3 Mom Tricks I Use to Save Money While Raising Kids

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Raising kids is expensive. Read on to see how one parent manages to save. 

It’s hardly a secret that raising kids is an expensive prospect. But even to this day, it shocks me to see just how much money parents need to part with so their kids can eat, attend school, and function.

Thankfully, I’ve developed my share of strategies to save money while caring for three small humans. Here are some of the tactics I rely on to keep my costs manageable.

1. Ask for and accept hand-me-downs

Kids tend to rip, stain, and outgrow clothing at a pretty rapid clip. That’s why I basically refuse to spend more than $5 or so on t-shirts and more than about $10 on pants. Some of this stuff is going to last a month or two in my house, if that, so it’s not worth paying up.

But an even better way to save money on kids’ clothing is to ask for and graciously accept hand-me-downs from friends whose children are older. Through the years, I’ve gotten bags of clothing for my son and daughters alike, and it’s probably saved me hundreds of dollars. That’s money I appreciate keeping in my savings account instead of handing it over to Walmart.

2. Buy as much as you can from dollar stores

When you have kids, there will pretty much always be a need for school supplies, items to craft and do projects with, and goody bag fillers (whether for birthday parties you’re hosting or class parties you’ve gotten suckered into coordinating). A good tactic I use to save money on those purchases is to get them at dollar stores.

Recently, my son needed markers to create a presentation. A quick Amazon search showed me that a 12-pack would cost me around $7. Instead, I went to the dollar store, which is five minutes away from my house, and spent $1.25 on a 12-pack (sadly, things at the dollar store are no longer just a dollar, but they’re fairly cheap nonetheless).

Now to be fair, the markers I saw on Amazon were made by Crayola. I call those the fancy markers, as opposed to the no-name brand markers I buy at the dollar store all the time. But I can guarantee that my son doesn’t care what company name is printed on his markers — he just needs the tools to get his assignments done.

3. Pick your extracurricular activities strategically

Years ago, I was thinking about signing my daughters up for a gymnastics program a few towns over. I happened to run into a mom friend at the supermarket whose daughter was enrolled in the program I was looking at. When I asked her about it, her initial reaction was “Don’t do it — unless, of course, you want to have to choose between paying your mortgage or buying gymnastics uniforms.”

She then went on to explain that she’d actually gone back to work part-time, even with an infant at home, for the express purpose of being able to afford gymnastics classes and the many peripheral expenses that came with it. Well, that sealed the deal for me. And needless to say, my daughters did not get enrolled at that particular school.

The point is that extracurricular activities for kids can be outrageously expensive. But there’s a spectrum there. And if you’re looking to save money and minimize your credit card bills, it pays to do your research and opt for activities that won’t break the bank.

Of course, if your child is an Olympic hopeful, then you may want to spring for the more expensive gymnastics program. Since this was something my daughters would’ve done solely for fun, I found them something else fun to do at a fraction of the cost.

Raising kids is extremely rewarding. It’s also very, very hard — aside from the financial aspect. But if you employ these tricks, you might find that the money part is a bit less daunting.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Maurie Backman has positions in Amazon.com. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon.com and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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