5 Ways to save money with twins.

Saving money is hard to do when your family doubles over night like mine did. You have double the diapers, double the formula, and double the medical bills. Patience and creativity are the key to handling the finances of a twin household. Here are 10 ways we've learned to save money.

1. Sign up for free samples and coupons on baby products you use a lot. Infant preemie formula nearly broke our bank account. The cans are smaller than most and they cost twice as much as regular formula but our doctor insisted we use it. I searched baby product websites like Pampers, Similac, Gerber, and Enfamil and signed up for their email newsletters. A lot of the time the companies emailed me coupons to print out. Many websites also offered free samples and all of the free samples were mailed with coupons attached. I would wait for my grocery store to have a sale on formula and then stacked my manufacturers coupons for great savings.
2. You don't need two of EVERYTHING! I made the mistake of buying two of every toy, two of all the outfits, and two of every baby gadget. I rarely actually dress the girls alike mainly because it's hard to coordinate babies who can ruin an outfit within seconds. For Independence Day I had both girls in cute matching Minnie outfits but Peanut spit up on hers on the way out the door. The same thing happened for Easter when Cookie decided to sit in the dog dish. Also, our laundry schedule is crazy and it's too hard to pick out all the matching outfits to make sure they're washed at the same time. Toys rarely get played with at the same time too. I thought having two of every toy meant less fighting but the girls will fight over the same pink ball no matter if I had ten of them.
3. Simpler is better. I bought 5 different types of bottles when the girls were born hoping one would solve their early reflux issues. I had fancy Dr. Brown bottles that consisted of five parts you had to fit together as well as oddly shaped Tommie Tippy bottles that didn't fit my bottle warmer. In the end it didn't matter which bottle I used. The girls spit up anyway. They eventually outgrew the reflux and the bottles that stood the test of time came from the dollar store. The simple bottles were easier to clean and lasted longer. This held true for sippy cups too.
4. Wash hands, sanitize often, and don't share food. Medical bills are wrecking my budget. The twins get sick from daycare and spread the germs to my entire family. Every doctor's visit costs us a $40 copay and each visit comes with an array of lab tests. You also have to factor in the costs of antibiotics, fever reducers, cough syrup, and various rash cremes. While I can't control what germs the girls pick up in daycare I can control what they bring home. Everyday when the twins get home from daycare I wash their hands, Lysol their book bags, and wipe down their faces. Something that I'm working on is trying to protect myself from their germs when they're sick. This can be hard when those little toddler hands find their way onto your dinner plate or when Cookie shoves her half eaten cracker onto your lips. She's going though a phase where she wants everyone to try her snacks. I'm hoping all our immune systems will be iron clad by the time kindergarten rolls around.
5.  Don't buy expensive twin gadgets. Baby products made for twins might seem like they'll make life easier but they usually end in buyers remorse. Twin products are very expensive and I've been burnt by a couple of info ads. The twin grocery cart cover seemed like a great idea until I realized that most store carts do not accommodate two babies. I also got the twin breast feeding pillow which ended in a lot of frustration and tears. I almost bought the twin carrier sling until I realized how heavy and hot it would be to backpack two babies to me. 

Five reasons couponing is not for my family.

I keep falling into the coupon trap. It usually starts with an Extreme Couponers episode where I envy the $5 receipt for $600 worth of groceries. My family's food bill takes a huge chunk of our budget and I'm always battling to keep it in check. Unfortunately, home cooked dinners just don't happen every day. Either traffic was horrible and everyone doesn't get home until 7pm causing baby hunger tantrums or I have a nasty flu and can't sum up the energy to cook. I have turned to couponing a couple of times in hopes of offsetting our grocery bill to accommodate the occasional take out meal. Coupons are not for me and here's why.

1. They tempt me to buy junk food I wouldn't normally eat. My couponing binges usually end with my kitchen full of chips, soda, and cookies. The majority of "good deals" in my Sunday paper consist of high calorie treats. I am a soda addict who has to keep her caffeine addiction in check. For years we didn't keep soda in the house and I only had it at the movie theater on occasion. I couldn't resist the BOGO soda call and my pants quickly showed the results of my coupon stacking. 
2. It takes a lot of time to coupon. You have to find the coupons, cut them out, sort them, figure out how they can stack against other sales, read up on store coupon policy, and plan how to incorporate the deal into your weekly meal plan. I was pulling my hair out trying to put together a coupon plan book. I'm a very organized person but I'm also a very busy person who hates to waste time. Couponing was like having a full time job and I already have one of those. 
3. My Sunday newspaper costs more than the savings I made from coupons in it. My Sunday paper costs about $2 a week. My paper was bloated with retail ads and only had two tiny grocery coupon inserts. Some weeks I cut no coupons at all. I know some people get around this by searching recycling bins or buying old papers in bulk on couponing websites but this adds more time and effort into the coupon monster. 
4. There's more to check than just the Sunday paper. To thoroughly coupon you must check not only your local newspaper but also manufacturer online coupons, in-store sales ads, your store's mail ads, your store's online digital coupons, your store's competitor coupons, competitor prices, and your folder of previously clipped coupons that you archived for later use. This is how you can stack sales and it takes a lot of concentration and effort.
5. I end up with too much of the same products. I have five containers of the same hair gel and I'm so sick of using it. I don't even like the product that much but it was BOGO and I had store coupons as well as manufacturers coupons. I'm also over the smell of my deodorant but I have six sticks left! It's nice to have your own personal grocery but it's also nice to be able to buy something different from time to time. I feel too guilty buying another hair conditioner when I have two bottles left (first world problems). 

I envy the people who make couponing work for their families. Unfortunately, coupons tempt me to buy more than I want and they take up too much of my time. I'll stick to the basic store sales ads and might clip some digital coupons to my store card but that's all I can handle.