The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. She occasionally writes here about what’s on her heart as a frugal stay-at-home mom.

Potty training for little ones is a whole new journey.  It can be easy or hard, but the idea is your child will do it when he or she is ready.  (And certainly not before…)

My husband and I have spent the past month or so getting our two year old daughter to use her potty.  She has now successfully used her potty twice.  The frustrating part is she keeps forgetting to tell us that she has to go.  So for now, she wears her training pants only at home and disposable diapers when we go out.

My husband and I made our usual monthly trip to Sam’s Club this past week.  We went down the baby care aisle to purchase some much-needed diapers for my infant daughter and two year old daughter.  We are always shocked by the price of diapers.  With only those two items in our cart, we were already down nearly $70.00.  Is that crazy or what?  For that price, I could easily buy two weeks worth of groceries under my meal plan for my family!

Here’s what our diaper costs look like right now:

Before kids, we never realized how costly diapers could be.  And with the birth of our second daughter, things have been even more costly.  We thought about using cloth diapers for our infant daughter, but we just have not had time to even explore that avenue.

We figure once our two year old masters potty training, life will be a bit easier.  She will be able to go when she needs and will be wearing regular underwear.  Our trash load will also be cut to just one load of disposable diapers and of course we will only be spending half as much on diapers (or even less if we use cloth diapers).  For now, I’m going to continue to price disposable diapers and other cloth diaper alternatives.

Photo by: johnbullas

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com

The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. She regularly writes here about what’s on her heart as a frugal stay-at-home mom.

My daughter celebrated Halloween for the first time last year. She did not really understand the whole concept, but we still dressed her up any way. My husband and I bought her costume since we wanted her first Halloween to be special. We ended up spending about $24 for a Piglet costume that she wore just four times.

This year we decided that we would make her a costume. With a second baby on the way, basement renovations, and other bills, there was no way we would even think about purchasing another store-bought costume that would get used just once.

Let me set up the scenario… About a month ago, we hosted a Murder Mystery night. I ran into a dilemma: was six months pregnant and had a difficult time finding a costume to fit my part. I was a 50’s girl and needed a poodle skirt. I browsed online to see how much a skirt would cost; one would cost about $20-$40 just for my skirt. Ouch! I wasn’t going to pay that much and decided that I would try my hand at making my own poodle skirt. It wasn’t really easy, since I am fairly new to the wonderful world of using a sewing machine. With the help of my mother-in-law, I was able to put together a maternity poodle skirt for less than what it would have cost to purchase one.

After making my own poodle skirt, I was left with some leftover material. My husband and I decided that the material could be used for a costume for my daughter. I wanted to make her a little 50’s girl (my “Mini Me”) this year for Halloween. Over the past couple of days, I have been working on her poodle skirt. When all the costs were totaled up, I was able to complete a skirt for her for under $10. I still have to make a trip to our local Goodwill store to find her a little top to wear, but it will be fairly inexpensive. I figure she will wear the costume at least three times in the next two weeks, so it won’t be a major loss.

With the increase of costs of groceries and gas this year, are you finding yourself in the same boat with your kids for Halloween this year? Be creative and make your own costume or head up to a local Goodwill or Salvation Army store to find costumes. Your child is going to wear the costume at most two times, so why waste the money?

Have you made any costumes on your own or built a great one with “found” clothing and props? If so, please share with us in the comments so we can gather some great ideas!

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com

The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. She regularly writes here about what’s on her heart as a frugal stay-at-home mom.

One of the things I like to do in my spare time is to read parenting magazines. I love the different articles in the magazine, but the one thing that I love the most is checking out the family-friendly recipes. I’m always up for trying new recipes, especially for a picky toddler and husband who has a hard time eating vegetables. [Ed. note: It's not that I have a hard time, I just don't like them. :) ]

The latest recipe that I came across was for “Pasta bolognese,” which I found in the March 2008 issue of Parenting magazine. It is a simple family-friendly dish that even your older kids can help with. This recipe makes 4 servings and takes about 30 minutes to prepare.

Pasta Bolognese

Ingredients:

• 1 TBS Olive Oil
• 2 Carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 LB Lean Ground Turkey or Beef
• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 12-oz bag wide noodles, such as pappardelle, or fettuccine

Directions:

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrots and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Add ground meat to skillet.
2. Cook (stirring and breaking up meat) until the meat is brown and cooked through, about 7 or 8 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
3. While the sauce simmers, prepare the pasta as directed on the package. Serve it topped with sauce.

Cost of Ingredients:

This recipe is easy to make and the great thing is you can sneak in vegetables and your kids won’t even notice the difference. It is similar to spaghetti. I have made this recipe twice and my daughter loved it, the first time I made it. The second time I made this recipe, I added chopped mushrooms (leftover in the fridge), diced fresh tomatoes (from my garden), basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. After spooning out the servings for my family, my husband and I added some Parmesan cheese, garlic, and crushed red pepper to our servings for a little kick.

As always I’m interested in hearing from you about what recipes that you have tried for your family. Feel free to leave me a comment sharing a recipe that you think my family would like.

Happy Cooking!

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com

The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. She occasionally writes here about what’s on her heart as a frugal stay-at-home mom.

As my daughter becomes older, it is becoming harder to come up with meals. Most nights she eats what the whole family eats, but some nights I make her special meals if my husband and I are eating something special.  She is a picky eater and it is hard to please her with dinner.

In the past couple of weeks, I have been trying out new toddler-friendly recipes. The first recipe I came across was for “first chicken nuggets.”  This recipe is good for toddlers from the ages of one to two.  This recipe makes about 2-4 servings and takes about 25 minutes to prepare.  It is also suitable for freezing and is good for up to 24 hours in the fridge.

First Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast, cut into small strips
• 2-3 Tbsp dried breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Lightly grease an oven pan by brushing with olive oil.
3. Dip the chicken breast strips in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs.
4. Place each nugget on the baking pan.
5. Cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden on both sides, turning once.

I found this recipe from The Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers, & Children. This recipe is very simple, yet only takes a few ingredients.

Cost of Ingredients:

As you can see this recipe is easy and very inexpensive to make.  I only made one change to the recipe when I made it the first time for my daughter.  I added a little flour, black pepper, and basil to the breadcrumb mixture for more weight and flavor.  Feel free to add special seasonings to add a little extra flavor to the nuggets.  I just served the nuggets with ketchup and my daughter loved it!  Serve the chicken nuggets alongside your little one’s favorite veggies and it should be a hit. If you’re trying out this recipe with a baby, cut the nuggets into small pieces that they can chew, but only if they have the teeth and chewing skill to properly eat the chicken.

For parents reading this post, I would love to hear from you.   If you have great toddler-friendly recipes or recipes for the whole family that you would like to share.  I am always looking for new recipes to try, especially now with another little one on the way.

Enjoy!

Photo credit: my_amii

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com

The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. She regularly writes here about what’s on her heart as a frugal stay-at-home mom.

For the past few months, I’ve spent a lot of time shopping for bargains. With the rise in prices for gas and food I will do nearly anything to save money for my family.

My daughter is quickly growing out of her clothes and needs summer clothes. When my daughter was a baby, we bought most of her clothes brand new from retail stores and the rest of her needs were met by gifts from the baby shower and from her grandparents. Nowadays, we focus on living frugally and buy most of her clothes from Goodwill or yard sales since she will outgrow her clothes long before she would wear them out. When she’s done with them they’ll still be in good enough shape to survive as hand-me-downs. My husband and I only resort to buying clothes new only if we have had absolutely no luck finding good toddler clothes by other means. And when we do buy new, we search the sale and clearance racks first.

I encourage all parents to take advantage of yard sales and thrift stores such as Goodwill. You can find little-worn and even brand new clothes for a low price. Why spend $8 on a shirt, when you can buy 4 for the same amount? You don’t have to spend a fortune on brand name clothing for your kids; your children don’t realize what they are wearing anyway. I’ve never seen one baby criticizing another just because he wasn’t wearing the latest fashions. Our local Goodwill store actually carries new brand-name clothing (e.g. Baby Gap, Osh Kosh, Old Navy) for kids at a pennies on the dollar. You just have to search through racks to find the bargains. It’s hit and miss, but still well worth the time.

To give you an idea of how little you can spend at Goodwill (or thrift store), here is what I spent on my latest trip:

That’s just a dollar a piece for each item!

Whether you shop at Goodwill, Salvation Army or your local thrift store, you are bound to find some great bargains. You may not find them all the time, but don’t give up and keep searching. But don’t forget about also looking at those yard sales.

Yard sales are great, especially the subdivision-wide yard sales. Our neighborhood has one every year and we take the time to check it out. For new parents these yard sales can save tons of money. Why spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars outfitting a nursery with all new items when you can get away with spending much less? Most of our daughter’s things came from yard sales, which saved us enough that we could afford to fully equip her nursery and still have money left for paint, decorations, and a huge stack of children’s books. We definitely plan on using everything again for the next baby since most of it is still in great condition.

Yard sales are also good if you are looking for home decor items or furniture. My husband and I have been in our current home for almost two years and we still have bare walls and unfinished rooms. We just couldn’t find the time to make it a home since we were expecting when we moved into this house. But our home will be more home-like in the next couple of months with all the changes and reorganization. In the meantime, I’ll be searching yet more yard sales for creative ideas for our home.

Here are my great finds at our subdivision yard sale a few weeks ago:

As you can plainly see, there are some amazing bargains to be found at yard sales – you just have to look and sometimes negotiate for better prices. I’m pretty conservative when it comes to negotiating, but I still did pretty good. Get out your local paper and see what deals you can find in your area.

There are bargains out there to be found; you can’t be afraid to go looking. Happy hunting!

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com

The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. She regularly writes here about what’s on her heart as a frugal stay-at-home mom.

At the end of April, I found out that I am pregnant with our second child. All sorts of things have been running through my mind: How are we going to be able to afford two kids? How am I going to manage my time with a newborn and a toddler? My thoughts are crazed while I’m sitting here dealing with the never-ending symptoms of pregnancy.

The good thing is I have experience being a parent. I’ve learned the basics of parenting over the course of the last seventeen months. How hard could it be the second time around? It shouldn’t be too hard as long as we do not end up twins. People keep telling my husband and me that we are going to have twins. It also does not help the fact that twins are common on my side of the family. We are just hoping for a healthy baby. If we do end up twins though, we have a wonderful support system with family and friends that are more than willing to help.

We have many months to plan. We have plenty of baby items, but I figure that we’ll still be shopping at numerous garage and yard sales this summer. Most of the items we found for our daughter were purchased at yard sales. We were fortunate at the time to have a friend whose daughter was getting rid of her twins’ things (since they were grown). We spent under $330 for a stroller, car seat [Ed. Note: We now recommend against buying a used car seat since it may have unseen damage that would put your child's life at risk.], crib, crib bedding set, changing table, pack and play, and swing. You can’t beat that price nowadays. I would advise any new parents to check out yard sales. You can get some great bargains for items that are slightly used and in good condition.

For feeding, I plan on breastfeeding and making my own baby food. My husband and I definitely learned how expensive items like formula and packaged baby food were. It adds up over a course of a few months. You can find simple cookbooks for making baby food at your local library. I have a book that my husband picked up for me, The Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers & Children: 365 Quick, Easy, and Healthy Dishes, and it is a wonderful starter book.

Clothing should be somewhat easy to deal with. We have quite a bit of neutral newborn clothes. With my first pregnancy, we chose not to find out the gender of the baby. Because of that, we have lots of yellow newborn clothes. This should hold us over after the baby is born. And we have lots of girls’ clothes ready for hand-me-downs. If for some reason, it ends up being a boy, there is always a nice shopping trip to Goodwill. Goodwill is a great place to shop. In fact, they have a decent selection of baby/children’s clothing. It just takes some time to browse and find the sizes you need. The end result is you end up spending less there than you would anywhere else.

As far as diapers, we are still debating on going to cloth or sticking to disposable. The disposable diapers are convenient to use. I’m a little unsure about reusable diapers right now, but I know it would save us a lot of money in the long run. I’m not really thrilled about the idea of washing them among other things.

I think that things will be okay with a second child. We will be spending the next couple of months getting our daughter into a new room and doing some room rearranging. With careful planning, I think we will be well-prepared. If you are parent, I would love to hear your thoughts or helpful frugal ideas.


(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com

The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. She regularly writes here about what’s on her heart as a frugal stay-at-home mom.

It is the start of a new week and I am busy planning my to-do list and meals for the week. I admit that I’m not a cooking expert; I grew up not knowing really how to cook. After getting married, I had to learn the hard way. The hard way was to teach myself the lovely art of cooking. There were many disasters in the kitchen, but I learned from them. No one said learning to cook was going to easy. I have come along way though and I’m continuing to learn.

Cooking for two was easy, but it has been harder to come up with meals since my daughter started eating table food. I have spent endless hours online and even more searching through pages and pages of cookbooks. The recipes I choose have to be kid-friendly (not spicy, but simple) and easy on the bank account. Being the frugal mom, I try to use items that we already have or items that I can get at a low price.

The simple meals that are good so far are spaghetti, quesadillas, and macaroni and tomatoes. Macaroni and tomatoes is a relatively easy recipe and the whole family loves it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Here is the recipe:

Macaroni & Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces of elbow macaroni (1 cup)
• 1 – 8 ounce can stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (drain, if canned)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• Dash pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese (1 ounce)

Directions:

1. In large saucepan cook macaroni in boiling water 6 to 8 minutes or until nearly tender. Drain well and return macaroni to saucepan.
2. Add undrained tomatoes, mushrooms, oregano, and pepper.
3. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until macaroni is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
4. Pour into a serving bowl and sprinkle with cheese.

Makes 6 side-dish servings.

I found this recipe on bhg.com. The ingredients are inexpensive and can be found at your local grocery store.

Cost of Ingredients:

For an extra addition to this recipe, I add a can of chicken breast. I pour the chicken breast into a separate bowl, add some lemon pepper seasoning to it, and then break it into shreds. Then I just add it to the saucepan close to the end and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. I usually double this recipe which makes great leftovers.

I am sure there are other recipes out there that I haven’t seen yet. I am open to trying new recipes, so if you have a good one that you would like to share, send them my way. I would love to try them. For now, I will plan my meals for the week and search for more freezable meals for my deep freezer.

Happy Cooking!

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com

The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. She occasionally writes here about what’s on her heart as a frugal stay-at-home mom.

I was updating our bank accounts yesterday and began pondering on how life was so easy before having a baby. I’m not saying I regret leaving work and being home with my cute little girl.

Before, I would wake up at 5:15 every morning to get ready and would be out of the house by 6:00am for work. I would then work eight long hours (which some days seemed like an eternity) and fight the dreadful commute home. Life was good and I was contributing a nice savings for my husband and I. At the time, all of the bills were pretty much being paid off of my husband’s income, except for my student loans and car loan. I was putting some money to savings and then paying those loans when they came due with my income.

Now, I wake up between 7am and 8am. I get myself cleaned up for the day and then I start caring for my daughter. The difference is I’m not getting paid for it, but at the same time I’m saving money on meals and gas.

In the early infant months, it was easy to feed my daughter. All I would have to do is make formula and she would be good to go. I was lucky that I was able to breastfeed for the first four months, which saved us some money for diapers. The next seven months we went through endless cans of Enfamil formula and even store brand formula. (Thank goodness for the great Enfamil checks that they kept sending me in the mail!)

When she started solid foods, we went through jars and jars of baby food. In these recent months, we’re spending our hard earned dollars on boxes, boxes, and boxes of diapers and many, many gallons of milk, which seems to fluctuate in price from week to week.

We never realized the cost to raise a child, but no one really knows that until they have one. There is no one manual to raising a child, you just experience it day by day.

My husband helped me realize that we have been able to thrive these many months. We’ve made some sacrifices and run over some obstacles, but we made it. It definitely has been hard!

During my pregnancy, we tested the idea of living on one income. We paid all the bills as well as other expenses on my husband’s income. My income was made “invisible” by squirreling it away in a separate account and went untouched. The results were good. I would recommend to anyone considering stay-at-home life to consider trying this out for a couple of months. It really gives you a clear perspective on your spending and how much (or little) money you truly need to survive.

I still enjoy my life now but some days it is hard living the life of frugality. It is easy to manage sometimes, but you have to force yourself to find ways to really live it. I spend countless hours checking store ads and cutting every coupon I can get my hands on. Shopping at different stores also helps, too. I buy most of our groceries at Aldi’s and then buy the things I can’t get there at another local grocery store in town. It’s easy to notice the savings, since I carry a little notebook with me showing different items I commonly buy, when and where they were purchased, and the unit price. The notebook system has helped us figure out where we can get the best deals.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions on frugality, please feel free to share them with me and my husband. I’m currently reading a few books now, just to get some different perspectives. If I find any good ones, I’ll be sure to write about it.

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com

The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. She regularly writes here about what’s on her heart as a frugal stay-at-home mom.

I’ve been spending a lot of time going through things for our church’s Spring rummage sale. We usually donate quite a bit and end up finding some useful things for our house at these sales. For instance, last year we found a decent nightstand for our bedroom for a quarter. Can’t beat that!

My parents were out of town last week, so I decided to go over and get the remainder of my things that were left when I moved out after our wedding. I thought it was going to be an easy task, but I was wrong. My parents have turned my old room into the overflow storage room and my mom’s second closet. There were many storage tubs of my mom’s clothes in the room and many plastic bags with stuff crammed in every corner imaginable. The sight was sickening. I didn’t even know where to begin in the search of finding my stuff that was buried in the chaos.

My old closet was another story. Clothes were so packed in that I could barely even slide the closet door open. The sight of the floor of the closet was a mystery. There were mounds of shoeboxes and piles of plastic bags even with purchased items in them. Needless to say my mom has a spending and clutter problem.

As a stay-at-home mom, I realize that we are living on one income and we track all the expenses. We don’t buy, buy, and buy. We buy only what is needed and phase out or get rid of old things. I know what you’re thinking: “It is easier said than done.” But it’s really not.

Many people have at least a small clutter problem. I’ve watched Oprah and have seen the shows on TV. Sometimes the main problem is not being able to let go of something because it has sentimental value. If one person kept every single thing they obtained or bought, they would end up like my mom. This just creates chaos, not happiness.

This Spring, take the time to really declutter your house. If you are tight on time like me, break your tasks up. I make a to-do list of things that I have to do for the week. It helps me stay focused and organized. Each day, I pick a couple of things that I’ll be able to complete from the list. I pretty much complete my tasks when my little one naps. Even if it is just a cabinet a day, you’ll be on your way to decluttering your house. Once you’ve gathered your clutter, donate it! It will help you and your house feel happier.

Step back and take a look around your house. Are you in need of some Spring decluttering?

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com

The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. I hope to convince her to become a regular contributor, since everything we do financially is guided by our joint efforts. Hers is a unique perspective that I would love to bring to you regularly.

I hope you enjoy reading my husband’s stories. He asked me to share my perspective on life today.

I’m a 27 year old stay-at-home mom to a cute little girl. Previously, I worked as an accounting clerk, but now I run the house and serve as bookkeeper for my husband’s business.

My story begins in high school. I worked a part-time job from the age of 16 until I graduated. I worked hard and earned good grades and even received a partial scholarship to a private college. At the time, I needed to purchase a used vehicle because the car I drove broke down and I could not afford to pay for the large expenses. I was lucky – I saved a large amount from working to make my down payment for my first car in cash (much to the surprise of the salesman at the dealership). My parents helped me pay for the car insurance; however, I was stuck with how to pay for the rest of my education and car payments.

I worked through college to help pay for my remaining education and car debt. I began to wonder if I had time for a life between school and work. It was stressful, but my parents weren’t going to support me, since they didn’t even want me to go to college. In their culture, girls are treated differently than boys. My older brother was able to attend a university without a problem from my parents and they supported him.

At the end of my junior year of college, I realized that working so much had taken a toll on me. I had to concentrate on my studies, so that I could graduate. I quit my job and I applied for student loans. I ended up graduating that year with a BA in Accounting and a year of student loan debt, which could have been worse.

After graduating, I had problems getting into the work world. I had a degree but my limited accounting experience hurt me. We knew we had some time before the student loan debt would be due, so I sent out many resumes to various accounting firms and large corporations but my only opportunity was as a teller position at a credit union. I worked there for a year and explored internal accounting opportunities, but it just wasn’t worth it. I finally got hired at a large company as an accounting clerk. The position was great at first, but after a while it was dragging me down. I applied for a staff accountant position there but was told that I did not have enough experience for that position. I continued to find ways to improve my skills by training in different accounting areas, but soon my life took another path.

In April 2006, we found out that I was pregnant. It was a bit of a surprise since we had just placed our starter home on the market and were looking for a family home. We ended up finding a larger home and then were left to ponder about what we were going to do in the upcoming months. Daycare costs were just outrageous. My drive out to work was costly since I had to fill up every few days. I always dreamed about being a stay-at-home mom, but we didn’t know if we could afford it. We finally decided that it would be best for me to stay home since we couldn’t trust anyone else taking care of our child. I quit my job in February last year and now I spend my days at home with our little girl and managing our house. It is not a paying job, but an important and fulfilling one.

Ed. Note: I’ve asked my wife to provide regular insights from her life as a stay-at-home mom trying to run a frugal household. I’ve done what I can for convincing her, but I bet some positive comments would definitely get her the rest of the way there! *hint, hint*

(c) 2007-2009, That One Caveman, http://www.thatonecaveman.com