(1) Never buy new clothes or shoes, if you have the time you can check out garage sales being held in nearby neighborhoods or church/organizations. If your lucky enough to have a consignment store, find out what days they have specials and head in only on those day.
(2) Let your friends hold a baby shower for you, if they have the desire then by all means, let them have fun. You will get tons of clothing, shoes, diapers, etc. Keep all receipts so that you can return copies to the store and any extra items you won't need.
(3) Breast feed if possible, formula runs anywhere from $10 - $30 a can depending on whether it's on sale or full price. Consult nurses and lactation consultants to see if your able to get your baby to nurse. If your unable to breast feed, contact as many formula companies and sign up to get coupons. Combine sale formula and coupons to save even more money.
(4) Make baby food at home from foods that your family regularly eats, but don't waste money on special food processor's when most families already have a full size food processor that will work just fine. If your baby absolutely turns his/her nose up at the consistency you create, buy a few jars from the store (using COUPONS) and attempt to get the right consistency. If all else fails, only buy baby food when it's on sale and you have coupons to go with it.
(5) Have a kids clothing swap with your friends, your kids will have the chance to get a new wardrobe as well as new shoes or toys.
(6) If you know someone that got kids just a bit older then yours, ask if you can have the hand-me-down's for your child.
(7) Don't give your kiddos juice, it's very expensive and it's bad for their teeth. Water is super cheap and much healthier than the most 100% juice product out there. If they want to toddle around with a sippy cup in their hand or take one to bed, fill it with water. No matter how cheap you think juice is, the end results is cavities and fillings are pretty expensive and stressful for your kid to go through.
(8) Don't buy into those little jars of diced fruit and vegetables, just purchase regular cans of fruit (in natural juice) and vegetables. You can cut these up into small bite size pieces for a fraction of the cost.
(9) Don't buy snacks foods (even those marketed for kids), if you start your kid on an early path to junk food they will grow up expecting that as part of their daily meals. Even snacks marketed for children are not a necessity if they have variety in their diets. Snack foods are one of the most expensive products in the grocery store.
(10) Don't sign your kids up for ballet, soccer or basketball in their toddler years, rarely will kids stick to one thing for their entire life. If you need some type of outing, look in a local family magazine for free things to do as a family. When the time comes for them to get involved in extra curricular activities, they should be old enough to take small jobs to earn money to pay for what they want. This method should quickly show children just how far $1 goes in today's world.
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