How to Budget for a New Baby


You’re deciding to take on one of life’s biggest most magical experiences, having a baby. There are so many exciting things to buy and prepare for the arrival of the little one and it’s just a little overwhelming to say the least. You feel the need to shower them in the newest latest most expensive things, but after the initial joy and happiness you may then become struck with fear and worry of how you’re going to afford all of this... don’t fear because with just a few simple ways you can save money and make your little prince/princess feel like royalty on a not very royal budget.

Know your costs
I have found knowing how much you’re going to be spending (however daunting this may seem) will really encourage you to watch your spending and find ways to save money. There are a number of tools online such as this baby cost calculator where you’re able to visually see the average costs of a baby over the period of 3 years. For example it has shown child care being the most expensive at an average of £10,000 per year. Yikes.

Create a plan
Next step is to create a plan by monitoring your spending habits, after this you’re able to create a realistic budget of what you’re able to afford each month. Tally up what you’re spending on essentials and secondly on how much you are spending on the luxuries. Have a look to see what you can cut out of your monthly spending, but remember to keep a little aside to treat yourself. Once you know how much you’re able to spend on your little one every month, it makes it easier to shop for things without being left short for money during the month.

Reuse
To save yourself some money ask friends and family if they have anything such as clothes and other items that they could pass onto. I have also found a lot of baby items advertised on local selling pages such as gumtree where mums sell bulks of their children’s clothes, toys and furniture for a very good price and most of the time it’s all in tip top condition so make sure to have a look and grab a bargain. If you’re planning on having more children then store your previous child’s clothing and toys and keep it for next time around. Babies grow out of clothing so fast that this is a great way to reduce the amount of money you’re spending on clothes and spend it on items that will last longer.

As for childcare, the cost could become cut down if certain family or friends could agree to help out once or twice a week.

Buying new
Buying new things is great and makes it feel more personal to you and your baby, and there are certain things that should be brought new such as bedding items. But an item which must always be brought from a reputable retailer is your little ones car seat. Never buy a second hand car seat as you can’t be sure if it’s been in an accident, and if it has it will no longer give full protection to your child. You may be able to collect vouchers such as Love to shop vouchers which you’re able to spend in Halfords and get money off of your car seat.


Taking your time to make a list of the items you need and doing your research can mean you can make some savvy savings.


- This is a guest post

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