Having a baby can seem like a daunting and huge financial commitment! When I fell pregnant I found myself extremely overwhelmed by everything we actually needed for this tiny human!
Although we are pretty good at saving and reasonably sensible with our money I could not believe how much we would be expected to spend on just the essentials!
I have to say I am quite a tight ass when it comes to money and have really found, as I did when we got married, that you label ‘baby’ or ‘wedding’ on something and the price seems to double! We were looking at paying more for our babies pram than I did on my first car!
Although we could quite comfortably afford to do all of this and family had been amazing offering to help out wherever we need I felt the need to share where we have managed to save money and how we did it!
Buying second hand
I have always been a bargain hunter! There are so many great sites available online now to buy great second hand items, Facebook sale sites, gumtree and eBay to name a few! I have even purchased baby clothes on Instagram! Basically, don’t be fooled by high street prices, do some research and you could buy better quality items for a chunk of the price second hand! Items have usually been looked after really well and you may even have friends or family members that have items they no longer have use for! We have managed to save a fortune buying second hand on some of our bigger items, including our Cotbed and Isofix!
Baby events
Every now and again the big supermarkets have discounted baby events, you can pick up anything from nappies to breast pumps at really reduced prices! We have stocked up on essentials like nappies, wipes and bath time essentials at events like this and have saved a lot of money! Buying in bulk at these sorts of events can save a lot in the long run!
Sensible spending
It is so easy to over spend on a baby, especially a first baby, as you really have no idea what you and your baby will actually need! There is so much on the market now, sleeping tools like the Sleepyhead and Next to me cribs, Grow bags, White noise machines- the list goes on! This isn’t only a trend for sleeping, everything baby related seems to have a ton of overpriced ‘essentials’ that you need yet our parents managed fine without ! We have really tried to stick to basics for now, perhaps as and when he arrives we may find we need to purchase extra things to help us along but that’s what next day delivery is for! What I’m trying to say is, I think if you buy all the basics and if you feel like something might help to give you a better nights sleep then by all means do it, but wait until your baby arrives as for all you know they might be quite happy with basic!
We would have spent a fortune if I hadn’t have done just a few of these simple things, I really do believe we have managed so well at budgeting for our first baby! The temptation to over- spend is crazy but let’s be honest they aren’t going to know wether your car isofix was brand new or not! Don’t be afraid to buy second hand, you are likely to get better quality for your money and buy in bulk when the deals are around! Stick to basics to begin with as its crazy how many second hand items I see that people are selling for half what they paid because their baby didn’t like or didn’t use it !
Hurry up now baby, we’re ready for you!
🙂
Fairybumpkin 