How to Save Money When Buying Children Sports Toys Bulk

If you don’t have kids, this statement probably sounds preposterous – or even impossible. If you do have kids, on the other hand, you’re likely keenly aware of just how realistic this outrageous, nearly quarter-of-a-million-dollar figure is.

Between paying for a larger home to make room for extra bedrooms, a bigger car to haul your kids (and their gear) around, more food, childcare bills, clothing, school supplies, and the crazy costs of kids’ sports, it may even be surprising that it doesn’t cost more to raise your little ones.

How to Save on Raising Kids Every Step of the Way

But, here’s the thing: The numbers from the USDA and other organizations are just averages. Depending on a wide range of factors such as where you live and your spending style, you could pay a whole lot more – or a lot less – to cover the costs of child-rearing to age 18.

If you live in an expensive city like San Francisco, you can only imagine how your housing costs would dwarf those of someone living in St. Louis, for example. And if you’re the type of parent who buys their kids designer clothes and a new car on their 16th birthdays, well, you should plan on forking over more than most.

Of course, the opposite is also true. If you’re conscious about the way you spend on your kids, you could easily whittle down the costs of raising them – maybe even by a lot. And the changes don’t have to be drastic, either; changing some of your small, repetitive spending habits for the better can lead to huge savings over time.

To find out how to save money while raising kids in every age group, we reached out to parenting and frugality bloggers who have mastered the art of raising a family on a budget. Some of their best tips are included below.

Saving Money on Newborns Through Age 5

If you have young children or you’re about to start a family, you may have heard that raising babies is a pricey affair. There are certain costs you only face when kids are young, such as diapers, formula, and the sky-high price tag of newborn daycare. Plus, there’s all the gear to buy upfront – the strollers, cribs, high chairs, bouncy seats, and car seats.

But, there are ways to save on every aspect of having small kids, says money coach and blogger Jessi Fearon, who lives with her husband and three children – ages 5, 4, and 2 – near Atlanta. We’ll start off with some of Fearon’s favorite ways to save on little kids:

BUY USED CLOTHES.

Fearon says she and her husband have made a conscious decision to avoid buying new clothes. Instead, they attend clothing swaps at church and shop consignment sales and Goodwill. “Our boys can tear up clothes faster than you can say ‘don’t do it,’ so for us, purchasing them something new makes no sense because it’ll be destroyed or stained up before they’ve even worn them in.”

LIMIT SNACKS.

Fearon and her husband have adopted the French model of feeding by only allowing her kids one snack time per day. While the change was hard to implement, she feels it’s worth it. “The issue we had been having was that our children wouldn’t eat all their dinner, but then would be hungry come bedtime. But once we switched to only one snack time a day, they actually started eating all of their dinner.” As an added bonus, this change also led to less food waste at dinner time (saving money) and lower snack spending overall.

LIMIT TOYS, TOO.

“Hands down, toys are the biggest thing that I see parents overspend on,” Fearon says. Fearon says she gives her kids money for savings instead of toys on their birthdays, and they only get one toy for Christmas. “This saves us a ton of money and saves our sanity when it comes to managing all of the toy chaos.”

SAVE ON ENTERTAINMENT AND BABYSITTERS.

It’s easy to overspend on fancy outings with the kids, says Rosemarie Groner, the blogger behind The Busy Budgeter. Groner, who lives with her husband and kids — ages 2 and 5 – in North Carolina, says they keep it simple and look for free stuff to do. They buy a year-round family membership to their local aquarium for $80, for example, frequently have play dates with friends, and take turns hosting dinners with other families rather than paying for everyone to eat out. And when it comes to babysitters, they “swap” babysitting nights with other families instead of hiring someone.

BUY LESS HOUSE THAN YOU CAN AFFORD.

When it comes to housing, Groner says they thought long-term and bought a house that was well under their budget but offered room to grow. “For us, that meant moving to a cheaper neighborhood with better schools,” she says.

DON’T BUY EVERY GADGET IN THE WORLD.

Blogger Chelsea Brennan of Mama Fish Saves says one of the biggest ways she and her husband have saved on their 22-month-old son and baby on the way is by not buying every last gizmo and gadget.

“We keep the costs of parenthood down by never buying anything as soon as we perceive our son might need it,” says Brennan. “For instance, with teethers, when he was popping a tooth we would try to give him cold washcloths or a carrot from the fridge for a few days. If he still seemed like he needed something after that, we would look on local giveaway groups or give in to Amazon.”

Brennan says that, over the past two years, they’ve realized most “needs” dissipate after a few days and their son is generally happy with Tupperware, spoons, sticks, and books for toys.

GET THE KIDS OUTDOORS.

Eric Rosenberg, the blogger behind Personal Profitability and the father of two girls ages 2 and one month, says he cringes when he sees parents buy young kids new electronics and too many fancy toys. Kids are only young once, and you may be setting them up for bad habits later on if you don’t set the stage for creative play.

“Keep them away from screens as much as you can, and save money with fun backyard playtime and play dates with other kids,” he says. From playgrounds to sledding hills, there’s probably plenty of free outdoor fun in your area.

USE YOUR LIBRARY.

We’re relentless advocates of public libraries, of course, and they’re especially helpful when you have young children. Use your local library to beef up your book and DVD collection with more variety, and check the calendar for free story times and other kids’ programming that can help entertain your little ones.

SAVE ON DIAPERS AND FORMULA.

There are too many ways to save on diapers and formula to count. One of the best ways is to buy generic brands if you can. Both Walmart and Target have quality diaper and formula brands you can try for huge savings over time. Of course, you can also try Amazon Subscribe and Save to get diapers delivered at a discount.

Buying in bulk can also help you save on diapers and formula. If you have a Costco or Sam’s Club membership, see if you can save by stocking up with each trip to the store.

Also, don’t forget you can use cloth diapers instead of store bought. You’ll save money and reduce landfill waste at the same time.

SAVE ON DAYCARE.

This tip comes from yours truly. My kids are 6 and 8 now, but I saved a bundle by avoiding the pricey daycares available in our city. Instead of going with a daycare center that would set us back $300 or more per week, I chose small in-home daycare centers run by people I trusted. I was happy with the care our kids received, and I felt the amount I paid over time was fair.

BUY USED WHEN YOU CAN.

Remember when we talked about the outrageous costs of baby gear? The good news is, you can buy most of it used. You may not want to buy a used car seat unless it’s from someone you know and less than seven years old, but it’s totally reasonable to buy used swings, baby bouncers, and strollers. Buy from people you know, from Facebook groups, or from Craigslist, and you’ll save a bundle.

Saving Money on Kids Age 5-11

Saving on school-age kids isn’t an easy feat, but it can be done. And a lot of the tips for babies apply here, too. You can keep on buying used clothing for kids in school, either from consignment shops, people you know, or Facebook groups, for example. And if you’re able to avoid moving up to a huge house just because you have kids, you’ll save on housing costs, too.

Here are some of the best ways to save on kids when they’re out of diapers but not quite ready for high school:

AVOID PRICEY KIDS’ SPORTS.

One of the most important ways we’ve saved on our children is by limiting their sports to one per child. They each take gymnastics right now, and this particular sport doesn’t require fancy uniforms or more than a few practices per week. Since there are no games or “meets,” we also save by not traveling or having to spend our weekends going to and from sports activities.

DON’T “KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES.”

Jim, who blogs at Route to Retire and has a seven-year-old daughter, says one of the biggest money pitfalls he sees in his area is too many people trying to keep up with the spendy habits of their neighbors.

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