Note: This is the first in a series of occasional Guest Posts related to fundraising and also saving money. In these tough economic times the principle of ‘a penny saved is a penny earned’ (thanks Ben Franklin) is especially important to consider. The following post was sent by FrugalBabe.com, a blog about saving money, paying off debt, being able to afford a new baby and simply making life easier.

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Guest Post: Save Money, Even With A New Baby!

The internet abounds with horror stories about how expensive it is to have a baby. If you’re a new parent or thinking about having a baby, you know what I’m talking about. My husband and I have always been frugal, and that didn’t change when our son was born last spring. He’s just about to turn six months old, and I wanted to share the ways that we have been able to add to our family without too much sticker shock:

1. Hand me downs are your friend! (make sure you pass them on to someone else when you’re finished with them) Your nursery furniture doesn’t have to match. Your babies clothes don’t have to be new. Your baby will outgrow everything – clothes, toys, swings, etc. – very quickly. Spending big bucks to decorate a room just for the baby is fine if you have money that you just don’t know what to do with, but most of us aren’t in that situation. The only new things we have bought for our son are an organic crib mattress and a car seat. All of his clothing was gifts, hand me downs, and a couple things I found at a thrift store. His swing, bathtub, jogging stroller, play mat and front-carrier were hand me downs. His high chair came from a yard sale. Sure they’re a bit worn. They don’t match, and have a few stains here and there. But seriously – who cares? Even after being a parent for only six months, I can assure you that a child would rather have your time and attention than fancy new clothes and gadgets.

2. Cloth diapers are a lot easier than I expected. My mother and I made fitted diapers for my son, using old pajamas and recycled fabric that I found at a thrift store (total cost was about $20, and included enough fabric to make a ring sling as well). We spend very little time and money to wash them, and I let them dry on a rack rather than using the dryer. Environmentally friendly and far less expensive than disposables. And our baby isn’t being exposed to whatever crazy chemicals they use in disposable diapers to make them so absorbent.

3. Stay out of Babies R Us, the mall, and Target. We don’t go to places that have tons of baby stuff for sale. Our philosophy is that if we don’t see it, we won’t want it. And our son is perfectly happy just hanging out with us, going for walks, chewing on a towel, “reading” board books, and watching the cat play with the dog.

4. Seriously consider whether you can cut back on other expenses and get by on one income, or have one parent work part time. Eliminating or reducing the need for child care will help a lot when you crunch the baby numbers. Before our son was born, I worked part time at the library ($13/hour plus benefits) and part time at our insurance agency (from home). I quit the library job when our son arrived, and although we have less money, it’s more than worth it for the extra time I have with our baby.

5. Breastfeed, and when it’s time for solids, make your own baby food. We just started feeding our son solids last week. I steamed a handful of frozen organic green beans, and then pureed them in my blender with a little water. I poured the puree into an ice cube tray and then popped the frozen green bean cubes into a jar and stored it in the freezer. Each day we defrost one cube and feed it to our baby. Today we started with squash, and I have seven more squash cubes in the freezer for the rest of the week. This baby food costs pennies, and is very easy and quick to make. In addition, I plan to continue to breastfeed our son until he’s two, which is not only frugal but also a great immunity booster.

6. Think about not only what you don’t need for your baby, but also what you don’t need in general. We drive older vehicles with no car payments. We buy all of our clothing in thrift stores. We eat at home (even if you like to go out to eat, you might feel less like doing so with a baby in tow, so this will probably come naturally). Our tv was bought in 1995, and we have the basic cable package that comes with cable internet in our area (the internet is a must, since we work from home with a business that is primarily online). We still live in the first house we bought, and plan to stay, so our fixed rate mortgage becomes more affordable as time goes by. We wait to see movies until they come out on DVD, and then we get them from the library or from a McDonalds Redbox. All of these things mean that we don’t have any debt other than our mortgage, and we’re able to get by without spending large quantities of money every month. This overall attitude of frugality made it easier to budget the extra $158/month that we have to pay now for our son’s health insurance, and the $100/month that we put into his college fund.

There are so many ways to stretch your dollars, whether you have a baby or not. I would say that the only real necessities are health insurance, a new car seat (new car seats are safer), and some basic clothing/diapers/blankets, etc. You don’t need the vast majority of the stuff that is marketed to new parents. Look at how you’re spending your money to see if you can cut back anywhere, and try to pay off debts and build a small cushion of money before the baby arrives. And remember that time you spend working to earn money to buy things for your baby is time you could otherwise just spend with your baby. And it really is true that time flies when babies are young – so time you spend with your baby is more precious than you realize.

For more frugal tips, visit FrugalBabe.com

For more blogs on saving money, visit Alltops’ frugal category.
For dad blogs, visit Alltops’ dad category.
For more mom blogs, visit Alltops’ mom category.

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