How to Shop and Save Money when Expecting a Baby

iStock_000008172689XSmallHow exciting! You are expecting a baby! Wonderful news! How excited you must be! And then you start to make a list of all the things you are going to need, most of which are baby-specific and therefore you probably don’t already have, especially if this is your first child. You start to shop around and discover that everything is so expensive; you worry how you are going to manage to afford everything you need.

This scenario is acted out in thousands of households every day; few people can afford to just go out and buy all the paraphernalia required for a baby. So let’s look at some ways to shop and save money when expecting a baby.

When you first hit the baby stores, you will find a huge range of products, some of which you may have never even heard of before. This is the first red light, right there – are you really going to need absolutely everything that the manufacturers have decided to produce? The answer is no, even if you see some really cute, clever and beautiful things.

If you are anything like me, you will be tempted to buy every cute outfit you see, possibly in pink, blue and yellow, to make sure you are covered. The fact is, babies grow at an alarming rate and if you buy too many garments in the same size, you’ll have a hard time getting a good amount of wear out of them. Remember that you will receive lots of baby gifts and many people choose to give clothing because it is all so very cute. Newborns spend such a lot of time asleep that you really only need a couple of really cute ‘good’ outfits for when you go visiting. The rest of the time, a new baby is most comfortable in an all in one suit.

Talk to friends and relatives who have recently had a baby and find out what essentials they would recommend. Make a list of the items you know you actually need, as opposed to want. You buy the ‘needs’ first and then decide whether you can afford the ‘wants’ so that you keep within your budget. Be selective about what you actually buy and save a lot of money from the beginning. Also be selective about where you shop; those high-end baby shops are gorgeous but are generally more expensive than chain stores that sell similar merchandise.

Some baby items are needed for a very short time, so think about whether the cost of buying certain things can really justified. Consider borrowing or hiring some items that are needed at the beginning but are quickly outgrown or not needed.

Do you really need to buy everything new to set up your nursery? You will save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars by looking for the basics in secondhand stores, eBay and Freecycle. Furniture can be freshened with a new coat of paint in your choice of color so that it looks brand new at a fraction of the cost.

DIY whenever you can; you will save a load of cash. Baby linen is an exorbitant price, even in the chain stores. If you are handy with a sewing machine, or know someone who is, make your own sheets for the bassinet and crib. Alternatively, a large pillowcase will fit most bassinet mattresses as a sheet for a fraction of the cost of baby linen. A single bed sheet, cut in half and hemmed along the cut edge will fit most cribs. Some people even use the full sheet, doubled over, so that it can be used again when the child moves on to a bed. Blankets can be cut-down from full-size ones and edged with satin binding at a huge cash saving over buying crib blankets at baby stores.

When you refurbish or make your own baby needs, not only do you feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction at saving money, you also create special and unique items for the nursery.

Another way to save money is to ask the grandparents-to-be to contribute to the expense of setting up the nursery. They are probably going to be spending money on the baby anyway and will appreciate being able to help you out financially by putting money towards the big items that you are going to need. When you have a baby shower, you could ask for cash towards a large item instead of a series of small gifts. Most people understand that money is tight when expecting and would be happy to do this.

So, to shop and save money when you are expecting a baby, firstly think carefully about what you definitely need and purchase these items first. Consider cash-saving strategies such as borrowing, hiring, shopping at cheaper stores, buying second-hand or asking the new grandparents to buy a particular item. Be creative when you are decorating the new nursery to save money on nursery-specific goods, which will always cost more than similar items for other rooms of the house.


Comments

How to Shop and Save Money when Expecting a Baby — 12 Comments

  1. Bery good advices !
    I have a 2 years old daughter and I learnt that whatever you buy will be useless a month later 🙂
    All a baby need is LOT, LOT, LOT of diapers, a dozen of body and something warm to sleep in.
    The fancy clothes, you will never use them. The high-tech changing place… Work as well as a table 🙂
    Ask friends around who got babies if they have spare clothes left, go to freecycle but really, don’t buy anything or you will regret it.

  2. I went crazy buying for our first kid but not for our second. For our second we barely bought anything. We also learned that most of the things we bought the first time around were a waste of money.

  3. It’s been a number of years since we’ve expected a new addition to our family, but I remember asking family and friends if they had any baby related items (if they had recently had a child as well) that they were looking to get rid of, we’d be happy to buy them from them. They either just gave them to us (being glad to get them out of their home) or sold them to us super cheap!

  4. Between three kids and a grandchild I didn’t buy much under the twelve month size, unless that outfit didn’t come that big. I picked up an outfit or two for the grandson and a friends baby in a 9 month size as that was as big as I could find. I never had a changing table ever. That can be a dangerous item as baby can (and many do) fall off it. I used the floor to change the kids. My daughter works in a daycare, they change babies on the floor….. Says something right there. Baby can’t fall off the floor. It’s amazing how fast those little ones grow and they will be rolling over before you know it!!!! Trust me, been there and seen that one!! The first time they roll over will be a surprise!!
    Getting all those cute little outfits is what baby shower tend to be for,especially if you already know the sex of the new arrival. I always make receiving blankets out of double layers of flannel as the ones you can buy are too small to be much use for anything besides a burp cloth. Two yards of fabric sewn together makes an lovely big blankie that might just outgrow babyhood and become a lovey for a toddler and on up. They are big enough to be a cover for that precious nap time later on….

  5. I am not very picky so I would go for second hand things for most of the baby stuff. Even the mattress, if another baby used it for 6 or 12 months, it can’t be that bad after a deep clean. There are some bargains online and at garage sales.

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