But doing so can sometimes cost you dearly, especially where baby milk is concerned.
A 2011 study by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, found more than a quarter of families in poverty 'water down' formula or reduce feeds, in a practice known as ‘formula stretching’.
Similarly in some cases water is added to expressed breast milk to make it go further.
Paediatrician Dr Ashanti Woods, says diluting baby milk in any manner can lead to serious medical issues like brain damage and seizures and can even result in death.
She explained: "A baby's electrolytes are at fixed levels and do not adjust well to change.
"These low levels of electrolytes can result in confusion, lethargy, seizures or death."
Adding water also reduces the amount of essential ingredients a baby gets in each serving of milk.
Rachelle Lesteshen, a Breastfeeding USA counselor, said: "Breast milk contains the perfect amount of nutrients for a baby's growth.
"Stretching breast milk by adding water will dilute the necessary nutrients and can cause serious health risks such as excess weight loss."
This was the mistake made by one couple, who tragically lost their 10-week-old daughter after her mother diluted expressed breast milk with water.
Lauren Fristed and George Landell, who were charged over the death of baby Nevaeh in May last year, watered down the milk as Ms Fristed was not producing enough and they couldn't afford to buy formula.
As a result, the baby was drinking twice as much water as breast milk, which caused her electrolytes and sodium levels to drop dramatically.
Little Nevaeh suffered hyponatraemia - known as water intoxication - which caused her brain to swell.
When she died Nevaeh weighed less than she did at birth.
Thesun.co.uk
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