How To Save Money When You Have Children Kids are amazing all around. However, it seems like the costs of raising a child, goes up year by year. What are you going to do if you have two or three kids? Kids come with a lot of expenses other than three meals a day and a place to sleep. You have clothes, medical expenses, college savings, toys, and maybe even lessons. Of course, it is nice when tax season rolls around, but this hardly makes up for all the expenses throughout the year. Don’t fret though because there are some ways to help you save money. Below you will learn about some of these ways. Breastfeeding Many parents may look down on breastfeeding, but there are lots of benefits that come along with it. When you breastfeed a child, you do not have to worry about buying all that formula and this is going to save you a bundle of money. This is not to even mention the fact that children, who are breastfed usually have less expensive medical costs. By breastfeeding you will not only save money on formula, but you will save money on doctor visits, and medication. It is important to also know that a baby can be breastfed for much longer than a baby that uses a bottle. For instance, a bottled baby will have to switch to sold foods much sooner than a breastfed baby. Used Items Toys and clothing can become very expensive right away. This is because the child will outgrow his or her clothing, before you know it. One way to avoid this is buying used items. Speak with your friends that have recently had babies. It is possible that they have many unwanted clothing that they will be willing to give you. If you don’t have any friends that have babies, then visit garage sales or thrift stores. You can find all kinds of baby clothes and toys in these stores. Just remember that it is always a good idea to wash any used clothing, before putting it on your baby, because you do not know if the clothing may be carrying germs. Just one simple wash and the clothes will be germ free. Day Care and Nannies In today’s world, it is very common for both parents to work full time jobs. This means that until the child is old enough to attend school, you are going to have to pay for a day care or nanny service. Day cares are much cheaper, but it is much harder to find one within an acceptable distance of your home and finding a center that follows your child raising philosophies. Possibly one way for you to get around this is by speaking with other mothers in the neighborhood. Maybe there are several mothers in the same position as you. You could possibly setup co-op or nanny share services. You might even find it much cheaper to work fewer days, so that you don’t have to pay for child caring services. Conclusion As you can see children are expensive, but as long as you stick to the tips above you are going to save quite a bit of money.