12 Ways to Save Money During Your Pregnancy
Every year I try to budget for the holidays, and I’m always amazed at how fast money seems to evaporate. So just in time for a New Year and after a spend heavy period, here are 12 ways to save money during your pregnancy.
1) Visit your local library
Yeah they still exist! Borrow books, downloads, audio books, movies – and get to know their kids programing! Libraries often have mommy and baby programing you can attend. This is a great way to socialize and interact with other parents. My local library also has museum passes and snowshoes that can be “borrowed” for free. Using your library is an easy way to save money. It's also a great way to support your local community, and an ideal way to own less and practice a clutter free life.
2) Shop second-hand for your maternity clothes
Shopping second-hand for your maternity clothes makes cents (did you get it?! sense, cents lol). Like baby clothes, maternity clothes passes the hand-me-down test! You'll wear your maternity clothing for less than a year. Mat pieces have so much life left after one pregnancy. When your shopping second-hand you're also mutitasking! Second-hand saves you money, helps the environment, and supports other parents. You can also get great nursery pieces second-hand. You can shop our secondhand pieces by size here.
3) Only shop quality
When shopping new, invest in quality durable pieces for your maternity wardrobe. That way your clothing will still be worth something when you’re finished with them. We can resell them for you. Think of the initial cost as a rental fee plus deposit. Good clothes pay for themselves when you’re done with them!
4) Pretend you’re pregnant and breastfeeding
Buy pieces for your pregnancy that you can also wear breastfeeding. If you plan to breastfeed, you’ll get more time out of your clothes, and more value. This saves you money, and it’s a great way to be ready to breastfeed when baby arrives. You can relax because you already own the tops you’ll need to succeed at breastfeeding. Having breastfeeding tops and bras early is also a great way to practice. You can get comfortable accessing your breasts through your clothes one handed. Alone or with your partners help! (winky face) You can find our dual purpose clothes here.
5) Don’t over shop
How much clothes do you need for a 40 week pregnancy? When you shop with us, you're saving money. That doesn’t mean you should shop more since you're spending less. Shopping second-hand saves you money, and there’s a powerful urge to buy more when you're spending less. You only have 9 months to wear these clothes! You don’t need 20 shirts! (well maybe you do, if you’re like me and you tend to drop food on yourself at every meal!) Just because you can get two-three tops for the price of one new, doesn’t mean your closet should be bursting at the seams. Buy less (even when you’re saving money), save more!
6) You can always tell a first-time parent by the baby registry
Talk to parents who have more than one baby. From experience they’ll be able to tell you what you actually need for your baby. You can always tell a first-time parent by the baby registry. I’m not kidding. As a first-time parent you get overwhelemed when you see all the options available to you for your baby. You look at things like bottle warmers, and heated baby wipes, and you think you need these things. Why else would they be on the market if they weren’t necessary? Because new parents are suckers. Myself included once. The baby industry is a billion $$ industry and it’s not all necessity. Remember K.I.S. and KEEP IT SIMPLE. You'll save a fortune and you'll receive useful gifts. Get advice from level headed parents who have learned from their first baby mistakes.
7) Buy a crib that coverts into a toddler bed
The more time you can get out of your pieces for baby the better. A crib you’ll only need for 12-18 months. You can get an extra two years out of it if it also converts into a toddler bed.
8) Don’t buy baby clothing for the first 6 months
Everyone loves to buy the smallest baby clothing possible. It’sso cute! You’ll get tons of NB and 0-3 months clothes from friends and family. So don’t buy any. Maybe buy baby’s first sleeper or baby’s going home outfit. But that’s it. Start your clothing collection from 6m plus – 9m, 12 m, 18 m. Your baby will outgrow the NB and 0-3 months so fast! You won’t have time to take pics of your little one in all his/her cute clothes.
9) Go old school with your coffee
And invest in a good coffee maker! Yup – start making your own coffee. And if you want to save on your coffee, skip the pods and get a good old fashioned drip coffee maker. You’ll get more cups out of a bag of ground (or whole bean) coffee than you will from the box of pods. And you'll be saving money.
10) Like to eat meat? It’s time to cut back
When you buy pre-sliced, cubed, or marinated cuts of meat or fish you’re paying more per pound. Save money by buying the same cuts of meat that haven’t been processed for you. You can get real wild and start buying whole chickens. Process the bird into two breasts and two thighs/drumsticks. You'll get more meat for less money. If playing butcher isn’t for you, then stick to the fresh chicken not frozen. Frozen chicken is pre-soaked in a saltwater solution which bulks it up. Then it’s frozen. You get less meat when you buy frozen. This means you aren’t saving as much as you think.
11) Being loyal never saved you money
I’m talking about your cell phone, cable tv, banking and internet. When’s the last time you did you research to see if you could get more for less from these big companies? These companies create offers to attract new customers. They won’t include you in these offers. You need to ask for the savings. Usually these intro offers last from three-months to one-year. If you call them up and tell them you’ve been shopping around, they’ll give you a deal to keep you.
12) Meal plan
You’ve heard this one before. I’m sure. If you plan your meals for the weak, and shop you ingredients list, you’ll save money on your groceries every week. Here's some links to some meal planning gurus to help you get started. Sometimes it's hard to maintain the level of discipline meal planning requires. But the results speak for themselves.
The beginners guide to Meal Planning
I'd love to hear from you! Did any of these tips help you save money?
