I’d mix up his powder formula, give him his bottle, and some of it would come back up after he was done eating. The spitting up didn’t upset either one of us, so I considered it a byproduct of mealtime.

When he was a few months old, Haiden and I spent the weekend at my parent’s house. I brought along a tub of powder formula, but I also packed some ready-to-feed (RTF) formula that I had gotten for free after using my infant formula coupons.

To both my mom’s and my surprise, my baby didn’t spit up after eating the RTF formula! Both the Similac and Enfamil websites state that their formula is the same whether it’s purchased in powder or liquid form, but my experience seemed to show that there was something different about the ready-to-feed.

Maybe it was the texture. Maybe it was the perfect room-temp temperature, maybe it was the exact amount of water in the RTF blend. Who knows? All I can say is that my baby could tell a difference between powder and ready-to-feed formula.

Regardless of how the baby reacted, mom and dad surely knew the difference between powdered baby formula and RTF formula: the price!

Yesterday, I did the math and showed how much powdered formula costs per ounce versus how much RTF costs per ounce. However, money isn’t everything, especially when it comes to feeding your baby!

So readers, here’s my question: Is there a difference between powder baby formula and ready-to-feed formula? What’s your experience?

Ask the Readers: Is There a Difference Between Powder and RTF Infant Formula? is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

How much does brand-name powder formula cost per ounce?

•  A 23-oz tub of Enfamil Premium infant powder formula is about $22 on sale.
• You’ll get about 155 fluid ounces out of the tub of powder formula.
• Cost per Ounce of prepared name-brand powder baby formula:  $0.14 per ounce

While powder formula is already half the price of ready-to-feed formula, there’s also another huge benefit to powder formula to help you save even more money on baby formula: You can buy powder baby formula in generic, or store brands.

Since we know that name-brand formula isn’t better than generic formula, you can start feeding your baby generic formula whenever you and your pediatrician decide that the time is right.

How much does store-brand generic baby formula cost per ounce?

•  A 23-oz can of Target‘s Up & Up baby formula costs about $12 when purchased on sale.
• You’ll get about 155 fluid ounces out of the tub of powder formula.
• Cost per ounce of prepared generic baby formula: $0.077 per ounce.

Look at those numbers. You’ll see a savings of up to 75% if you choose to feed your baby powder formula instead of ready-to-feed infant formula!

Readers: What’s your take on this? What brand and type of baby formula have you fed your baby?

What is the Price Difference Between Powder and Ready-to-Feed Formula? is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

Here are a few suggestions for saving money on Neosure, Alimentum, Nutramigen, and other specialty formulas:

Formula checks are used as a form of payment towards formula, and retailers deposit them as checks at a bank. They are not coupons. Most checks that I have seen are good towards a particular brand, but not a specific type of formula. This makes them very useful in bringing down the cost of the more expensive types! Formula checks are usually mailed to consumers who have signed up to receive offers from the various formula companies. You can sign up using the following links:

ENFAMIL FAMILY BEGINNINGS

SIMILAC STRONG MOMS

NESTLE GOOD START

Your hospital or pediatrician’s office may also be able to provide you with formula checks. I have heard that many doctors receive tear pads of checks from formula companies that can be used towards the purchase of specialty formula. If you have access to these, make sure you ask for extras. They don’t cost the health care providers anything, and they are of great benefit to you!

Formula checks are great for several reasons:

• They can have a high value. People have been known to receive checks for $10, $11 or $12!

• They can be traded! It’s in your best interest to sign up with all of the companies. This will allow you to trade the ones you don’t use for the brand that you need. You can find potential traders on coupon forums such as PinchingYourPennies, or by posting a “For Trade” advertisement on Craigslist.

While coupons for formula are rare, they do exist!

• Be alert at the checkout: Many grocery stores and drug stores (including Walgreens) have Catalina machines that print coupons when you purchase certain products. Baby formula purchases generally produce a coupon, although it’s usually for a competitor’s brand. Even if you don’t use that coupon, hold onto it for trading!

How to Save Money on Specialty Formula is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

Formula checks are used as a form of payment towards formula, and retailers deposit them as checks at a bank. They are not coupons. They are usually mailed to consumers who have signed up to receive offers from the various formula companies. You can sign up using the following links:

ENFAMIL FAMILY BEGINNINGS

SIMILAC STRONG MOMS

NESTLE GOOD START

Formula checks are great for several reasons:

• They can have a high value. People have been known to receive checks for $10, $11 or $12!

• They can almost always be used on any size or form of that brand of formula. Bottles of pre-mixed Similac formula tend to run between $5 and $6 a bottle. If you have a $5 check, you can get the formula for less than $1.00. Of course, this bottle won’t last you very long, so you’ll have to make the decision on how to best spend the check.

• They can be combined with manufacturer coupons and store coupons! Since they are a form of payment, you can use a coupon in conjunction with them.

• They can be traded! It’s in your best interest to sign up with all of the companies. If you are expecting, one formula may not agree with your baby, so you will have other checks to fall back on. If you don’t use some from a particular brand, you can often trade them for the brand that you do use. You can find potential traders on coupon forums such as PinchingYourPennies, or by posting a “For Trade” advertisement on Craigslist.

• They can be used for specialty formula! Most checks that I have seen are generally good for any type of formula, as long as it’s the right brand. If your baby is on a special, more expensive formula, work hard to obtain checks to help offset the cost. That stuff can be expensive!

While coupons for formula are rare, they do exist!

• Check your Sunday paper: Similac has recently started occasionally offering coupons in the coupon inserts in Sunday papers. While some have been for the pre-mixed “singles” a recent coupon was for $2.00 off a “tub” of Similac Advance.

• Check the packaging: I recently found coupons stuck to formula cans at both CVS and Babies R Us. These are generally intended to be used when puchasing the can of formula with the coupon on it.

• Be alert at the checkout: Many grocery stores and drug stores (including Walgreens) have Catalina machines that print coupons when you purchase certain products. Baby formula purchases generally produce a coupon, although it’s usually for a competitor’s brand. Even if you don’t use that coupon, hold onto it for trading!

According to Mayoclinic.com, “All infant formulas sold in the United States must meet the same nutrient standards set by the FDA. Although manufacturers may vary in their formula recipes, the FDA requires that all formulas contain the same nutrient density. ”

If you’re still unsure, do a side-by-side comparison of your preferred brand-name formula to the comparable Target-brand formula at Target. You will be pleasantly surprised that they are very similar. Now, do a price comparison! The store-brand formulas are usually less than half the
price of brand-name formulas!

This website will mail you a coupon for store-brand formula if you take their online quiz and get a good score. (hint: if you don’t know the answers, do a quick Google search to find them)

How to Save Money on Baby Formula is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!