Rachel Cruze Reacts To 8 Money-Saving Hacks From Parents

©Rachel Cruze

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According to a 2025 SmartAsset study, it costs nearly $28,000 annually on average to raise a child younger than five years old. And with costs rising for everything from child care and housing to food and clothing, parents often need to get creative to cover their family’s expenses on a tight budget.

In a recent YouTube video, financial expert Rachel Cruze reacted to eight money-saving hacks parents shared online. Find out which ones might help you save on both needs and luxuries and even teach your kids something useful about finances.

1. Share a 529 Plan Contribution Link

529 plans are great for saving money for your kids’ education and enjoying some tax benefits. Someone suggested sharing a link to contribute to your child’s plan as an alternative to giving regular gifts that might clutter up the home or not offer long-term value.

Cruze wasn’t a fan of this hack, which she said was “a little tacky.” Instead, it might be better to use any gifted cash your child receives for this purpose.

2. Keep Character Stickers at Home

Kids can be picky, so they might turn down a budget-friendly snack or drink in favor of an expensive one featuring a fun character. Rather than splurging on that brand, you could try buying stickers you can put on cheaper items and seeing if that satisfies your kids. 

While Cruze hasn’t dealt with this problem much, she said, “It’s a little bit more work for me, I feel like this tip, but if your kids are into it, sure, it’s great.”

3. Try a Babysitting Swap

According to recent Urbansitter data, the national average hourly cost for a babysitter is $26.24 for one child and $29.87 for two children. One suggested way to save money is to have another couple watch your kids on nights out and then return the favor for that couple later.

Cruze said she liked and has tried this hack. She added that you can also have older kids watch the younger ones so that you can go on a double date with the couple.

4. Stuff Your Car Seat When Flying

Checked bags often come with fees, so it’s wise to reduce how many you need. A nice perk is that many major airlines let parents check strollers, car seats or even folding wagons at no cost.

You can try putting bulky items in these types of baby gear so that you’ll need less room in checked bags. Cruze has used this hack successfully, but you should check your airline’s rules to know what’s allowed ahead of time.

5. Audit School Supplies

Since school supplies can be expensive, there’s the idea of doing an audit to see if anything is reusable, such as scissors and calculators, and know what your kids need for the next school year. That way, you can avoid unnecessary purchases and plan your shopping early.

“I feel like the age of your kid will depend a lot on if you can really reuse things, but I always recommend this,” said Cruze.

You can combine this savings hack with others shared in this Ramsey Solutions blog post, such as shopping at dollar stores, considering prepared supply boxes, shopping during tax-free weekends and opting for used items when it makes sense.

6. Give Your Kids Practice Paychecks

Teaching kids to manage money from a young age will benefit them for life. One parent shared that they teach their kids budgeting with biweekly practice paychecks put into their checking accounts.

Cruze was on board with this tip and said her parents had given her money each month that she needed to budget for purchases, such as back-to-school items.

“It just makes you, honestly, not only budget but look at prices, be a smarter shopper early than just kind of feeling numb to it all because your parents are just buying everything,” she said.

7. Save on Dental and Orthodontics

Even if you have dental insurance, your child might need a procedure that is excluded, has a long waiting period or exceeds your annual coverage limit. One potential hack is to join a discount dental program, which offers a percentage off services at eligible providers.

Cruze mentioned how complicated insurance can be and said this may be a good idea if you can pull it off with a discount plan. But keep in mind that you usually can’t apply both the discount plan and insurance toward the same service, according to Humana.

8. Buy Disney Souvenirs Before Your Trip

While a Disney vacation is expensive enough, character plushies, t-shirts and other souvenirs can quickly use up your leftover money. Since you’ll pay more buying these things at Disney parks, shopping on Amazon and other sites beforehand could save you big.

While she still bought some stuffed animals at the park, Cruze said she used this hack successfully for things like hats and t-shirts. Besides shopping online, you can check if there’s a Disney outlet store nearby, which often has sales and clearance items.

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