32 Ways to Save Money When You Have a Baby
Your little bundle can cost you big. Here's how to avoid blowing your budget.
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- How-To's, Breastfeeding, and Clothes
- More Ways to Save
Right after I gave birth to my first daughter, a funny thing happened: Virtually every dollar I owned seemed to sprout wings. Then one by one, they flew away—to the pediatrician, the drugstore, and any chain that sold cute kids' clothes. Sure, I'd known that a baby would bring new financial pressures. But when I saw my first postpartum credit-card bill, I totally freaked out.
If you have a newborn, you're probably panicked too. No wonder: Depending on your spending habits and child-care needs, you'll likely shell out $7,000 to $14,600 annually between now and your little one's second birthday. But there's hope. Through trial and error, I learned a lot about raising a daughter on a budget. Now that my second girl is here, I've gotten even savvier. Here are ways you, too, can cut your baby expenses by half—or even more.
Hospital How-Tos
Say no to add-ons. Pass up a private room if there's a charge. Fees can vary wildly, from about $30 a day in Alabama all the way up to a $500 daily charge where I gave birth, in Manhattan. By opting for a two-person room for my second hospital stay, when a C-section required me to remain five days, I saved $2,500. With nurses popping in every hour, I would have had no privacy anyway.
Don't turn on the TV. Some hospitals (like mine) also charge patients about $8 a day for television privileges. But you're there to rest, not watch a Three's Company marathon. Relish the time with your newborn and the fact that there's an army of nurses to watch her while you recuperate. It's a luxury you won't have at home.
Ask for coupons and samples. Manufacturers often lavish maternity wards with freebies, but the hospital staff is sometimes too busy to remember to dole them out. I got tubes of lotion and diaper ointment, coupons for stuff like baby wash and baby portraits, plus a surprisingly chic black diaper bag to hold it all—but only because I asked a nurse whether there were any samples around.
Take the toiletries. You can often keep some goodies from your hospital stay—namely the baby-care items stored in the cabinet beneath your little one's rolling bassinet (ask permission). Look inside, and you'll probably find diapers, swaddling cloths, alcohol swabs, a nasal aspirator, disposable nipples for bottles, a thermometer, and more. Leave them behind and you'll just have to shell out $30 to $40 later at the drugstore.
Budget Breastfeeding
Nurse if you possibly can. Not only is it healthy, but you'll also save at least $1,400 in your child's first year.
Borrow a breast pump. An electric pump can be expensive (about $150 to $800), and it's just the plastic attachments that shouldn't be shared. You can buy a starter kit of those for less than $45.
Find out in advance where you can get free breastfeeding advice. When you need help, you need it fast, which can limit your options. With my first daughter, I paid a lactation consultant $200 before recalling that my hospital had a free nursing hotline. Local breastfeeding organizations may offer home visits or phone consultations at no charge.
Don't rush to buy a breastfeeding wardrobe. My mom bought me three $18 nursing tees shortly after I left the hospital. I spent another $36 on special bras. Total wasted when I had to give up breastfeeding ten days later: $90. Since you'll spend most of your baby's first two weeks indoors anyway, wait at least that long and make sure you're committed to breastfeeding before you buy clothes for nursing in public.
Cost-Conscious Clothes
Don't buy baby clothes far in advance. Newborns can have sudden growth spurts, as my friend Heather learned the hard way. Last year she bought her infant son a winter coat in September, only to find he'd outgrown it by the time the cold weather actually arrived.
Scrimp on all-in-ones. You'll mostly layer them under other clothes. I once spotted several packs of slightly irregular name-brand all-in-ones marked down 70 percent at a Value City near my in-laws' house. You'd never notice the defects, and after a baby spits up on something, it doesn't look regular anyway. By the way, when it comes to staples like undershirts, all-in-ones, and socks, buy them in plain white. If (ha! when) they get dirty, you can bleach them for pennies instead of spot-treating stains with a $3.50 bottle of laundry spray.
Choose unisex shades and styles. I snapped up one pink dress after another when my older daughter was born. It never even crossed my mind that my next child might be a boy and those hand-me-downs would all be useless. (Genie turned out to be a girl. Whew!)
Lose the shoes. You can spend about $30 on leather footwear for your infant. But babies will learn to walk faster if they're barefoot when they're indoors. Use soft booties (I got ours for $1.99 at a closeout store) to keep feet warm when you're outside.
Buy secondhand special-occasion clothes. Visit your local consignment shop, and pick up a princess dress or a tiny suit for a fraction of its retail cost. Chances are its previous owner wore it just once or twice.
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