The Frugal Life

I have been a saver my whole life.  Growing up we never got much of an allowance but whatever I did get plus birthday money, I saved!  One day when I got home from school all my money had gone missing.  I found out later that my mom had put it into a long term savings account.  At the time I was so upset, not knowing that essentially it was a good thing she had done.  Still, it had taken me a long time to save up all the money and in my eyes it was now gone.  Since then I have almost become a money hoarder.  I like to have a couple accounts with money in them for a rainy day but still like not to go under a certain dollar amount in my every day use account.  Drives my husband crazy!  Opposites really do attract because when I met him he was the type that if there was money in his pocket, it was burning a hole!  Debt up to his eyeballs and still going.  With some hard work and discipline on his part he managed to get out of it and see the light of not being reliant on credit cards.  There is a certain feeling of freedom when you want to purchase an expensive item and you don't have to turn to credit cards or banks.  Anyways, I've gotten off topic.  Saving, being frugal (different from being cheap) is definitely a way of life.  It's not for everyone but it sure comes in handy when having a baby.  Some people have no idea the money they could save when they have a new baby if they just did a little work.  Some examples?
Garage Sales: Babies only fit an outfit for a short amount of time.  Like the tags say 0-3 mos, 3-6, 6-9.  Three month bursts essentially.  How many times could they possibly wear an item in that time frame.  Once a week, maybe.  That's 12 times at most!  Go to Garages sales, yard sales and you can pick up items from anywhere from $0.25 an item to maybe $2.00.  Compare this to buying it new for anywhere from $8.00 - $20.00 and you've saved a bundle.
Second hand stores:  Same idea as garage sales but you may pay a little more.  Probably anywhere from $1.00 - $5.00
Local Classified websites: This can be good for clothing, toys, or even furniture.  Plus you can do it at your leisure in your own home.  I picked up a baby swing that would have cost me $200+ for only $50.  Of course you want to ask questions like how long was it used for.  You don't want items with a blown out motor.  For non-motorized items though as long as they're not broken or badly worn its a great deal!  A lot of times people will sell a lot of boy or girls clothing.  So you can get a whack of clothing at once for a low price. 
Manufacturers websites: Sign up to any manufacturers products that you use.  Pampers, Similac, Huggies, Nestle, Enfamil..  They all have websites that you can become a member to and they will send you anything from free product to coupons.  Nestle will even send you a free diaper bag! 
Flyers: Check out flyers for your frequently used items like diapers and formula.  Once you find out which products you like, ex. you may find you like pampers more than huggies or vice versa.  Look in your local flyers for sales.  Every store has a cycle that they stick to for sale items.  Once you figure it out you will never pay full price for these items. 
Price Watching: This is tied into watching flyers.  You have to be careful with pricing because they can trick you.  Always figure out a "per item" price.  I've noticed this especially with diapers that there are quite a few different packaging size.  So you might look at the sale picture and think it's a great price but if you look it will be because it is a slightly smaller package.  Take the price and divide it by how many are in the package and compare.  Buying the large quantity (bulk buying) items doesn't always work out to be cheaper.
Name Brand: You don't always have to go with name brand.  I have found that Walmart's brand Parent's Choice of formula has worked best for my baby so far.  However I do not like their wipes.  I do like Pampers diapers the best so far but have found Kirkland to be quite comparable.  I don't have a Costco close by though so they aren't readily available to me.  Either way, give non name brand items a try.  You might be surprised how well they work.
Coupons: The dreaded coupon!  I never got why coupons have gotten a bad rap.  Perhaps they are perceived as being financially in need but that's not the way I see it.  Rich people don't give money away, that's how they got to be rich.  So if a manufacturer is essentially saying here, have a $1.00, why would I turn it down.  Better in my pocket then theirs I figure.  Give it a chance.  Start with the coupons that will give you free items.  It's always exciting to get free stuff! You can find coupons in your local newspapers or can go to online websites and have the mail them to you. 
www.lifemadedelicious.ca
www.websaver.ca
www.save.ca
Apps: If you have a smartphone you can download a few apps that will give you money back for purchasing select items.  The best ones I have found so far are Zweet, Snap by Groupon, Checkout 51, and Coupgon.  All are available in Canada and the US.
DIY: This is not for everyone.  You need time and patience for DIY.  However, there are a few simple things you can do that will save you a lot of cash.  You can make your own laundry detergent for example.  All you need is to pick up a box of Borax, Washing Soda, Resolve Powder or Oxi-Clean, and a bar of soap.  Mix 1 cup of each powder and grate the bar of soap, mix, and you have detergent.  Of course you can make it in large quantities at a time but this is a good start just to try.  This recipe actually can be used for washing baby clothes if you buy the unscented bars of soap. 
Another thing you could try is making your own baby food.  Essentially all you're doing is cooking your meat or vege of choice and throwing it in a blender to puree.  Place in a ice cube tray (or whatever container you like) and freeze.  Pull out as needed.  Saves a lot of money and you won't have any added preservatives or salt. 

So whether you use all or just one of these ideas to save money, it all counts and adds up!  Any money saved can be used to put towards your child in other ways.  College/University is expensive now a days I hear.  Or you can use it towards a well deserved night out with your special someone.  That's the difference between frugal and cheap.  Frugal is just saving money where you can so you have it for more deserving or needed areas in your life.  How bad can that really be?