When my husband and I found out we were pregnant, we were… well a little surprised. We knew we wanted children just not quite yet, it wasn’t the right time. I was in college and he was the only one working at the time. So, our financial situation was not the best for bringing a baby into this world. I knew I would have to buckle down and come up with a plan to prepare for this baby the cheapest way possible.
In this post, I will be giving you some tips on how to prepare for a baby when you are on a tight financial budget. You have 9 months to prepare so spread out buying the bigger items over a couple of months.
*This post contains affiliate links. Meaning if you buy something through one of my links I may earn a small commission. I only recommend products I used and love*
How To Save Money When Preparing For A Baby
I think finances are always a huge factor that stops people from trying to start a family when they actually want to. For most, there never seems like the right time to have a baby, either money gets in the way, or housing size, or careers. Sometimes I think, within reason, these factors shouldn’t stop you from starting the family you want. You just need to have a smart way of going around these factors to start your family. Here are some tips I used to financially prepare for having a baby.
Buy Used
There are so many baby items you can buy gently loved instead of buying new. This alone will save you so much money on the beginning essentials you will need for your baby.
Items you can buy used are:
- Crib
- Clothing
- Toys
- Jumpers/Exersaucer
Only Buy What You Need
There are so so many baby products on the market today and to have all the shiny new products for babies you would be spending a fortune. If you are on a tight budget just buy the necessities. This post goes over the essential items you need for a baby.
You can also use other items instead of buying unnecessary items. For example, instead of buying a change table use an old dresser as a change table. This way as your child grows, you can continue using the dresser to store their clothes.
Have a Baby Shower
If you have the option to have a baby shower you should for sure have one! You can register for a lot of the bigger items, this way you don’t have to worry about them yourselves. If that’s not your style and you prefer to only register for the smaller stuff, that will also help you tremendously. Anything you do not have to buy for yourselves will help!
You can create a baby registry right on Amazon!
Yard Sales
Yard sales are a great way to save on the bigger baby items. They are great for finding cribs, bassinets, swings, and play yards. (Note: Please make sure anything you are buying meets all the new safety requirements).
Thrift Stores/Baby Consignment Shops
There is no shame in shopping second hand. Especially when it comes to baby stuff. That shit is expensive and most of it only gets used for a short amount of time. Thrift stores and consignment shops like Once Upon A Child are great places to find baby gear. These are the only places I shop to get my baby clothing. There is no sense in buying clothes brand new when they will outgrow it faster than you can put it on. And since babies out grow their clothing so quick most of the items in these stores are like brand new.
Diapers
Cloth diapers are the cheapest way to go. The biggest investment is starting your cloth diaper stash, but once you have all the diapers you need, your done! No more worrying about buying diapers each month.
RELATED: Cost Effective Way To Cloth Diaper
If Cloth diapering is not your style, then you can save money by stocking up on diapers before your baby arrives. You can Also save money by signing up for Amazon Family and getting 20% off on your diaper subscriptions.
Breastfeed
If you can breastfeed instead of formula feed. Breastfeeding is not only beneficial for you baby but it’s free! Who doesn’t love free? If you can’t breastfeed for what ever reason, don’t be down on yourself. Remember FED is best.
If you have to formula feed watch for coupons in local mom buy and sell groups. It’s a great way to save money on formula.
RELATED: WHAT TO EXPECT THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF BREASTFEEDING
Sign up for free samples
There are many different places that you can sign up with when you are expecting. For Example Nestles start well. When you sign up with them, you receive a welcome sample pack that usually includes a backpack, sample size of formula, bottle, travel change pad, and coupons.
Do Side Hustles From Home
This is something you can do on maternity leave. There are lots of legitimate online jobs you can do to make money from home.
Ideas are surveys, transcription, and search engine evaluation.
RELATED: Work At Home Jobs For Stay At Home Moms
By scouring yard sales, shopping second hand, breastfeeding and cloth diapering I cut down the cost of having a newborn by a lot. Saving money on diapers and formula really helped when it came to saving money once the baby arrived.
What are some of your favourite money saving tricks when it comes to raising a baby?
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