How to Save Money on Baby Formula (and get some for free)

When I was in high school there was a local billboard sign that read “A baby costs $785.00 a month; how much is your allowance?”  This sign was to warn teenagers about the seriousness and responsibilities of babies. It’s funny that the information has stuck with me all these years; and now here I am, a mother of twins. Does that mean our twins cost us $1570.00 a month? I really don’t want to think about it!

Kids truly are expensive, especially if you can’t or don’t want to breastfeed. The price of formula is outrageous; especially when I consider that the alternative is made by my body for free! But alas, my premature twins never could breastfeed, thus we have had to buy formula from day one. The average price of a regular size can of formula is around $19.00 and heaven forbid you should have to buy the special preemie formula or the hypoallergenic formula (like we had to) which can run up to $37.00 a can. And with twins, we used about 10.5 cans per week!

I mean, really, what did people do hundreds of years ago before formula was available? Or even before baby bottles existed? Those babies survived without the special “gas eliminator” bottles and the hypo-allergenic formulas…but I digress.

There was a silver lining to our dark financial formula cloud; Enfamil, the formula brand. When the twins were first born the hospital gave us samples from the different formula companies. We had Enfamil, Gerber, and Similac. I contacted each of these companies and inquired about discounts or programs for families with multiples. No one offered me such a program except Enfamil.

Enfamil will send you two cases of 12 cans of their expensive preemie formula or infant formula. They will also send you several coupons a month. They also told me I could call every 30 days to request more coupons. When my twins had a bout where we thought they needed the uber expensive hypoallergenic formula, Enfamil once again sent us 24 cans of Nutramigen, which is $37.00 a can! I couldn’t believe it.

One time we had a request in for a free case of formula but it never came. When I called back to complain, we found out that the formula was on back order, so the Enfamil representative offered to send me the liquid, ready to use, version of the formula in the meantime. So I received that PLUS the 24 cans of formula. Enfamil has been so great with helping us along the way. Any time I had a question or needed help they didn’t hesitate. When it turned out that we didn’t need a certain type of formula, a company rep simply told me, “donate it to someone who needs it, and we will send you what you need.”

Also, on top of free formula and coupons, Enfamil also offers a rebate program that we received info on when we received coupons. All you have to do is send in your receipts and UPC’s from the time period of that particular rebate offer and you get $15.00 back. It was great! And we received multiple rebate offers from them!

I may have originally fallen in love with Enfamil because of their multiples program, but I also know that they will send free sample cans (regular size) of ANY of their formulas to anyone. And multiple cans if your doctor switches you. So if you have kids on formula or know someone who does, be sure to tell them to contact Enfamil for help with formula costs. The coupons alone saved us over $20.00 a month!

Remember to slow down and enjoy the fruits of your labor and love on a daily basis and you will start to see life as a Mama on the Bright Side.