Eating Out

Eating out can be the biggest pocket book breaker. The convenience of having a quick meal, or the splurge on a dish that includes ingredients that are to highly priced to be a staple can lure anyone.

Brown Bag It

Pack a lunch. Whether for work, school, or car trips, brown bagging it will save you BIG. Don't have time to pack a lunch? There are several ways to make packing easy on the fly.

• Premake Meals- Instead of buying the premade meals, burritos, and pizzas in the freezer section make them yourself and freeze them for future use. (These can be used for lazy days as well.)
• Leftovers- Always make extra when preparing a meal. Store the leftovers in single size containers in the fridge for a quick grab on the go, or in the freezer for long term storage.
• Premake Snacks- Small 6-8 oz containers are perfect in a hurry. Fill them with your favorite snacks, in advance, to add variety to your sack lunches. Fruit, veggies, yogurt, pudding, and jello are just a few ways to add variety to your sack lunch.

Substitute Splurges

Instead of eating out splurge on those ingredients you wouldn't normally buy. When my husband and I feel like going out for a nice juicy steak we head for the grocery store. While steak is one of those items usually to highly priced for our budget it is cheaper than eating out.

Split It

Share a dish when eating out. You get a taste for a meal you may not be capable of making yourself without breaking your budget. It's okay to leave a restaurant without being full.

TIP- Budget for eating out. You are more likely to follow some allowance than none at all.

Juice

Often times juice is given to small children watered down (half water/half juice). Why stop when they get older? Adding water in this manner doubles your juice while saving you money. This can also help with getting your water intake for the day. Some juices taste better than others watered down; some will only have a slight change while others will taste more like a Capri sun.  The amount of water you will want to add depends on the juice.

Experiment

Start by adding just half a can, extra, of water and taste it. If only one can extra is all you can handle than stick with that for awhile than try adding more later. After awhile, you will become so accustomed to the taste that regular juices will taste too sweet. Younger kids will probably not notice a difference. Try adding water to bottle juices as well.

TIPS- Add a pinch of salt to help magnify the flavor of juice. Add club soda to juice concentrate instead of water for a healthy carbonated beverage.

Shaving

My husband's shadow is thick and grows fast. If he used a blade every day he would burn through them faster than our pocket book would allow. However, we both prefer the shave a blade gives. How do we compensate while saving money at the same time? He has an electric for daily use, and a blade for Sundays and special occasions.

Ditch the Chick Blade

Use the man of your life's old blade. Guy razorblades are much sharper than chick ones. When his razor is no longer sharp enough for his use its perfect for yours.

Prolonging the Life of Your Blade

*Dip the blade in rubbing alcohol after each shave. Rubbing alcohol dries fast, doesn't leave residue, and will not rust the blade. (Also useful when cleaning washable electric razors.)

*Clean the blade by brushing it against your jeans. Rub the opposite direction you would shave so as not to cut your jeans. (This does not sharpen the blade, but it will feel sharper because it is clean.)

TIP-Use soap or conditioner instead of shaving cream. Conditioner will leave your skin feeling soft. All natural aloe vera can work as a substitute as well. However, my husband found that aloe clogged the blade faster and worked better as an after shave.

Diapering

You will spend roughly $1,000 per year, per child in disposable diapers.

Cloth diapers- What comes to mind? Prefolds, that have to be pinned with the plastic panties that go over top, that your grandmother or even mother had to use? Although those are still available (made from much nicer materials), there is a growing industry for cloth diapers that make it easy and fun, with different styles, functions, and fashions.

Diapering 101

Prefolds- An absorbent piece of material that is folded to fit and wrapped around the infant (usually secured in place). These diapers require a cover. They also can be used as an insert as well.


Contour- A prefold with no folding needed.

Fitted- Contains elastic around the legs and sometimes waist. Snaps or velcro are used to keep them closed. Can come in fun colors but they are not seen as they require a cover as well.

Cover- Meant to have a prefold, contour, or fitted diaper inside (depending on the cover an insert could take the place of the diaper. The cover repels moisture from the diaper inside, keeping you dry, and contains messes that may slip past the diapers.

Insert- Material added to a diaper for added absorption.





Pocket diapers- Contains a waterproof/resistant outside, that act as a cover, with a material that wicks away moisture away from your baby and to the inside. These two layers are sewn together to create a pocket where an insert is stuffed inside.

AIO (all-in-one)- Contains everything- waterproof/resistant outside and innards for absorption. They can come as a diaper with no assembly required, a pocket diaper with an insert sewn inside (contains the pocket for extra stuffing) or as separate pieces that fit together perfectly when put together.

Onesize- Grows with your baby, therefore, no need to buy multiple sizes. The elastic will stretch with your baby; if you plan to use them on more than one child you may need to replace the elastic.

Diapers can come in fun colors, patterns, and styles. They can have ruffles, snaps, velcro, and can be made from a variety of materials such as bamboo, fleece, wool, flannel, ect. Some even have disposable inserts that can be flushed.

Not all diapers will fit every baby the same; like shoes some brands or styles may fit better than others. Do your research. You can find tutorials on youtube. Moms all over have recorded their likes and dislikes of each diaper.

What You Will Need

• Diapers- Depending on how often you want to wash or how frequently your little one wets, you will need around 16 diapers for a newborn in a 24 hour period. If you are using diapers that require a cover you will need 3-5 covers. They can be rotated to air out and washed when soiled or smelly. Wash your stinkiest covers every time you wash the diapers.
• Wet Bags- Store soiled diapers in a wet bag until washed. They have waterproofing on the inside that contains the mess and the smell. You should have 2 large wet bags for at home use, one to be used while the other is being washed, and 2 small for travel.
• Cloth Wipes- Depending on the size 20-30 wipes. Used with a solution you buy or just a very small amount of babywash to a bottle of water. Wipes can sit in a container with solution (may mildew over time). The solution can be sprayed onto wipe before use or baby's bottom.
• Optional Accessories- Sprayers that hook up to the water line on your toilet rinse off messes. Solutions for wipes and washing.

Depending on what you decide to buy it can add up, but you save money in the long run. The average price of getting started is $300. Compared savings is thousands.
Not only are cloth diapers nice on your budget, they are also nice on your baby. Cloth diapers are natural without the harsh chemicals and don't end up in land fields.

Washing/Drying

Some diapers will be become more absorbent with washing. Diapers should not be washed/dried with fabric softeners, brighteners, enzymes, or perfumes/fragrances. If your diapers stink after washing them use more soap (unless suds appear during a rinse). If they stink after soiled (more so than normal) use less soap; soap can enhance the stink. Cloth diapers will last longer when hang dryed, and considering that you will be washing them about every day this will save energy.

TIPS-Try buying a few different ones to see which one you prefer. Be careful buying on ebay and amazon... their prices can exceed buying from outlets. diaperware.com is just one of many sites to order from. Know how to sew- make inserts, wipes, and wet bags yourself to save even more.