Savvy moms know every little bit counts when it comes to saving money. From shopping around for the best deals to clipping coupons each week, there are plenty of tips and tricks to stretch a household budget. As families grow and new bundles of joy arrive, it becomes even more important to spend smartly.

I was given a copy of Crystal Paine’s new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: 9 Simple Strategies to Stress Less, Sleep More, and Restore Your Passion for Life, which is full of advice on how to not only save, but set priorities and manage time and money. Paine’s book contains practical ideas, like purchasing store brand products, and simple solutions that will help any parent become a super saver!

One of her recommendations (also listed below) is to use store brand products whenever feasible. You will save money while still providing the same quality as the expensive brands. I buy store brands myself and in a lot of cases end up liking the store brand better than the high priced version.

When it comes to baby and toddler foods, the savings achieved by using store brands could be the thing that allows you to spend on the really important things, like a quality child safety seat or a few extra quality cloth diapers (you can save money again by using cloth).

Store brands offer you the same products — like yogurt bites, puffs, squeezable purees, and baby formula. Right now we are using the formula since my baby girl is only 3 months old, but we will be incorporating all of the other items for when we need a quick snack on the go.

store brand food

Crystal Paine’s 5 Money Saving Tips for Families

Create a Budget
A budget gives you parameters and purpose, it gives you boundaries, and it gives you freedom to live creatively within those boundaries.

Shop With Cash
When you shop with a credit card (or even a debit card, for that matter!) you can have your budget in your head and you can do the best to stick with it when you check out, but it’s so much easier to go just a little bit over here and there when you’re swiping!

Plan a Menu
When you have a plan in place for what you’re supposed to be eating each meal and you’ve already purchased the ingredients for those recipes, it’s a lot harder to justify chucking the plan for takeout.

Use Coupons
Coupons are a great way to save a lot of money on your grocery bill, but they can be hard to keep up with. Clipping, sorting, and organizing coupons takes time — so enter a coupon database! You’ll have access to printable and other coupons currently available and it’s one of the most effective and efficient ways to save money on groceries.

Buy Store Brands
One way to save a great deal of money on your grocery budget is to learn to like and use a variety of brands. The sooner you can get over being a brand-snob, the more your pocketbook will thank you.
For example, while I breast fed my children, moms who choose to formula feed can save up to 50 percent by switching to store brand formula, which meets the same FDA quality standards as expensive name brands. There are also coupons available at a website – StoreBrandFormula.com (www.storebrandformula.com).  This one simple change can save moms about $600 a year.

About Perrigo Nutritionals (store brand products)

  • Many moms are not aware that they can save up to 50 percent on infant formula by choosing a store brand over a national brand
  • Store Brand Formula is nutritionally comparable to the national brands, yet are typically up to half the price, and can save you about $600 a year
  • Perrigo Nutritionals is the largest supplier of Store Brand Infant Formula and nutrition products in the world and one of only four companies recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for meeting the strict FDA requirements for safety, nutrition and quality for infant formula-manufacturing in the United States
  • Same standards and expertise used to develop infant formula applied to toddler foods
  • Toddler foods are appropriately developed for variety of stages of growth and motor skills with quality, nutritional ingredients to create foundation of good nutrition

Store Brand product giveaway

Enter on the form below for your chance to win your own Store Brand product bundle which includes:

  • A copy of “Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: 9 Simple Strategies to Stress Less, Sleep More, and Restore Your  Passion for Life” by Crystal Paine
  • 1 container of store brand formula
  • 9 assorted Puree Pouches
  • 5 assorted Puffs
  • 4 assorted Yogurt Bites

baby-toddler-food-giveaway

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So tell us…

What is your best money saving tip for families?

The Perrigo Nutritionals product, information and two gift packs have been provided by Perrigo Nutritionals. All opinions are my own.