This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.
A few months ago a friend shared with me what she spent each month just for formula for her son. I just about fell out of my chair as it was well over half of what I spend to feed my entire family!!
While many people will say just breastfeed in order to save…there are people where that is not an option. I think of my friends who spent and arm and a leg adopting their beautiful baby girl and my other friend who brought home triplets!! I can only imagine their frustration as they shopped each week!! Formula is often a requirement and the cost should not break the bank!!
The folks over at Parent’s Choice agree and have a fabulous Savings Calculator where you can actually see how much money you can save by switching to Parent’s Choice. I received several samples of the Parent’s Choice formula and shared it my neighbor. She was just thrilled. She said her daughter had no problem with the taste and tolerated the formula very well. She actually thanked me with homemade cookies!! She let me know that she was just afraid to go out and switch brands for fear of the unknown! She said she was already spending so much for the name brand formula she feared that if she dared try another brand she might end up wasting money. We plugged in her brand and found she would save over $634 in one year by switching to Parent’s Choice! She will now have an extra $50 every month in her grocery budget–that is amazing!!!
I know that all kids have different needs and Parent’s Choice has a nifty little Formula Finder so you can find exactly what your child needs. If you are not sure there is a tab where you can request a sample of the Premium, Advantage or Gentle formulas.
What would you do with an extra $50 per month?
Please note: This post is to help people explore their options regarding formula. This is not meant to create a debate over breastfeeding versus formula feeding 🙂
While parents choice is a good formula, here is a little known fact all of the store brand formulas are made by the same company. That being said your best bet (if you have membership) is one of the warehouse clubs (Sams, BJS, Costco) You can usually get a can of their house brand that makes upwards of 300 fl oz for $16-$20, compare this to a regular can of enfamil which usually makes about 120 fl oz for $20ish, and well the savings is tremendous, you get more than double the amount of formula for the same price.
And a word of advice when comparing formula prices, compare the amount of made formula it makes not the size of the can. Each brand has a different size scoop. So calculate the price by the fluid ounces it makes.
The can I have right now is Berkley and Jensen brand from BJs, I got it on sale there for $16.99 (reg $19.99) and it makes 382 fl oz.! So for the momma’s who can’t or didn’t breastfeed I highly recommend warehouse clubs.
I used this formula with both my kids! It was great!! In fact, I had to try several kinds for my daughter and this was the one that worked best with her tummy!!
I have twins and I have saved thousands on formula by just using coupons and manufacturer checks at Publix. It’s much cheaper to purchase name brand items with coupons than it is to pay full price for store brands.
At Publix, you can use a store coupon, manufacturer coupon and manufacturer check on one can of formula! AND of course you can stack a $/$$-so you really get a great deal.
Feel free to email me if you have any questions about how I feed my family of 6 (including twin infants) on $100 a month (including diapers, formula, toiletries etc). We love Publix! Thanks to the ladies who run this site that have made it possible for us to save so much!
I used parent’s choice for my 3 kids and they tolerated it wonderfully. Lauren is right, most store brands are made by the same company. If you compare the labels to your name brand and Parent’s choice, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how the nutrients stack up. I’ve also tried the Publix brand formula with excellent results. Look at how much the can of powder will make, and don’t be tempted to dilute!!!! I’m so glad my kids are out of diapers and bottles!!! Blessings to all of you who are still in that stage of life!
Too bad you can only get it at Walmart. 🙁
PBM is the company that makes it.Publix, Target, Winn Dixie, Sams and Walmart brand baby formulas all contain the same exact formula inside. Only difference is the label and the price per store. DD would not nurse after 9 weeks… I found the PBM brand to taste better (of course I tried a tad before feeding it to her) and be smoother (less grainy)and easier on her than Enfamil.
Yup exactly it is the same exact thing on the inside, just a different label on the outside.
I had no problem switching from Enfamil to store brand.
Also, I found this link to request a coupon for store brand formula. I can’t tell you what the value is, but I did receive ads from them in the mail when my baby was younger, so might be worth a try for some people.
http://www.storebrandformula.com/baby-formula-coupon.aspx
I used Parents Choice brand and had a wonderful experience. If I have another child and need formula, I’m definitely going to try Parents Choice first.
I too used parents choice. I started with enfamil with lipil till my daughter was 6 months. When I realized how much I was spending ( yes the enfamil checks help, but they start trickling to nothing about that time.), I decided to fo the research. I haven’t used formula for 2 1/2 years, but at that time parents choice was the only one with the exact same nutritional value as enfamil. Maybe they have changed manufactorers since then, but all of the other store brands were just slightly different. Don’t just read the ingredients, read the “values”. My daughter did great. I don’t shop at walmart often, but since it was literally half the price of enfamil, I was able to buy 2 cans at a time every other week. I told her pediatrician about it, and he said that was great as long as it was meeting her nutritional requirements. Also, it is not only FDA approved, but also tested by in independant international company.
With my first two girls I used Nestle Good Start (now a Gerber product). With my third, I decided to try Parent’s Choice and I have never had a problem.
I didn’t know you can use a manufacture coupon and a manufacture formula check on the same item? I thought we can only use a formula check plus a store coupon?
my dad has a friend who works at a packaging plant and he puts about 7 different lables on the same stuff that comes out of the same vat.
that being said, even adopted children and multiples can receive human milk, if their parents wish. milk banks [similar to human blood banks] do exist and can be cheaper than formula, sometimes even free. 🙂
they go through screening and such, too. more info att la leche league:
http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVAprMay00p19.html
not trying to spark the debate, just trying to let you all know theres more options that can be even cheaper.
oh, AND DONT FORGET TO SUGN UP AT FORMULA COMPANY WEBSITES!!! for those who need name brand formula, or just dont wanna part with that pretty packaging…formula companies readily send you info and formula checks to save money. 🙂 [idk if they count as MQs or if you can use publix baby club Qs with them.] sometimes theyll send free samples, too. i have 7 cans of FREE formula if i ever need to switch from nursing to formula for some reason.
one last thing, if you recieve the same and are nursing, do the same as i do: keep them until 1 month before they expire in case you need them for any reason, then donate them. they will NOT go to waste since formula is used up so fast and so many moms, especially now, cant afford it and are turning to food banks and shelters. i, also, do this with my formula checks, however, some stores require the person whose name is on the checks be there when purchasing, so i give them to people i personally know so i can make a shopping date with them, if needed. 🙂
Also, If you call PBM’s 800 number you can get a $3.00 coupon mailed to you. You can call every 30 days for another coupon. What I did was called and had one sent to me, my in-laws, co-workers, bothers, grandparents, etc. For 3 kids I never paid full price for a can of formula. You can google PBM Nutrionals to get the 800 number.
We used Parent’s Choice for our twins… I couldn’t believe how much money we saved in the time that we spent formula feeding. Nearly $1400! I have told so many people about the Parent’s Choice formula finder, and they have found it to be really helpful! Luckily I didn’t need it for my girls. They were pretty easy to buy formula for…
A lot of parents are concerned that if they don’t spend the higher price, they won’t be giving their little one the proper nutrition. Something I learned in my research before choosing Parent’s Choice, was that the FDA regulates the infant formula manufacturers, so all formulas are nutritionally equal. Why pay the higher price? We loved Parent’s Choice, and my girls did very well with it..