweepstakes can be helpful as well. I won the stainless steel pasta pot and pasta from your blog.
There are all kinds of ways to help cut costs, it just takes a little patience and some thought. Some of our personal choices have actually helped us as well. I don’t need a crib because I co-sleep with our babies. I exclusively breast feed my babies, which is free. And I plan on saving on diapers by utilizing 3 different diapering/elimination methods – cloth diapers, disposables and elimination communication (or infant toilet training, which is learning the baby’s cues and pottying them on the toilet, sink or a bowl – it really does work, my 4th baby was trained this way until she was 6 months old, it shocked most people – in a good way). We hardly ever go out anywhere (by choice) so we do not have a need to take showers/baths every day. We save water and electricity (shampoo and soap as well) by not bathing every day. We also make our own laundry detergent and hand soap. I am constantly looking into ways to help us save money and make or do without. One thing I haven’t been able to do successfully is make my own dishwasher detergent. We have hard water and it always leaves a cakey film on the dishes.
Oh, and don’t forget about craigslist! We bought our 2 cars from there earlier this year with our income tax. We had been without a vehicle for a couple of months and were very happy to find some good vehicles in our price range.
Wow! That was long. I didn’t know I had that much to say about it, lol. Sorry if I bored you.
WOW, Dee, maybe you should start a blog. Tee-hee-hee! That’s some good stuff.
My husband and oldest son have been wanting me to start a blog (about pregnancy, childbirth, babies and raising a family). I just haven’t warmed up to the idea yet. I figured everything I would write has already been written (what could I contribute?). Most of the info I have read have come from blogs (that I feel are better written than something I could do). And of course now, I am expecting a new baby, so my time will be limited for a while. Maybe some day.
Thank you for your kind words. Glad you like it.
Well, when you are ready, let me know and I will help.
Thank you. <3