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6 Steps To Saving Money On Infant Formula And Building Your First Stockpile For Your Baby.

How I Saved $1230 on Infant Formula in One Year and How You Can Do It Too! By Mrs K | Simple Coupon Deals

How to Save Money on Infant FormulaIf you are a new mom, you’ll soon find out that buying Infant Baby Formula for your newborn baby is going to cost a lot of money. Once you leave the hospital, it’s entirely up to you to provide your child with the nutrition he or she needs. If you are unable to breastfeed, you’ll need to stock up on lots of baby formula!

From my own past experience and in speaking with other moms, a baby will go through one tub of formula per week! As he or she grows, that number may increase. A tub of Formula costs on average $28.

Within just a year, you’ll end up spending $1456 on formula alone! WOW! If you are a nursing mom you may agree that saving thousands on formula is a huge relief, but nursing also comes with it’s challenges too.  I am very thankful that I was able to stick through all the challenges and exclusively nurse both my daughter and son until they were 9 months and 15 months, respectively! But, that is not how I saved $1230 on formula the first year.

I am excited to share that throughout this journey, I challenged myself to buy formula even though I made the decision to nurse my two little ones exclusively. One, so that I would have a backup plan in case something went wrong or I had to be temporarily away from baby (I was actually hospitalized, two weeks after I had my son because of a kidney stone!) and two, to see how much I could save so that I could now share this awesome money-saving tip with you. 

As the editor of Simple Coupon Deals, it’s my job to find the best deals possible, at the lowest price point. When I became a new mom, one of the most annoying things (maybe you can relate) was having others tell me that I would become “so broke” from buying diapers and formula and all the other things that come with a new baby. I’m so thankful that I learned how to coupon early on in the planning process of having a child, that each time I shopped, I saved over 65% on diapers or formula! So, cheers to that!

Saving money on Diapers will be another topic for discussion so be sure to subscribe to my daily deals newsletter so that you get a notification of when that tip is up!

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6 Steps to Saving Money on Baby Formula:


1. Tell Yourself, You Can Do It. 

First, stop what you are doing. Tell yourself, you can do this. Having a baby is an exciting, life changing experience! You can save thousands of dollars to put toward your growing family’s future simply by making smarter choices and planning ahead. This in itself is a lifestyle change. An exciting one too I hope! When you save money, you can make those dollars go toward your child’s future education or pay for those bills that you really need to be paid off! When you stop to take action and deliberately tell yourself that you can do this, you will start to realize that there is a whole trove of savings all around you.

2. Signup for Free Baby Offers.

As soon as you find out you are pregnant, signup for all three of these free baby offers: Similac, Enfamil and Gerber reward programs. These are the three biggest Infant Formula manufacturers. In fact, sign up both you and your spouse. I was surprised that my husband received more money-saving offers through the mail than I did!

When you signup, you’ll receive free samples, coupons and checks. The checks you receive in the mail are used as a form of payment / tender and help lower your out of pocket! Click here to signup for all three top companies: Similac, Enfamil, Gerber right away so that you don’t miss out on any amazing free offers!

Click here to signup for Free Infant Formula Samples, Coupons & Checks
Click here to signup for Free Infant Formula Samples, Coupons & Checks

3. Gather & Save Coupons.

Each week, clip the Sunday newspaper coupon inserts and check our coupons.com page for new printable coupons. Save as many different coupons as possible from every source you can find. Ask your friends and family to save baby-related coupons that they come across. Have a separate accordion envelope just for baby coupons. 

How to Organize Your Coupons: Use Accordion Envelopes
These Accordion Envelopes are usually found near the entrance of the store at Target in The One Spot and are only $1. They are great for organizing your coupons!

Why this is important: Having coupons on hand will come in handy. For example: You can barter and share with other moms. I had a friend who would swap her formula checks with me for diaper coupons! She needed diapers, I needed formula! It was a win-win situation. 

4. Ask For Free Samples. 

Likewise, when you are at the doctor’s office for regular checkups and ultrasounds, ask the receptionist for any and all samples they have for you and your baby! Most likely they will have booklets of coupons and full-size samples! During each of my regular checkups, I made sure to ask every time. In just a few months, I had 6-8 full-size sample boxes, totes and gift bags filled with Enfamil and Similac already in my stockpile —just from asking. I had $329 worth of free baby products already and my baby wasn’t even the size of a cantaloupe yet! Best of all: I didn’t even have to spend a penny!  free-enfamil-similac-formula-samples

5. Shop Smarter at the Store.

At this point, you will start to build a collection of coupons. Now, wait for a sale! The sales cycle always rotates. Stack the sale with your coupons to save! Pick one store so you don’t get overwhelmed by all the sales going on everywhere. As an example, I will discuss how CVS and Target sales work and exactly how I saved, at the lowest 55% and the highest, 100% off the retail price! Then, we’ll continue on to step six.

Saving Money on Baby Formula at CVS

At the start of my coupon-venture, CVS use to love me. Each Thursday I received a 25% off coupon code from CVS via email. This 25% off coupon was linked to my CVS store loyalty card. To get a loyalty card, simply go in store and ask the cashier to give you one. Then go to cvs.com and signup for their email newsletter. Now pray that they send those coupons each Thursday again!

Every few weeks, CVS would have this sale or a similar sale:

similac-cvs-deal

Buy $30 worth of Similac/Enfamil and get $10 Extrabucks Reward. Extrabucks Rewards spend just like money at CVS on your next transaction. You can use it right away and “roll it” to lower your out of pocket on your second order.

With this sale, this is what I was able to do: I would stack the sale with a coupon from the newspaper or printable from coupons.com AND use my Similac checks as a form of payment. Plus, since CVS loved me very much, I also occasionally received these CVS store coupons from the magic Red Coupon Machine: Save $5 off your $15 baby purchase! SWEET! The Red Coupon Machine is located at the entryway of the store. If you’ve never seen it, stop doing what you are doing and just look for it right when you walk into the store! You will start to see and become more aware of your surroundings!

Note: some of the terms and policies may have changed so be sure to keep up on the latest policies per store by reading their official coupon policy and reading the fine print on each coupon you use

Here is what I would buy (this is just a sample scenario)

Buy one Similac Infant Formula Powder 1.45lb, $27.99 Buy one Similac Ready-to-Feed Infant Formula 1qt, $7.99 Total Retail Cost: $35.98

Here is what I would use when I bought those two items and how to “stack & save”

I used a 25% off CVS Purchase (from email, sent digitally to card) (-$9) I used $5 off $15 Baby Purchase CVS Coupon from Red Coupon Machine (-$5) I used a $2 off any Similac Formula Product manufacturer coupon (valid on the bigger tub only) (-$2) I used two $5 Similac Formula Product Checks for buying two Similac products (-$10) (these checks are actual checks that run through the payment system at the very end so be sure to hand them over LAST)

Total Cost Out Of My Pocket (OOP) =$9.98!

PLUS I got back $10 extrabucks just for buying $30 worth before coupons!! CVS actually PAID me store credit to TAKE ALL THIS STUFF HOME! SWEET! Do you see how exciting this is?  *Happy Dance*

Thanks Giphy.com & Tumbler for the Happy Dance!
Thanks Giphy.com & Tumbler for the Happy Dance!

After store credit, I came up $0.02 richer. That’s a 100% savings!

This brings me to my last step:

6. Rinse & Repeat But Know When To Stop. 

Continue to do this same deal scenario week by week when the sale pops up and you will have yourself a stockpile worthy of TLC’s Extreme Coupon hall-of-fame!

Similac Formula Stockpile

If you’re not excited by this point, I’m not sure how else to explain it! Let’s try at Target.

Saving Money on Baby Formula at Target

Every few weeks Target would have this sale (and they continue to run this sale! See this weeks deals): Buy 3 tubs of Similac or Enfamil and get a free $10 Gift Card

similac-target-deal

Disclaimer: This is a perfect case scenario that has happened on several occasions for me personally. When you have all the coupons available with promotions running at Target —this would be the ideal deal. Sometimes this might not be the case). In this deal scenario, you can use a Target Coupon (mobile or printable) and a Target Cartwheel (% discount) along with a manufacturer coupon. Then, pay with your Formula Checks and use your Target REDcard to take 5% off the final purchase price before taxes:

Buy 3 Similac Infant Formula Powder 1.45lb at $24.99 each Total Retail Cost: $74.97

Here is what I would use when I bought these items and how to “stack & save”

I used three $1 off Similac Target Coupon I used the 5% off Cartwheel (-$3.60) I used three $2 off Similac Formula manufacturer coupons I used three $5 off Similac Formula Product Checks =$47.37

Finally, I paid with my Target REDcard 5% off (-$3.37)

Total Cost Out Of My Pocket: =$44 OOP

Plus, I received a $10 Target Gift Card for buying 3 tubs of Similac!

After coupons and gift card, the final cost for all three tubs is just $34 or $11.33 per tub (55% savings)

If you signup for a Free Target Baby Registry. You can get even more savings! Target offers a 15% off completion coupon that you can use after you’ve completed your Baby Registry. You bet, I kept this coupon handy for these sales! I received a total of five 15% off coupons.

Check out how much of a difference 15% off can make:

Buy 3 Similac Infant Formula Powder 1.45lb at $24.99 each -use three $1 off Similac Target Coupon -use 5% off Cartwheel (-$3.60) -use three $2 off Similac manufacturer -use 15% off baby registry coupon (-$9.36) -use three $5 off Similac checks -use 5% off REDcard (-$1.90) =$36.11 OOP +Receive a Free $10 Gift Card Makes it $26.11 for three tubs or $8.70 per tub (65% savings)

When the sale returns, or on a 2nd trip to Target the same week, use the $10 gift card to help lower your out of pocket even further:

Buy 3 Similac Infant Formula Powder 1.45lb at $24.99 each -use three $1 off Similac Target Coupon -use 5% off Cartwheel (-$3.60) -use three $2 off Similac manufacturer -use 15% off baby registry coupon (-$9.36) -use three $5 off Similac checks -use $10 Target Gift Card from previous transaction -use 5% off REDcard (-$1.40) =$26.61 OOP +Receive a Free $10 Gift Card Makes it $16.61 for three tubs or $5.54 per tub (78% savings)

Stacking Coupons & Sales
Stacking Coupons & Sales: At Target you can download their app “Cartwheel” and clip the % off savings. Show the cashier your Cartwheel barcode and the savings is automatically deducted! Then, hand over your coupons. Finally, use Formula checks to lower your out of pocket. (If you want to take it a step further, take advantage of cashback offers from apps like Ibotta. Click here to learn more.

 Step 6 is very important, I want to stress this. It’s how you will sustain a stockpile big enough for your growing baby. With that said, don’t be alarmed or afraid or stressed even about having to complete this task over and over again every few weeks. There were some weeks I skipped the sale. That was actually very hard for me to do. I had coupons that I let EXPIRE! I did not need any more formula or diapers. I either gave them away to friends, family, as gifts at baby showers or donated whatever I could! 

Repeating the last step allowed me to save over 65-100% off the retail price of formula. If I paid retail, I would have paid $1456 for 52 tubs in one year. Instead, I paid approximately $226 between CVS and Target in one year (rolling the Target Gift Cards and Extrabucks onto the next transaction to lower my out of pocket each time).

If there is one piece of advice that I hope you take away with you, it is that you should simply shop smarter, plan ahead and know when to stop and take a break. During the winter, my kids and I just hibernated! We rarely went out anywhere because it was so cold and getting two kids ready was an event in itself!

Once you build up your stockpile, you will never have to run out for formula to buy it at full price when its inconvenient for you. Products sold in stores are expensive because they are suppose to make our lives more convenient. We need it and we will not stop at any price point until we get it! Stop yourself in your tracks, it’s time to inconvenience the store (and your cashier :D) and you will find yourself so much richer, fuller, more satisfied and happier! I can’t tell you how many times I had a cashier look at me and sigh or roll their eyes when I handed them stacks of coupons. I just simply smiled, took my time to gather myself together (with two kids screaming in the background) and pray that I did not forget any coupons at home knowing that I would save hundreds of dollars that I could put toward my bills!!

I look forward to reading your comments and questions. Click here to leave me a comment (scroll down the page to the comment section) and let me know how I may help you on your journey to shopping smarter and saving more!


Checklist of things to do:

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