Trying to survive this economy is hard enough for adults, but when kids are involved, it's not only more difficult, but more heartbreaking to experience. I've had to get resourceful to meet the financial demands of having children, especially teens, in today's economy.
I've never been one to spoil my children, but I've always been able to manage on a tight budget without feeling like I'm depriving them. When my now 16 year old son was 3, I had him with me shopping at Wal-Mart. I picked up a package of cookies and started to put them in my cart, when my son told me, "You don't need to get those. We don't have a coupon for them." Now that's starting them out early! Unfortunately, teenagers want and need more than just cookies.
Like I had mentioned before, my kids are now 17, 16, 8 and 4weeks. Being on maternity leave has cut our family income in half, and even before I went on leave, we were barely making it from paycheck to paycheck. Now, with teens, I've been forced to realize how expensive life is, and how I've always taken for granted that I would always be able to afford basic rights of passage for my children. These have included a car and car insurance, a prom dress, field trips with the school and with church, birthdays, which usually included going out to eat on their birthday (but not this year), and new shoes. So far, I've been able to get my daughter a prom dress from a resale shop, but I have no idea how I will get her a pair of shoes. I got her a birthday gift using a gift card given for my newborn son. That was probably one of the lowest points for me. We've had to use other gift cards and gift money meant for my new baby to buy groceries and other necessities. I have promised myself that as soon as I go back to work and start getting a paycheck again, I will go back and spend that money on my son. He has what he needs for now.
Another way I've been able to save some money is that I'm breastfeeding. Formula is extremely expensive, and honestly, not as good for the baby as breast milk. So I've been diligent about continuing to breastfeed in spite of some problems. My son was having some problems with latching on, and we weren't able to tell how much he was actually eating, which was a concern because we were wanting to make sure he was gaining enough weight. So I started pumping breast milk, which allowed us not only to know how much he was eating, but also allowed others to be able to feed him. This also reduced the amount of anxiety that I was experiencing related to his problems latching on.
One of the other ways I had planned (and still plan) to save money was to use cloth diapers. Let me just say that I have experience with cloth diapers and am a firm believer in using them. However, this has proven to be a challenge because I have been unable to find a store in my area that actually carries cloth diaper covers. Most stores carry cloth diapers, but not the diaper covers. When I ask store managers if they carry diaper covers, they act like I'm crazy for even asking. I have been able to find some online, but haven't purchased any yet because of finances.
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