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How To Save For A Baby (budget, freebies, tips)
A new baby can be a heavy expense, but you can have a baby on a budget and not go into debt in doing so. Even a tight budget can get you ready for your baby!
No matter how far along you are in your motherhood journey you can find a lot of ways to save and start a budget that can give you extra wiggle room in your new life as a mom.
This post may contain affiliate links. For my full disclosure go here.
Don’t want to read the full post? Get the 25 ways to save from the video below.
How To Start A Budget During Pregnancy
The first thing you want to do is create a list of your earnings and your spending.
Write down all your earnings for one month, then subtract all your spending. That includes bills, groceries, entertainment, Target runs, literally everything.
Are you in the red or do you have some wiggle room? Most of us will have a very tiny wiggle because we are not used to budgeting and setting limits, while others will be in the red and spend more than they are earning right now.
Related:
Get a FREE Breast Pump Through Your Insurance
Before we jump into all things budget – let’s get you some awesome free stuff!
Free Resources During Your Pregnancy
These are all the free baby stuff you can grab right now. These companies are giving it out for free with a small shipping charge. Yes, it is cheaper to grab these items this way than to order from Amazon.
Use my code: solutionsmommy and watch the price drop to 0.00
- Nursing Cover
- Nursing Pillow
- Breast Pads (pack of 5)
- Baby Leggings
- Car Seat Cover
- Baby Sling
- Baby Wrap (this will be a $40 off code)
- 5 Milk Bands
- Baby Sling 2 (this will be a $30 off coupon with the code)
- Maternity Belly Band (code works for 2 bands)
- Ruffled Baby Underwear
- Baby’s First Books (pack of 5 or $40 worth of items for free with the code)
- Pregnancy Pants Extender
- 1 Animal Hat
- Hooded Towel
- Pregnancy Pillow (coupon works for $50 off the pillow)
- Baby Shoes (2 pairs)
- Custom Pacifier
The items above do require you to pay for shipping, and the discount is applied when you use code: solutionsmommy.
These items below are free and require NO CODE – just a little signing up!
- Online Prenatal Course taught by labor & delivery nurse
- Qualify For A Free Breast Pump From Your Insurance Carrier
- Create a Free Baby Registry HERE (get a free Welcome Baby Box from Amazon)
I highly suggest you go through each link and get as many free items as you can right now! Having multiple samples, resources and actual baby gear will go a long way when you have a baby.
The Free Prenatal Class
This class is taught by a labor and delivery nurse Hilary. With her 16+ years of experience, as well as being a mother herself the class is informative and great for first-time mothers. Enroll in her FREE Course HERE!
Create A Free Baby Registry (with perks)
I know virtually all baby registries are free to make. They do however differ because of the bonus items they offer.
If you create a baby registry with Amazon you can get the 15% completion discount, the Welcome Baby Box (a $35 value shipped to you for free), and have extended returns for up to 90 days on all items from your baby registry.
Free Breast Pump Through Your Insurance
Even if you are considering exclusively breastfeeding you will need a breast pump. Breast pumping can help get your milk supply up, allow you to go out without a baby (date night), and give you needed rest so your partner can do a feeding.
It is easy to grab your favorite breast pump for free – just sign up here and they’ll do the rest for you! (that means contacting your insurance and doctor for you)
For our full review on how to get a free breast pump to see this post.
Starting A Budget For Baby & You
Having a baby does not mean you will need to suffer financially. Saving for a baby can be easy as well as starting to budget and learning to create better spending and saving habits.
- The first step in creating a budget is looking at your spending habits. You want to slowly purge the things that you don’t really need.
That magazine subscription you have but keep forgetting to end. Same with your gym membership. Look up online workout videos, go for a hike. You can do these 7 things to be healthy all 9 months.
Here is a small example of little things that add up each month that you can STOP spending on :
- If you have both Netflix & Hulu (end one)
- Make up Monthly Subscription (ipsy, makeupboxes)
- Any Monthly Subscription: magazine, gym, date night boxes
- Cable
- Bad Habits (smoking / drinking / drugs)
After you cut out the items you no longer use monthly. You’ll want to start trying new things to save money which I’ve outlined below!
You’ll also Like: How To Get A FREE Breast Pump From Your Insurance
Buy Only The Essential Baby Items
Here is the list of the most affordable but top-rated products!
Baby Bath Tub:
Compared to its expensive competitors this baby shower tub will grow with your little one. From the first bath to no longer needing a shower tub.
In my opinion, you don’t even need this item (I just washed baby over the sink with washcloths until his umbilical cord stump fell then I co-showered)
Stroller:
This is one stroller you don’t want to miss out on. I suggest adding it to your Amazon baby registry Right NOW before it’s out of stock. This affordable four-wheel drive with a basket is not only cheap but works perfectly.
Bottles:
The MAM Bottles are my favorite baby bottles for a lot of reasons that you can check out right here. But this pack of 4 bottles with two binky’s is the absolute best deal (that you can grab from Amazon).
Items To Buy Used Instead Of New For Your Newborn
I know a new baby is always assimilated with new clothes, a new nursery, new everything. But that does not have to be the case. We are trying to save you money!
- Plain Onesie’s –
- Shoes / Slippers
- Stroller
- Nursery Decor
- Baby Bouncer
Baby Items you can SKIP all together!
- Bottle Warmer
- Wipey Warmer
- Diaper Genie
- Crib – my kid never used his co-sleeper fo’ life
Items to ask as Gifts to place on Baby Registry
Also, see The Essential Items To Add To Your Baby Registry If you click on the name of an item I’ve linked it to the cheapest and best-rated one I could find online!
- All items listed on the USED section – before buying used see if you can get them as gifts from your baby registry
- Car Seat
- Baby Blankets
- Clothes
- Swaddles
- Baby Carriers / Slings
- Bottles
- Diapers
- Wipes
- Lotions
- Shampoo
- Infant medication – gas, gripe water, baby Tylenol
25 Ways to stick to your Baby Budget
These are ways you can save money when expecting a baby! They actually work too!
After figuring out how much wiggle room you have – you need to have a plan in place for how you will actually budget. Here are a few things you can do to start saving and creating a budget!
- Cook at home – save money by making your meals at home and taking your leftovers to work. Do this for your partner too!
- Make Grocery Lists before going out – never go to the store when you’re hungry. Make a list and stick to it. Cutting out unnecessary items.
- Learn to Say NO thank you – you don’t have to go to every movie premier and every dinner invite that your friends go to. Your lifestyle has to change to stick to a budget
- Meal Prep for the week – now that you made a grocery list use it and meal prep make a few different things so you don’t give up and buy take out. (also create your freezer meals before baby arrives)
- Start the Envelope System – pull physical cash from your bank account each week and place it in an envelope. It is harder to spend physical cash. (write 3 reasons why you’re saving that money so if you’re tempted to use it you can see those reasons and keep saving)
- Breastfeed or pump for as long as you can handle – saves you money on formula
- Try cloth diapers – if you can handle washing them by hand they actually save you THOUSANDS in diaper expenses and are less prone to diaper rashes!
- Make your own baby food – you can start off easy and only make one – two different baby food items.
- Have friends do your maternity photo shoot & newborn hospital pictures
- Use Rakuten (formerly ebates) BEFORE you shop online (I’ve made $300+ by using ebates before doing regular online shopping)
- Buying items at grocery stores – Check the Ibotta App first to get cash back on the items you’re already buying
- Use second hand clothing – friends and family and even thrift stores are perfect places to buy clothes. (they will literally wear something once and grow out of it)
- Try making your own diaper rash cream and wipes
- Don’t get a private room at the hospital – if they ask you if you’d like to upgrade to a private room say no thank you
- Ask hospital staff for pads, disposable underwear and nipple pads
- Ask the nursing staff for extra baby diapers and hospital wipes
- Don’t get a changing table – just a changing mat (saves you up to $300+)
- Return gifts such as diapers, multiple sets of clothes to the store for store credit. (return the diapers you don’t use DO NOT REMOVE ALL YOUR DIAPERS FROM THE BOXES – TAKE THEM OUT AS YOU USE THEM IN CASE YOU NEVER MAKE IT TO THAT 6TH PACK OF NEWBORN SIZE DIAPERS)
- Ask your baby’s pediatrician for free samples (they usually give you things like diaper rash cream, sample formula packets, eczema cream)
- Ask your mom or mother-in-law to babysit baby.
- Your baby doesn’t need all the baby toys right now.
- Buy generic instead of name brand toiletries
- Don’t buy maternity clothes until you really need them
- Start a side hustle job – Uber, Lyft, Uber Eats, Selling Online (printables, etsy, facebook market
- Don’t buy clothes or items until after you have your baby shower
Creating Multiple Baby Registries for added Freebies
You know I am a huge believer in the Amazon Baby Registry. I promote it, I believe in it. It is amazing. It gives you the Welcome Baby Box which is a $35 value! All it takes is 3 Steps to get your Box in the Mail. You can do the steps from your phone right now!
- Go here and create your baby registry
- Complete the checklist
- Put the welcome box in your checkout cart
- Get the samples in the mail in 2-4 days
But did you know that you can create other baby registries and also get cool freebies?
If you sign up with Target and create a baby registry – you can get a lot of coupons, a diaper sample, and a bottle and binky.
They usually change what’s in the goody bag but those 4 items are usually in. For you to get the Target Baby Registry goody bag you have to go into your local Target show them your registry on your phone and they will give you the bag.
You can also sign up with BabyList and get a Baby Box after completing their required checklist. It takes about 3-4 weeks for the baby box to come in. But it comes with cool samples as well.
You can also sign up with Walmart and get a free welcome box with full-size samples.
- First go here and create a Walmart registry
- Then come back here and click this link: URL registry
- That will take you to a form where you enter your registries URL and send it to walmart (this lets them know you made it)
- Then in 2-4 weeks you get samples from Walmart
- No credit card required at all
Now that you have this major resource on what items you can grab for free, which resources you can take advantage of to have a baby on a budget you can totally do it. You also have the knowledge to start taking action and start budgeting right now!!
Do you have a baby money-saving tip I forgot to mention? Put it in the comments below!
Liked what you read? Pin the Image Below to your Favorite Pinterest Board!
Having A Baby On A Budget 25 Ways To Save
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