Living On Less – Children

Children cost an arm, a leg and your natural hair color. However, you may be able to keep the cost down to only an arm, and at most a foot. Parents across the centuries have found ways to keep children entertained, clothed and fed without any how-to manual. So here are a few of the ideas.

Used Clothes for Babies – Babies are cute beyond what they wear and does it really matter if they spit up on new or used? Used clothing can be found at freecycle, craigslist, 2nd hand stores and talking with your neighbors.

Swap Babysitting – Talk with neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc and see if you can swap babysitting for a couple hours so that each of you can get things accomplished without interruption or just go and relax.

2nd Hand Sewing – Picking up a sewing machine, for those who know or would like to know, and sew up curtains, blankets and gifts to save money on buying and reuse what you already have

TV policy – Remove cable TV or be very disciplined about what and how long it is watched. I grew up without a TV set in the house. This forced my brother and I to use our imaginations, play outside more and ask for things less. In my opinion, there was a noticeable difference between my brother and I and my sister (9 years younger) who had a TV and what we did with our time.

Speaking of Imagination – Don’t forget to ‘help out’ by picking up refrigerator or washer boxes from local stores that may have some left over. You can also purchase cheap grown-up clothes for ‘dress-up’

Go Halfway – With older children meet them halfway on an item they would like to have, like a bike, skateboard or pain supplies. Set a budget and list what will be needed, then set up a chart of how much they save and how much you will match. This could also be a gift idea as well.

Free Activities – Listen to the radio and watch the newspaper for free community activities that may be going on. Whether it is a weekly free movie at the theater or library, a free museum visit or a reduced price at the swimming pool, gather all that you can.

Leagues – Check out your local parks and recreation or community leagues before signing kids up for more expensive camps or private lessons. This will also keep the cost down if they decide they don’t like it.

Music – Check with local music stores or the teachers who may know of ways to rent musical instruments instead of buying out right. You may even have a relative that has a stored instrument that can be used. If your kid is anything like me, this will save you money. I practiced piano, violin and saxophone.

Pets – Though it would be cute to have a cat or dog grow up with a child, which is an added expense that can be brought down in size by teaching responsibility through a fish tank or pet turtle or rabbit.

Groceries – Don’t forget to cut coupons when you can for diapers, formula, etc. And don’t hesitate to ask family and friends to keep an eye out for them as well. If you have the time, start a small garden. Find out if there is someone who already has a garden and go in with them for a slightly larger plot or pay them some money to grow something in particular.

***** Kids – Save on utilities by sitting down with grown children and finding an agreeable amount for them to help out with the utilities or lease. (I believe I paid for all my long distance, did my own laundry and paid $200 for rent in the early 90’s)

What are the ways that you are saving money with your kids?


Additonal reading:
â•— Tips for Kids and More
â•— Make a Baby Bottle
â•— ***** Children at Home
â•— Frugal Tips for Raising Kids