7 Money Saving Hacks for Baby's First Year

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MoreHuggiesMoreSavings #CollectiveBias

You’ve heard it time and time again…

babies are expensive…

having children is expensive and will cost you…

I am sure you’ve read the statistics on the annual cost per child…right now they say it costs you $12K their first year. Do your own math for the next 18 years…or more, not to mention the cost rises as they grow older! If you lay it out on paper, you’ll always say you can’t afford a baby…right? Well don’t look at it that way, children are a blessing and there are ways to save money. Believe me, we’ve done it and I’m here to tell you it can be done!

Ways we have saved money while raising a family…I’ll keep it short and simple, but I hope you’ll find a tip or two to help you along the way!

Diapers – yes, they are expensive. No I am not here to tell you to use cloth diapers…I don’t do cloth diapers!!!!! Buy in bulk, buy on sale, use coupons. You really can buy smart when it comes to diapers and wipes if you watch out for awesome deals. For instance you can snag this deal that I just got.. Join Sam’s Club now (in club or online) – I joined online because you get a $5 e-gift card for a bonus! It was easy peasy! Once you join buy any 3 participating Huggies® products and get $45 instantly loaded onto your new Sam’s Club Membership Card. Another pro is that Sam’s Club now offers Pick up service for their members which is a HUGE WIN for us mamas. MAJOR TIP: You MUST go through the link to receive the Sam’s Club Instant Savings. You can either print it off and take it in-store to be honored, or fill it out online through the link above.
Breastfeed – this was NOT my primary reason for nursing my baby AT ALL. On the flip side this is one of the pros to nursing. I know it’s not for everyone and I also know not everyone can go this route and that’s ok. I just don’t have any tips on saving money for formal for you!!!
Baby Food – Make your own baby food! It’s WAY cheaper, super duper easy, not time consuming AT ALL and is healthy for your child too! I would buy baby food when it was on sale for the convenience factor of when we were traveling or out and about. Still to this day I make most of her snacks…you save lots of money anytime you make it yourself!
Clothing – Purchase clothing a season in advance. When they clearance out the end of the season, snatch those deals for the following year! I also love the online sites with gently used clothing, you can snag some great deals or find a local consignment store or hit up your neighborhood garage sales! Stick to your basics and stick to a minimal amount of clothing- buy only what you’ll use/need.
Go to the Back of the store – Growing up we were always bargain shoppers, clearance shoppers and second hand shoppers and I still love it to this day! We didn’t buy junk rather we searched and bought the “good stuff”! If you want to find the bargains and deals in a store- the general rule is head to the back of the store. This is where you’ll find the sale racks.
Toys – We all know that children toys are a “dime-a-dozen”, right? Search your local online groups for used toys that are in like new condition. We have snagged all of our outdoor play sets/toys from locals and they were like brand new and less than half of the price! SCORE
Be a Minimalist – I’m very much a minimalist and one reason is I just don’t have room for all of the “extras”. Think through if you really need 10 pairs of shoes for your little one…do they really need 15 blankets and do you really need to have 4 baskets of toys that are over-flowing? The answer is no! Think through everything you have or *think* you need to have. Raising babies has such short seasons and it’s amazing what you can do without!

Hi I’m Erin a Southern mama from South Mississippi, owner and chief editor of Sixth Bloom a blog helping mom-tographers capture their kiddos and life, talking all things home, parenting and how we navigate through life. You will find me living life to the fullest with my mister (aka husband) and our little one year old, Miss Elle, in our 500+ sq foot cottage as we build our dream house on our two acres! We are blessed beyond measure, love to travel, involved in ministry at our church and in between all of that I run three successful businesses! Follow me at: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST