Staying Frugal with a New Baby

OK, so you’re about to have a baby, and you are worried about the potential huge cost of having a child. Well first of all, congratulations!! Secondly, don’t worry, as you don’t have to spend nearly as much as you may think. You can give the baby everything he or she needs and more, without breaking the bank or stepping away from a frugal mindset. When we were shopping for items for our first child I was amazed by some of the (needless) expenses and how virtually every item for a child has an expensive designer brand. There is no need to go designer, safe yes, but designer no, as I don’t think my baby cares in the slightest if he is wearing the latest designer label!

Newer isn’t the answer
Just because an item is brand new doesn’t necessarily make it better. You can find high quality items that have been lightly used, especially as babies don’t tend to put that much wear and tear on their toys and clothes. One thing is they do like is to chew, but when they don’t have teeth, it doesn’t tend to do that much damage! Don’t fall for the marketing traps, especially as the emotions around your baby are particularly strong. Just because it is newer, it is not necessarily better, plus buying used allows you to save money for more important aspects of his or her life, like saving for college.

Keep the food expenses low
Your day-to-day routine is going to go through a complete change, with many naps for the baby (this is when we try and get other things done) and lots of feeding times. When the baby gets hungry you will be in no doubt about it! The goal is to try and plan a head if you can. If you can breast feed in the beginning that is wonderful, yet within a few months the baby will likely need to supplement this with solid foods. Baby food bought from the store can be very useful, especially in emergencies or in situations such as traveling. However, relying on this type of baby food can quickly break your budget. Instead, try blending the foods you eat, starting slowly with individual foods for a while, to check for any possible allergies to them. This means that food you prepare can also go to the baby, saving much time and expense. Another idea is as you are preparing food, make sure to blend and then freeze some for future baby meals. OK, so as well as reducing foods expenses for the baby, you’ll have to really focus on reducing food expenses for yourselves. Exhaustion from disturbed sleep can easily set in, and this is where the temptation to order in or take out will be particularly strong. Instead, when you have some spare time and energy do prepare extra meals and freeze them down. This is so that you can quickly use them when the need arrives, and save the restaurants for a nice treat instead.

Clothing
Who doesn’t want to have their bundle of joy wrapped up in something nice, enhancing their cuteness even more! Dress to impress doesn’t have to be in the very latest clothes. Instead, you’ll likely have many friends in your age range, and do they have hand me downs? Your baby is only going to be able to wear these clothes for a few months anyway. Other places to buy are in second hand stores, garage sales, craigslist and Ebay. We also find that the Granny’s love to send baby clothes our way!

Share and Store
If you want to use something that is not needed everyday why not share? Taking this approach is a great way to stay in touch with friends with similar young ones and providing frugal benefits for many families, not just your own. It is also a really great way of lessening the amount of stuff within your house, as it can be quite a shock of how many new baby things can start accumulating.

Storing can be good however, although I am very much the anti-hoarder in preferring a minimalist approach. If it’s your first child (like us) and you may have another, it’s probably good to store many of items when the first baby has finished with them, rather than buying again. I doubt the second or third kid will have any less fun with a toy just because the older child had it first. Once you are finished with having kids, then it’s a good time to give to friends or sell these items.

What will you do to help save money when having a baby?