Your first baby is on the way, and you’re excited to start the “nesting phase” when you spend most of your time setting up the nursery so that it’s absolutely perfect for your little one’s arrival. The only problem with entering this nesting phase is your budget — you can’t afford to go overboard when buying baby stuff. Is there a way that you can save money on your nursery set-up? Of course!
Make a Baby Shower Registry
Don’t plan a baby shower without a registry. Without a registry, your guests might bring you gifts that you don’t really need, like toys and baby books. With a registry, you can encourage your guests to purchase more practical gifts that you may struggle to buy all on your own. So, fill the registry with essentials like a crib, a stroller and a car seat. If you’re not comfortable putting these more expensive items on your registry, you can ask guests for gift cards for the place where you intend to buy these items. Then, you can use the gift cards to dramatically reduce the final price of these items when you shop for them.
You should also be strategic with where you set up your registry. Certain baby registry sites will offer expecting parents rewards, like large discounts on future purchases and gift boxes full of free goodies like bibs, diapers and baby wipes. So, do your research and see which sites interest you the most!
Ask Parents for Help
Do you know anyone who has had a baby in recent years? Then, this is the perfect time to reach out to them. Plenty of parents will be excited to offload their baby items onto you, from board books to baby blankets, at no cost. They will also have excellent advice about baby items to buy and which ones to skip for the sake of savings.
Get Second-Hand Clothes
Getting thrifted second-hand clothes isn’t just a good way to update your personal wardrobe. It’s a great way to get your baby’s wardrobe, too.
Why? Second-hand baby clothes are cheaper than brand-new baby clothes. You shouldn’t pay full price for baby clothes because your baby won’t be wearing them for very long. They might only wear an outfit once or twice before it’s too snug on them and you need to go up a baby clothing size. So, don’t waste your money on an expensive wardrobe.
Don’t Get Trendy Gadgets
Every time you’re in a baby store, you see gadgets that are advertised as essential for taking care of your new baby. You’ll spot everything from automated formula dispensers to wipe warmers to car baby monitors.
These high-tech (and expensive) items are not necessary for taking care of your new baby. You can scoop out the formula for bottles on your own. You can use wipes that are room-temperature when doing a diaper change. And you can attach a simple mirror accessory to your baby’s car seat to check on them while you drive. Don’t believe the hype and save your money.
Put Those Savings to Good Use
You might save a lot of money when you follow these tips. If you’re wondering what to do with all of those savings, you should put them to good use. Add them into a savings account to create a basic emergency fund.
An emergency fund can help you handle surprise expenses, like prescription medications that you didn’t anticipate having to buy out of pocket. You’ll be able to pay off these surprise expenses without panicking or turning your entire budget upside down.
Without an emergency fund, you might struggle to pay for the surprise expense quickly. In this case, you could charge the expense to your credit card, or you could go to a website like CreditFresh to see whether you’re qualified to apply for an online loan. An approved online loan could give you access to temporary funds to pay off your surprise expense in a short amount of time. After using the loan, all you would have to do is follow a basic repayment plan through a monthly billing cycle.
An emergency fund can make this situation much easier to deal with. So, use your savings to put one together.
You don’t have to spend a fortune on getting your baby’s nursery set up. These tips should make the job a lot more affordable than expected.
