Congratulations! You’re expecting and in just a short while, you’ll have a brand new addition to your family! This is a very exciting time period for you, but thinking about costs associated with pregnancy and newborns can be unnerving. I hope that these 5 money saving pregnancy tips can help settle nerves and any anxiety you might have about your future budget.
1. Don’t buy maternity clothes
Well, not unless you have to and definitely not at retail stores.
New maternity clothing can cost up to twice as much as their regular equivalent. You would be surprised how many women overspend on new maternity clothing when you can make it far into pregnancy with clothing you already own. Although it might seem like you’ll get more wear out of your maternity clothes if you start wearing them early on, the truth is that if you buy them too early, you may end up having to buy larger ones by the third trimester.
When it does come time to start searching for maternity clothing, consider borrowing from friends who have recently been pregnant. If you do need to purchase them, try to find them for cheaper at thrift stores, garage sales, etc. Since maternity clothes are worn for such a short time, they tend to be in great shape even when used.
2. Make and freeze meals ahead of time
The last thing that new moms want to do when coming home from the hospital is cook dinner. Because of this, it’s tempting to spend more on take out food. Luckily, this can be avoided with a little bit of preparation! Pre-making meals during the last few weeks of your pregnancy and freezing them is an effective and simple money saving tip during pregnancy. Once you’re home from the hospital, you just have to pull out a meal, warm it up and you’re good to go.
If this still sounds like too much to do during the late stages of your pregnancy, consider buying frozen foods instead. This is still a whole lot cheaper than spending money on take out. Costco also has some amazing frozen foods that average $1.00 per meal and can be warmed up in the microwave in just a few minutes. You can rely heavily on these meals for the first couple weeks in order to curve the temptation of overspending on food.
3. Take advantage of free samples
Coming home with some sort of free samples every time you visit the pediatrician is a simple and effective money saving pregnancy tip. Most pediatricians have samples of formula, diapers, etc. Some offices now only give them upon request, so don’t be shy – it doesn’t hurt to ask! It may not be a lot, but free products can help save you money those first few weeks and who doesn’t love free stuff!
4. Avoid unnecessary spending
Pregnancy tends to overwhelm us with excitement which can lead to unnecessary spending. It’s important to remember the difference between what our babies actually need and accessories that are not necessary. For example, spend your money on vital products such as a crib and car seat. Some things you can avoid spending money on are decorations to deck out your home nursery. Don’t give into all of those decoration ideas on Pinterest. Spending a fortune on expensive nursery items might seem essential, but you don’t have to go that route. Instead, consider creative ideas to keep the costs low such as purchasing used furniture and making your own decorations.
It’s understandable that as a new parent, you want your child to have everything. Save yourself some money by not giving into this temptation and instead coming up with creative, low cost solutions.
Check out this Baby Shopping Guide to use as a guideline for your future little one!
5. Say yes to the baby shower
Another reason to avoid unnecessary spending is because you will likely get plenty of this stuff at your baby shower. One of the many great perks of expecting a baby is that people want to get you gifts, so let them! Just make sure that you let your friends and family what you want in order to avoid any duplicate products. Having a baby shower thrown for you is a great money saving pregnancy tip that people often forget about!
For more money saving ideas during pregnancy, check out another one of our posts:
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