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People often say having a baby is expensive. I would agree that yes it can be, but I would also argue that it doesn’t have to be. Your baby is completely reliant on you and you have all decision-making power.
When they are ten and want to do travel soccer that is when things get expensive. While they are babies you run the show.
Save money while you can. They won’t care if they don’t have the coolest baby swing on the market or the most stylish baby wrap.
These are my top ideas for how to save money when you have a baby.
1. Breastfeed or Pump
I’m just going to keep it real with you. My husband and I never spent a penny on formula for our first child. Can you imagine the savings?
Now breastfeeding is not easy for everyone or the route they want to take. I’m not judging formula mommas…formula is not the enemy. But if you want to save money there is a clear winner.
For those who are not able to physically feed their baby due to whatever circumstances, you might consider pumping.
Often you can get a breast pump free from your insurance. You will need milk bags, which are highly affordable, and whenever possible pump directly into a bottle to cut down on the milk bags needed.
A friend of mine that exclusively pumped used the Elvie and had great success. This is an expensive pump, but it is amazing.
Another great product to use is the Haakaa. Take a look at my post for a full explanation The Haakaa: a Simple, Affordable, and Effective tool for Breastfeeding Moms
Even if you are not able to keep up with breastfeeding or pumping long term you can still save money.
If you only last through your maternity leave or the first few months that is money saved. Maybe during your maternity leave, you can create a freezer stash of milk. Think of it as every day you produce milk you hold off the need to purchase formula.
Now if you plan to exclusively breastfeed check my upcoming article on Why I Regret Exclusively Breastfeeding and the huge mistake I made with that!
Pumping is hard.
Breastfeeding is hard.
Paying for formula is hard.
Pick your hard.
2. Make Baby Food
Sticking with the food category we can move on to baby food. Please please please make your own baby food! If you break it down you can save so much money and you know exactly what your baby is consuming.
You can take a little bit of time and do multiple batches that can be frozen and last you quite a while. It’s meal prep for purees.
And it doesn’t end with purees. I recently made about forty sweet potato, pumpkin, and banana pancakes for ‘H’. We keep them in the freezer and pull them out when we don’t know what to make her for a meal. It just takes a few seconds in the toaster and we are good to go.
3. Diapering
For some people, this is a big request. If you plan to have multiple children you may consider cloth diapering. I know I know! This isn’t for everyone, but if you are in it for the long haul it can provide you with substantial savings.
If you want to go a step further than that you can consider elimination communication, also known as EC. EC is allowing your baby to use the toilet by watching your baby’s cues. This takes a lot of commitment and is more desirable if you plan to stay home with your baby. Not many child care providers could handle this.
If you go the more traditional route of disposable diapers and wipes consider buying off-brands. We used Luvs during the daytime and then Huggies at night. If you find your baby has skin sensitivity then you can upgrade if necessary. Once you know what brands work best for your baby buy in bulk and check prices online before purchasing.
Many people go Pampers, but we are a Huggies family.
Diapering your child is one of the big 4 expenses you need to budget for when welcoming a baby, check out my full article 4 Big Baby Expenses to Plan For: A Practical Guide.
4. Fewer Items
Be more minimal. Buy less, use less, waste less. Make do with what you have.
There was a point, maybe around 3 months where H only had 4 sets of pajamas and you know what, we made do. I knew soon enough we would be on to 6-month pajamas which we received plenty of hand-me-downs in.
We just did the laundry frequently or if my husband or I did a load we would specifically go get her pajamas from her hamper to add them to our loads.
Just do the laundry. Seriously. It can be that simple.
When it comes to bottle-feeding, use fewer bottles. First of all, any time you use a bottle you should immediately rinse it out. I have been to homes where multiple bottles are lying around. You see that last half ounce of milk just chilling in the bottom. Oh, this drives me nuts!!!
If you take this step of at least rinsing the bottle maybe you will take it all the way and go ahead and wash the bottle. If I were bottle feeding my child I would use two bottles per day max. Rotate back and forth.
Quit getting out another new bottle. You are creating more mess, more work, and more clutter in your home. Do you feel my passion here?!?
Don’t be talked into buying every product. Don’t watch massive baby hauls on YouTube. Don’t reference every list on the planet about what you need before your baby arrives. You don’t need all the things.
In fact, I would urge you to watch videos on baby purchase regrets or baby items that didn’t get used.
Your baby honestly needs very little. Save that money to take them on vacation or buy them the awesome bike one day. Save your money for the times they will remember.
One more specific area where savings can occur is all the seats available to put your baby in. I find them to be expensive, short-lived, and unnecessary. I have two complete posts on this. One being Instead of Buying a Baby Swing Give Your Baby the Freedom to Move and the coming soon titled The Most Expensive Large Baby Items: Are They Worth the Investment?
Less swings. Less bottles. Less clothes. Less Stuff. More savings.
5. Cheaper Version or Alternatives
If you feel that you must have an item find an alternative or cheaper version. This could be a substitute or an off-brand.
For example, the Dock-A-Tot. This thing blew up in recent years. I, for one, think you can live without it, but if it is a must for you, for heaven’s sake get the off-brand. If you want to pay an extra $100 for the name brand you need to check yourself and figure out your priorities.
One of my absolute favorite baby swaps my husband and I made was our cell phone sound machine. Going into parenthood I told my husband I didn’t want a sound machine. I wanted our baby to be able to sleep through anything.
Well, that’s not how it went. When you are desperate for your baby to sleep you will do anything.
We were ready to cave and I pulled up Amazon Prime to get a sound machine. But then my genius husband came up with our best baby hack yet. He found an old cell phone and charger we had here at the house, downloaded a free white noise app, and plugged that sucker in here room.
We got a free sound machine!!!
When we travel we have a tiny sound machine that easily fits in her diaper bag. For short day trips, we don’t even need to take the charger.
Can I get a moment of silence to let this sink in?
We used what we had.
We saved money.
And we think what we have is better than what you see on the market!
All props go to my hubby on that one. Nailed it!
6. Buy Second-Hand or Borrow
It can be hard to push yourself to take this step. You want everything to be new and perfect for your little babe. However, so many items are short-lived and you are better off buying second hand or borrowing from a friend or family member.
My personal preference is to buy items that are HARD second-hand. What do I mean by hard? I mean items like a crib that I feel confident I can clean well. Items that are fabric or plush may be more difficult to clean. H got a second-hand crib. But in reality the family we purchased it from ended up co-sleeping so basically it was new but only cost us $80.
Borrowing is great too! A couple of items my mom purchased have been going back and forth around the family. One was a bassinet. My sister and I both used it.
We quickly determined we didn’t enjoy using a bassinet. We used it all of three days and then gave it back. Here is my entire article on that Bassinets, And Why You Don’t NEED One. I am thankful we borrowed a bassinet rather than spend money on one since we didn’t end up using it.
7. Gifts
When that first birthday or Christmas rolls around family members may start asking what to get your little one. This is a time to make the most of their shopping list. It may seem a bit tacky to ask for diapers or formula, but you can ask for other items your baby needs.
You could suggest a swimsuit, swim diapers, and baby sunscreen as a practical and fun gift.
Or if they are low on pajamas suggest some Christmas jammies because we all know those are cute. (Who cares if they are still wearing them in February?!)
Maybe those first steps are approaching soon and your little one could use a good pair of shoes for walking.
Make it sound special! Ask a grandparent or other family member if they would gift them their FIRST hairbrush or FIRST pair of shoes.
See what I did there.
Don’t be afraid to suggest gifts your child can enjoy, but do actually need.
If you need help with birthday ideas check out my article Fabulous Gift Ideas for a One Year Old.
Conclusion
Babies are made out to be these expensive little additions to your family. But you truly have a lot of control over how much you spend on them.
Start implementing some of these strategies. It is never too late to start saving money.
You have to change what you are doing to see results. Take the steps.
If you have any other helpful tips to make raising babies and children more affordable comment them below.
Check Out My Articles
The Top 11 Baby Items You Shouldn’t Waste Your Money On
13 Baby Items You Can Absolutely Leave off Your Registry
Smart Purchases for New Parents: My Top 11 Favorite Baby Products
Instead of Buying a Baby Swing Give Your Baby the Freedom to Move