Each week for 52 weeks, I'm sharing a different way you can save $100 this year. If you do all of these things, you'll be able to save over $5,000 this year alone! Many of these things will likely be things you're already doing, but hopefully all of you will pick up at least a few new ideas or some inspiration from this series.
Store-bought baby food can be very expensive. Knowing this, I decided from the get-go when I had my first child that this was an area that I’d wanted to try to really save money on.
Three children later, we’ve survived without basically ever paying for pre-made baby food — and have saved hundreds of dollars in the process! Here are some things that worked for us (Remember: each child and family is different so please do what works best for your family!):
1. Start Slowly
I was blessed to be able to nurse all three of my babies almost exclusively until six months old. (I know some women would love to be able to nurse and have been unable to do so, so I don’t take it for granted that I never had difficulty with nursing.)
At around six months old, I would slowly start introducing solid foods — normally just giving the child a couple of tastes of banana or vegetables a few times per week. I would usually mash up something that we’re already eating and offer a few bites.
We stuck with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains first and then gradually added in other foods. We’d just offer the child whatever fruit or veggies we’re eating at a meal plus some homemade bread or other wholegrain finger foods. As our children caught on to eating more, I’d gradually reduce nursing and replace it more and more by table food. (I weaned all my children around 18-19 months.)
A great way to save money when you've got a little one crawling under foot is to make your own baby food. The average price at my grocery store for a 1-serving jar of baby food, stage 1, is $0.51. From my rough calculations, you can save an average of 75% by spending a few minutes in the kitchen to make your own food — especially if you buy in season and get the best prices on that fresh produce.
While I prefer cooking in the kitchen each night for our "big people" meals, I've found it works really well for me to have a Freezer Cooking Day once a month preparing homemade baby food.
If you’re wanting to make your own baby food, but the thought of making big batches for the freezer does not appeal to you, I highly recommend that you invest in a simple bay food grinder. I like the Kidco Baby Food Mill. It runs about $15 and is really compact so you can just mash up whatever fruits and/or veggies (or even the main dish!) you’re eating at the meal.
If it’s something that can’t just be easily mashed with a fork, stick a small bit in the grinder when you sit down at the table, grind it up, and you’re good to go! It makes very little mess mess and requires almost zero forethought!
As I watched the Olympics the past two weeks, I kept thinking about how many times each athlete must have fallen in their journey to make it to the Olympics. Here’s what About.com says about figure skating:
If You Are Going to Skate, You Are Going to Fall:
If you are a figure skater, you must understand that if you are going to skate, you are going to fall. That’s a fact. Practicing falling over and over again is the only way to learn how to fall safely.
Falling is part of the process of learning to succeed. If the figure skaters weren’t willing to go out on the ice and fall again and again, they’d never learn how to jump beautifully and gracefully, they’d never perfect fancy footwork moves, and they’d never win any competitions.
It’s the same way in life. If you want to accomplish great things and follow through with your goals, you’ve got to get over your fear of falling.
It’s easy to sit in the bleachers as a spectator. It’s comfortable and safe. And you won’t get any bumps, bruises, or injuries from it.
But it also guarantees that you’ll never see progress, you’ll never experience the fulfillment that comes from putting it all on the line, you’ll never succeed, and you’ll never make a difference in someone else’s life.
Getting out onto the rink requires risk. You’re not going to hit a home run every time you try a new idea, start a new business, invest in a relationship, or attempt a new skill. In fact, most of the time, you’re probably going to stumble, struggle, or even fall flat on your face.
That is how you learn best. Each time you fall and get back up and try again, you become a little bit stronger, a little more sure of your footing, a little more successful. You learn what works and what doesn’t.
Do you want to be safe or do you want to succeed? The choice is yours.
We’re on early Spring Break/vacation this week and half of next week, so I’m staying somewhat “unplugged” and not tackling many new projects or business projects so that we can have lots of extra time for fun, time with friends, and refreshment. Because of this, I’m only planning six goals for this week.
or check out 
from your local library.
. It runs about $15 and is really compact so you can just mash up whatever fruits and/or veggies (or even the main dish!) you’re eating at the meal.
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