Potty Training On A Budget – Don’t Waste Your Money!

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Potty training on a budget is possible! You don’t need to spend a lot of money on fancy products in order to potty train your child. 

And, trust me, there are about a million frilly and complicated potty training products out there!  There’s also an abundance of opinions out there of what products you absolutely “must have” in order to potty train your child. 

In this post, I’ll share my opinion (just what you wanted huh?), as well as why it’s possible to accomplish potty training on a budget without all those fancy products, and finally, what are the bare bones potty training essentials you need to get the job done. 

Get My Potty Training Printable Chart First

Before we dive in too far, you might want to get my #1 potty training tool – My Potty Chart – which is a potty training printable chart.  This chart is simple, fun, and easy to use. Sign up now and I’ll email it right to you, then we can move on to the real reason you are reading this post.

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Don’t Spend A Fortune on Potty Training

Let me share my opinion on potty training on budget.  It can be done – on a budget.  There is no need to spend a lot of money on stuff you don’t need.  It’s just potty training. 

Let me guess, are you feeling nervous about this whole process? I get it! I’ve been down this road three times now and while I’m not expert, I do know that you can accomplish potty training on a budget! Remember this, there is no need to buy a bunch of frilly potty training products that you simply don’t need.

You do not need to spend a fortune on potty training supplies. Share on X

Potty training on budget is possible, but it really comes down to you.  Mom, I’m talking to you.  Because you are the main one at home all day with your child, you will be the one doing a lot of the hard work when it comes to potty training. 

You will be the main support for your child and you also need to make sure you are fully prepared, but you don’t need nearly as much stuff as you think you do, in order to get this job done quickly and as budget-friendly as possible.

Hear me, don’t go and spend a bunch of money on potty training stuff that you don’t need.  You can do potty training on a budget and you should! 

How To Do Potty Training on A Budget

1. Keep It Simple

Keep it simple.  In order to do potty training on budget, you need to decide right now that you will not spend a bunch of unnecessary money on fancy products that promise to make potty training a breeze. 

“Potty training is not for the faint of heart. It’s just hard. But it does end at some point.”

Potty training itself is hard enough for you and your child – don’t complicate it with a fancy kid potty that flushes and sings songs – it’s just not necessary. 

2. Have Fun!

While I believe you need to have some fun with this whole process, you don’t need to make it expensive.  A simple jar or M&M’s or Skittles can be just as motivating as an expensive Lego set. 

Potty training doesn't have to be expensive. Share on X

3. Do Not Bribe Your Child

Do not get caught up in bribing your child with expensive gifts if he goes on the potty.  It’s just not necessary, and once you start down that road, you may have a long way to travel – which can be pricey. 

4. Don’t Spend A Lot Of Money

Do not spend a ton of money on a bunch of different types of pottys – just get one (or 2, so that you have one for the car) and call it good.  

Your kid potty does not need to be complicated or expensive – just get a simple one – in fact, I’d say, get the cheapest one you can find.  The more complicated the kid potty, the harder it is to keep clean – and trust me, you want your potty to stay clean.

This is the potty I like – it’s all one piece, which means, there are no small crevices for bodily fluids to get stuck. Trust me. Either way, just get a potty that you like and that works best for your child. A few other places to find a kid potty are to borrow one from a friend, or shop around at local garage sales.

5. Buy Only What You Need

Then, get the rest of the supplies I have listed below and you are good to go.  The best part, most of this stuff you can find at home already! You will see, it’s just a few simple items, and you are set to do potty training on budget.

If you want to read my story of how I potty trained my very stubborn 3 year son – read this post: How To Potty Train A Stubborn Child

Frugal Potty Training Products You Need

• My Potty Chart  – my printable potty training chart.  Get it now!
• Plastic grocery bags
• Wipes – for cleaning up any messes.
• Kid Potty – simple, easy to clean. You can even get 2 so you can have one in the car for when you can’t get to a potty on time. When you are on-the-go, simply place one of your plastic grocery bags in the potty, before your child uses it to make clean up simple and easy! Then use your wipes to clean up whatever the bag missed.
• Potty Seat
• Step Stool – if you decide you want to use a potty seat.
• Potty Training Undies For Girls or Potty Training Undies For Boys – these are my favorite!
• Extra undies for the car – you may go thru more undies than you think – so get extra
• Pull Ups for Boys or Pull Ups For Girls – ONLY for naps and nighttime
• More plastic grocery bags – keep some in your purse and your car.  They are great for holding clothing after an accident and for throwing away used wipes.
• M&M’s or cheap motivating rewards like, stickers, candy, Hot Wheels cars, etc.
• Ziploc bags – for the car and on the go to hold the smell after an accident.

How To Decide Between A Kid Potty or A Potty Seat

When you are trying to save as much money as possible, you might find that you don’t need both – in that case, I’d just get one or the other. If your child is young and on the smaller side and would have a hard time getting on the potty by themselves, I’d suggest you get a small kid potty that you can put in your bathroom near the toilet. 

If your child is a little bit older and taller, you might want to just get a potty seat that you can put on your current toilet.  These are great, because they take up a lot less space in your bathroom.  Make sure if you choose to get just a potty seat that you have a step stool if necessary, so your child can get on the potty quickly. 

Remember, when potty training, time is critical!  When a child needs to go potty, they need to be able to get to the potty as quickly and as easily as possible, so they don’t have an accident.  Make the process as easy for them as you can. 

Remember, when potty training, time is critical! Share on X

Take Their Size Into Consideration

Take their height and overall size into consideration.  Make sure they fit on the potty that you choose to use – some are really small – and if your child was a little older, they might have a hard time using the small potty and not making an unintentional mess. 

If your child is small, they might not even try to get on a big toilet with a potty seat if it’s too hard for them to do. You may want to consider having both.

I have 3 kids and they are all on the smaller side in stature, but my youngest son waited a lot longer to potty train, he was 3 before he even wanted to give it a try.  Because he was on the older side when he started, the little potty I used for my other two kids was way too small for him.  Instead, we got a potty seat and it worked great.

Just remember, kids are different.  What worked for one of your kids may not work for their sibling. Frustrating huh?!

Diapers? Undies? Or Pull Ups?

My opinion about this is that once you decide to potty train, don’t go back! Meaning, once you switch from diapers to undies, don’t go back – be ready and just stay with it. 

It’s very confusing to a child to switch between diapers and undies.  As far as Pull Ups, I firmly believe in them for naps and nighttime only.  I don’t think it’s necessary to go from diapers, to using Pull Ups all day, and then to undies later on down the road. 

Here is why, Pull Ups don’t feel that much different than diapers.  If you are wanting to potty train, take the big leap and go from diapers right to undies. 

Now, I suggest you get these Potty Training Undies for Boys or these Potty Training Undies for Girls – as they have a thicker lining down the middle to catch any possible accident before it makes a huge mess.  The best part, they look and feel just like real underwear and made of 100% cotton. They are the best!  If I were going to spend money on something in this whole process, I would buy these again, hands down. 

When It’s Not Going Well

If you decided to start potty training and it’s not going well, and you realize that your child is just not ready – but you have already switched to undies, I’d suggest you stop potty training completely. 

Give yourself and your child a break.  Go back to diapers and wait about month or two.  Give it a good break. A few months later if your child is showing more signs of rediness, then go ahead and try again. Make the full leap from diapers to undies and see how it goes.

Use A Potty Chart For Motivation

If the process seems like it’s taking forever, use a potty chart for quick motivation.  It’s a nice visual for your child and make sure you build in rewards.  Get my FREE printable potty training chart right now!

I can speak from experience that my oldest son needed motivation to get the potty training process over with in a somewhat timely manner – but it did take about 6 months. 

We sped up the process at the end by finding something that motivated him, For him it was a Hot Wheels car at the end of each day if he stayed dry and clean all day.  My Potty Chart helped a lot to keep him on track. 

For my daughter, she never needed any rewards.  Nothing.  She’s easy like that.  She just decided one day she wanted to wear new panties (they were these Gerber Potty Training Pants and at the time they had little roses on them.  She loves roses – still does to this day).  My only expense with her was the panties.  She was potty trained in just a few days.

And for my youngest it was having special “big boy” privileges – which mostly meant doing some of the same things his older siblings got to do.  The best part, privileges are free! Again, My Potty Chart helped him stay on track and at the end of each day if he stayed dry and clean all day he was rewarded with a special big boy privilege.

Keep the Rewards Very Frugal or Free

Find what works best for your child, but don’t spend too much money on the rewards. There is simply no need to.  Plus, you have no idea how long your potty training journey will last and if you start with big rewards, you just might be paying them for awhile.  Candy is a great place to start – a bag of M & M’s is only a couple dollars and it can last a very long time!

Potty training on a budget is totally possible and it doesn’t have to be stressful.  Read my post, How to Potty Train A Stubborn Child, if you are having hard time on your potty training journey.  I sure did! And, he was my third child! You would’ve thought by then I would’ve known what I was doing – boy was I wrong!

Reach out to me with any questions you might have.  I know this process is hard.  I know for some kids they just get it quickly, and for other kids they just don’t get it at all, and need more time.  But, that’s ok!  It’s all part of the process. 

When your child doesn’t get it, that doesn’t mean they are dumb, or naughty, they just might not be ready yet.  Simple as that.  Potty training is really up to your child – you can not force them into it, or you will be in for a long process. 

Again, reach out if you need any help or comment below if you have any questions. I’m happy to help! And just know I understand how hard and frustrating this process can be! Plus, I’d be privileged to pray for you – jump over to my prayer page and send me a prayer request.

Want to remember this post?  Pin this post, Potty Training On A Budget, to your favorite Pinterest board right now!