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I feed my toddler my friends' breast milk to save cash

"Chloe prefers Jessica's milk over anyone else's," the self-confessed cheapskate explained. 

Breast milk on a budget: Mum's unconventional feeding strategy

Amid the cost-of-living crisis, one mum has revealed the unique lengths she's going to in order to provide for her family and save money.

The self-confessed "cheapskate" mum says she feeds her toddler donated breastmilk given to her by her friends. 

She even admits to making her own DIY kitchen cloths, wet wipes and nappies. 

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Image: TLC
Image: TLC

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The cheapskate mum's trick to feed her toddler

The mum, Apple, was interviewed for the show Extreme Cheapskates, where she revealed all of her penny-pinching ways. 

For example, if she finds a kids' toy abandoned in the playground or on the street, the mum says she'll pick it up and take it home for her child. 

"Kids leave toys all of the time.

"If they're unclaimed, why not pick them up, and take them home, because they're free?" she said.

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"Chloe prefers Jessica's milk over anyone else's"

Victor, Apple's husband, says that his wife became much more frugal after they had their daughter Chloe. 

"Having a baby made me much more obsessed with saving money," Apple agreed on the show. 

And so, when she stopped producing her own breastmilk, she wasted no time in coming up with a creative solution to feeding her daughter. 

She began asking her friends for their breastmilk to feed Chloe for free. 

Nowadays, the family's fridge is stocked full of different women's breast milk, from Apple's friends from yoga to the couple's work colleagues. 

"Chloe prefers Jessica's milk over anyone else's," she explained nonchalantly while feeding her daughter. 

"This is her fave. She'll drink the others, but this is her preference."

The couple have saved around $1,500/year on fortified toddler milk by using this method.

They'll also make DIY wipes from paper towels dipped in water and detergent. Apple will then use these to wipe down benches and her hands and will reuse them multiple times. 

"They're totally reusable so I use them to wipe Chloe's bum with", she admitted, saying that she saves 75 cents per day using these wipes.

She also revealed that she makes her own reusable nappies from cutting up old T-shirts. 

And Apple managed to score a free baby change table from a petrol station that was closing down. 

Originally published as I feed my toddler my friends' breast milk to save cash

Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/i-feed-my-toddler-my-friends-breast-milk-to-save-cash/news-story/c73250c02da748628bba59010eb0fc93