As
you know I am pregnant with our first baby. I’m now 30 weeks
pregnant, it’s scary that his birth is so close!
Our
baby was unplanned. We only got married in May, so had intended on a
little ‘us time’ first before we thought about a family, but it
hasn’t turned out like that. After the initial shock, we were both
really pleased, but then realised we were going to have to try and be
sensible with money. We still have debt left over from the wedding,
and no savings, something we’d planned on rectifying after the
wedding, and again something we now no longer have time to sort out!
baby was unplanned. We only got married in May, so had intended on a
little ‘us time’ first before we thought about a family, but it
hasn’t turned out like that. After the initial shock, we were both
really pleased, but then realised we were going to have to try and be
sensible with money. We still have debt left over from the wedding,
and no savings, something we’d planned on rectifying after the
wedding, and again something we now no longer have time to sort out!
I
knew we may struggle with money so decided to be super organised and
try and get all baby related things sorted well before going on
maternity leave. My maternity pay drops dramatically so we will have
to have a tight budget to enable me to have 8 months maternity leave
from work.
The
cost of living keeps on rising, essentials get more expensive and
wages don’t usually increase at the same rate.
One
of the most expensive things you will ever do is have a baby, that,
combined with paying for a wedding and buying our first home all
within 6 months has made things a little stressful in our house, but
we’ve managed.
So,
here are some suggestions for buying for a baby, without getting into
debt.
-
Buy
second hand. I have managed to pick up alsorts of fabulous finds on
either Ebay or Facebook groups. I have saved a fortune. I’ve managed
to get nursery furniture, to clothing and about 90% of it has been
absolutely perfect.
-
Wait
until the sales. Although I have most of what we need I’ll still have a look in January for any special offers.
-
If
someone offers to buy something, tell them what you need. You baby
isn’t going to need 17,000 baby grows, so if someone asks what you
need tell them! -
Make
use of interest free offers. We usedBaby Plan at Mothercare for our
cot bed mattress and travel system. It means you can pay a little
off each month, without a massive outlay. It also means you can give
the account number to friends or family and they can help contribute
if they want. -
Use
coupons and vouchers. It’s suprising how many you can find in your
Bounty pack, or in parenting magazines. -
Buy
things when they’re on offer. I’ve managed to collect a massive
amount of nappies and wipes, which will mean we don’t have to worry
about buying more for at least a couple of months after the baby is
born
-
Sign up for companies such as Cow and Gate and Hipp, they send information packs in the post, which regularly contain vouchers or samples
-
Try and put a little money away each month while you’re pregnant. Although we still have some debt, I’ve managed to save £700 over the last few months, so that will help when my pay drops. It means we will be able to make payments on our credit cards, without stressing about the minimum payments each month.
Now
I’m no expert, but it can’t help to be organised and it never hurts
to save some money! It can be a struggle to afford things usually, without factoring in the expense of a baby.
I’m no expert, but it can’t help to be organised and it never hurts
to save some money! It can be a struggle to afford things usually, without factoring in the expense of a baby.
