A new baby is a wonderful thing – a time filled with joy and elation that this cute little bundle of joy has entered the lives of the two lucky parents. That being said, it can be an incredibly expensive time too, especially if you’re not careful, savvy, or keep an eye on your bank account. Preparing for baby, and the first few weeks after birth, can mean your bank balance takes a bit of a battering, and while they’re super cute and adorable, babies are costly too!
By planning in advance and taking advantage of any money saving advice that you can lay your hands on, you will have a better chance of saving money, even once the baby has arrived. It’s easy to get lost in the mass of cure baby clothes – and you can find lots of great value baby clothes online – as well as getting carried away with the toys and the nursery furnishings, but if you apply a little more of a conscientious approach, your bank balance will stay healthy…ish.
Choose Clothing Wisely
You don’t need to kit your little girl in every shade of pink under the sun, nor do you need to dress your boy in blue all the time. Choose to buy some neutral coloured clothing, such as bold reds, greens and yellows, or the lemons, creams and whites, and you will be able to put them away if and when you decide to have another baby.
You can buy some great value baby clothes online too, so make sure you’re not paying over the odds for their clobber. There’s no point paying a fortune for designer label babywear, because they’ll only be in it for a month or two at the most, anyway!
Keep an eye out on the sales, too. If you’re pregnant, you could stock up on a few essentials when there’s lots of money to be saved. Or, if you have a baby already, you could buy a few bits and pieces for when they’re a little older. Make sure you take into account the changing seasons though.
Don’t Buy New
You don’t have to buy new all the time, especially when the quality of some second hand goods is incredible. Keep an eye out on the local selling pages and eBay and you can grab some fantastic bargains. Do you really need to kit their nursery out in brand-spanking new wardrobes, drawers and changing tables? While it may be a nice idea, it can cost a fortune and second hand furniture is much, much cheaper.
Avoid Toiletries
It’s inevitable that your friends and family will buy your baby plenty of toiletries and goodies to help welcome them into the world, so don’t worry about buying these yourself. If you don’t receive any as gifts, it’s not the end of the world either – you can manage perfectly well without them, because a baby’s skin is so sensitive, anyway.
Use Reusable Nappies
They may cost more when you think of the initial outlay, but over the course of your baby’s life, you’ll save a fortune because you won’t need to buy disposables. Choose ones that grow with your baby (with handy little press studs) and you won’t need to invest in any more. If you do choose disposables, don’t automatically think that the expensive brands are the best – supermarket’s own are often just as good.
One of the main ways of saving money when it comes to a new baby is to avoid buying every faddy thing that’s on the market – door bouncers, walkers and super fancy play gyms aren’t essential and you might not get much use out of them. Be sensible about what you invest in and you will see your money go much, much further!
This post was written in collaboration with Asda George
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