It’s probably no surprise to hear that babies cost a lot of money. Many people agree that they cost at least $10,000 a year. That thought is really overwhelming. To help make the cost of a new baby less overwhelming, I’ve partnered up with Gerber Good Start (now GMO free!) to share my formula for happiness. I’m sharing 10 ways to save money on babies to show you that you don’t have to have a lot of money to make your baby happy. My babies are very happy babies even though we limit the amount we spend on them. Here are my favorite 10 ways to save money on babies:
(ONE) Live simply. You don’t need a bunch of stuff for babies. I promise they are just as happy playing with your measuring cups as they are with educational bright lit spinning toys.
(TWO) If you do decide to buy big items for your baby, check out consignment stores, Craigslist and Ebay first. I bought the items below from a friend on Facebook!
(THREE) Borrow instead of buying! You are bound to know someone who has a kid. If so, see if they are willing to let you “store” their stuff at your place until they have another baby and want it back. Remember to return the favor! When we got all of these for free, we let our friends borrow a bunch of them.
(FOUR) Cash in on your baby registry discount. Most registries allow you to get 10-20% off remaining registry items after a certain date. We added all sorts of stuff to our registry in order to get that extra discount. Here are some things we got off our Target registry.
(FIVE) Cloth diaper or subscribe to a diaper delivery service like Amazon or Diaper.com
(SIX) Make your own wipe solution, diaper cream, and baby oil. We use cloth wipes with a solution of Dr. Bronners and water in a spray bottle. We stopped buying baby lotion and baby oil and use straight apricot oil on Robert every night before bed. I use coconut oil a lot as diaper cream.
(SEVEN) Make your own nursery artwork. This can save you tons of money and it ends up meaning so much more to you.
(EIGHT) Go to free events with baby. There are so many options out there! You can go to the library, park, grocery store, play groups etc. Don’t feel like you have to pay for something in order to entertain your child. Don’t get sucked into spending $5-15 every week for baby activities.
(NINE) Breastfeed! If you breastfeed, you pay less for formula. Some insurance companies will even reimburse you for a breast pump. If you decide not to breastfeed, or you need to supplement, check out Gerber Good Start. They are now made with non-GMO ingredients. I feel safe giving it to Jackson when I’ve had to supplement.
(TEN) Limit Christmas and birthday gifts. It is easy to go over board when you want your child to have everything they want. Just remember that children really want your time, not your money or gifts.
Remember that babies and kids don’t care about your money, they want your time. Save your money for when your kids will need it, like when they are in high school, college or post grad. Our time with our kids is fleeting and before we know it they will prefer our money over our time. Let’s enjoy this time with them now instead of wishing to turn back time later.
What tips am I missing? Please add your favorite tips in the comments!
Cloth diapers have been a huge cost saver for us. And I have found it incredibly easy to do. We started right away with cloth diapers but for some reason I was buying disposable wipes…we just thought it would give us a bit of sanity. I switched to cloth wipes a few months ago and couldn’t believe how much extra I was saving. And really, no extra work. They just get thrown in the wash with the diapers. 2 of my favourite decisions we have made with baby!
Totally agree on adding random things to your registry to get the discount! Especially now with number two on the way, we’ve made a registry for both of them, essentially. Even though I’m not expecting a shower or even many gifts, it’s worth it just for the discount!
So worth it! I loved the Amazon discount so much!