When my girls were tiny, I didn't have much success at nursing. As a result, I had to rely on baby formula, also known in our house as powdered gold. (If you are one of those richie-riches who uses premade liquid formula, I would call that "liquid diamonds.") This stuff is pricey.
The average name brand can of powdered baby formula, here on the East Coast anyway, is about $24.99 for the larger size can. My girls each consumed just over 1 of those a week. So I would have paid upwards of $100/month per baby IF I just paid retail. But anyone who knows me knows I don't do retail. Retail is a bad word in my house!
So I thought I would share a few ways to save on formula for you new or expectant moms, or for anyone who knows one, to pass along.
- Buy generic. I have to say, I did not do this. I will buy the generic of most anything -- unless it involves babies. I am positive it is just a hangup of mine, it is purely psychological... you think a trusted name will deliver a better product. Truth is, with the strict FDA standards imposed on baby formulas, they will all deliver equal nutrition and meet the same safety standards, no matter what name is on the package. The reason for the price difference is mainly because the generics don't spend millions of dollars on advertising, free samples, and freebies (like those diaper backpacks filled with goodies some hospitals give out to new parents).
Generic formulas can save you several dollars a can -- bulk clubs like Sam's Club or BJs have brands that can save you even more, up to $12 less a can. For us, that would have been a savings of $50 a month at least! If you're on a serious budget, generics will save you the most over the long term and may be a great option.
- Brand loyalty programs. All the big brands have loyalty programs that you can sign up for online. They usually have some sort of email newsletter and then occasionally will send you paper coupons with your name listed on them (which they call "checks") by mail. You take the checks to your store and they deduct the amount of the check from your total. See below for links to sign up for these programs.
Most of us use just one brand and stick with it for our babies, but you can sign up for more than one brand of course. This led people to sign up for all the big brands, find others who had checks for brands they wouldn't use, and then trade. I have done this myself but it seems like the formula companies don't like this practice... many stores now require a photo ID to use the checks! Crazy! However, if your store does not require this, definitely find someone to trade with!
Whether you can trade with others or not, these checks can really help. I signed up for Good Start and the check amounts varied from $1 to $11 off one can of formula. Most were for $5 off a can. I received them for about 6 or 7 months, then they started changing to coupons for baby food and snacks (their coupons are based on how old your baby is).
Always try to combine those checks with sales! If you shop at Babies R Us, for example, they often mail out store coupons for formula when you buy multiple cans at once (if you are on their mailing list). These coupons often coincide with sales to encourage shoppers to buy multiple cans. So if your cans are on sale for $3 off each, and you use a store coupon for $7 off two cans, plus you have two $5 formula checks, you have just saved $23... that's like getting a can for practically FREE!
- Follow your brand on Facebook/Twitter. Many brands publish coupons from their Facebook or Twitter accounts that are not made available elsewhere. I have printed several $5/1 can coupons for Gerber Good Start this way. Extra hint: often, once you click on the link for the coupon, you can use your "back" button to print the coupon twice.
- Get the hospital hookup. It's crazy what the hospital will send you home with. We just asked the discharge nurse if we could take what was left in our room home with us to get us started and she said yes, then left and came back with armfuls of the stuff. It was all the premade liquid kind, and let me tell you, at 2:49 in the morning, you are THRILLED to not have to mix up a bottle, and even more thrilled that you didn't have to pay for it. Ask your nurse!!!
- Lastly, try calling the formula company. I did, and it worked. I just told them we were new parents on a super tight budget and asked if they would send me extra coupons. They did, along with a coupon for a FREE can! Never hurts to ask, people!
Some folks have mentioned making your own baby formula. After all, this is how it was done back in the day. I personally would not recommend this if you are trying to save money. To mimic all the nutrients, vitamins, health-boosters and the gentleness of commercial formula, you would need a small arsenal of ingredients -- vitamin drops, multiple dairy sources, various food-grade oils, etc. I really think you'd do nutritionally better for less money with commercial formula. Just my opinion.
Below are the links for loyalty program sign-ups, along with a couple links for baby food companies.
- Gerber: Sign up here for their Start Healthy, Stay Healthy program (sign-up is to the right). Receive information on your child's development, booklets specific to your child's current feeding stage, Good Start formula checks and coupons for Gerber baby food, cereals, utensils, pacifiers, bowls, sippy cups, etc.
If you haven't delivered your baby yet, you can also click here to print a certificate for a free backpack, formula sample, bib and booklets and guides from Gerber, distributed by your hospital (if they participate). By the way, go here to print a $1 coupon off of Gerber Onesies -- I loved these when my girls were newborns! They are also one of the few brands that has some very affordable in-between size sleepers (like 9 months size for example)... I found those at Babies R Us.
- Similac: Sign up here for their Strong Moms program and receive samples and checks via mail. If you enroll right now you also get a $20 credit at Shutterfly towards premium birth announcements!
- Enfamil: Sign up here for their Family Beginnings program and receive a diaper/tote bag, thermal bottle bag, a week's supply of Enfamil, formula checks and newsletters and booklets with information on your baby's development.
- Earth's Best: They don't appear to have a Welcome Pack, newsletter or parents' program, but they do have a coupon page with printable coupons on Earth's Best products.
- Beech-Nut: Sign up here for their e-newsletter. Newsletter includes baby's development information, feeding tips, and printable coupons. Beech-Nut also has a Label Saver program, where you save the UPC codes from Beech Nut products and trade them in for coupons.
- Happy Baby: They don't appear to offer a Welcome Pack, but they do have an e-newsletter that they send out every three months with coupons and nutritional tips. Sign up here if interested.
Hope that gives everyone some options! Feel free to pass this info along to other parents or parents-to-be. I have used loads of coupons from these programs and they have really helped to make a dent in that baby budget!
I used the target sensitive formula for my son. I think it's $14 per can. I breastfed for 8 months and was shocked at how expensive formula was. He actually did better on the generic than name brand. Target will have $1 off coupons every once in a while too.
Posted by: Allie | 08/03/2011 at 06:06 PM
$14 a can is a great deal! The fact that your son did well on it just shows the magic of generics! I know you can sign up for coupon booklets from Target... I have received a couple specifically for baby products with lots of different baby items. Good for you for nursing for 8 months -- wish I could have done that!
Posted by: shannon | 08/03/2011 at 10:17 PM