Six Money Saving Mama Tips from Rad Mom Cool Kid

Hey, I'm Briton from Rad Mom Cool Kid!  I'm excited to post at Fry Sauce and Grits today and I'm even more excited for Melanie and that darling bundle of babyliciousness in her arms! In celebration, I'm sharing my favorite money saving mama tips!

ONE: When my husband and I first found out we were expecting we were broke college students. Like we didn't take out student loans and were paying for everything up front kind of BROKE. Our grocery budget was $20 or less per week. Do you know how much a pregnancy test costs? Let's just say that we were able to buy ONE and it was the cheapest one at the grocery store. I think it cost $7. Do you feel stressed for 9 years ago me? What if it was wrong??!! A few years later we were a new kind of money-less. We were out of school but had just bought our first house!! I think we splurged and found a 2-pack pregnancy test for $12 when baby #2 was discovered. Then, I learned the best pregnancy test tip ever... Dollar Tree pregnancy tests are $1 and just as accurate as the ones at the pharmacy. With baby #3 I got a whole handful of them and they were all correct. Crazy right? Stop wasting $ on pricey tests! SAVINGS: about $6 per test

TWO: Target's store brand diapers are super cheap and super reliable. I have tried so many diapers over the years and these are the ones I always go back to. Also, I don't bother with fancy 'night-time' diapers or pull-up training diapers. I buy a size bigger for night-time if they get overnight leaks. With the pull-ups, I just don't see the point! I let my kids pee their pants, they feel how horrible it is, they stop doing it pretty quickly. I kind of feel like pull-ups drag the process on and on. SAVINGS: about $0.06 per diaper

THREE: Don't buy a high chair. They are big and hard to clean. My kids used a Bumbo- style chair with a tray attachment. They went straight from that to a booster with a tray. They are much easier to clean than a bulky high chair and you can take them on the road. SAVINGS: about $140

FOUR: Get the cheap baby monitor. $20 is all you need to get the monitor that will let you know if your kid is having a problem. I guess if you live in a mansion, you might need something stronger but, normal people- you don't need to watch your baby at all times and hear every single inhale and exhale. YOU NEED SLEEP so set up the basic monitor and close your eyes. SAVINGS: about $230 but the sleep is priceless

FIVE: Shop consignment and thrift stores for baby clothes. It doesn't work as well for older kid clothes because they get worn out before they're grown out of. Newborn-12 months is the perfect time to buy 2nd hand- you'll be surprised at how many items still have the original tags even! I always check our local kids consignment shop for tap and ballet shoes and leotards, holiday dresses, and winter gear- I keep the future in mind and buy bigger sizes and store them if they're high quality! SAVINGS: varies, but usually pretty dang great

SIX: Use Oxy Clean and Folex. Oxy Clean + water + stained baby/kid clothes + soaking overnight = brand new clothes. Do this when you unpack clothes for baby # 2 or when you get a bag of hand-me-downs. Even when you put clothes away squeaky clean, old stains will magically show up, but a good soak will fix everything! Folex is a carpet cleaner. It changed my life as a mother. A friend brought it over one morning after I facebook freaked out about hot pink lipstick all over my carpet and a certain white (white!) preschool stuffed animal that was visiting our home. It got it out! Hot pink waxy cheap lipstick out of fake white fur. I'll be a customer for the rest of my days after that. It costs under $10 and you can find it at home improvement stores and maybe Wal-Mart. The bottle will last a long time and you might want to worship me after you use it the first time. SAVINGS- depends on items being saved, but probably a whole bunch

What are your best steals and deals or tricks and tips when it comes to saving money with a baby? Thanks for hanging out with me today! Here are some of my favorite posts about life with little ones: travel with kids: 10 tips for survival becoming a 'yes' mom