The First-Time Parent’s Guide to Saving Money

First off, congratulations! Whether you’re still expecting or you’ve already met your first child, you are sure to be excited for the adventure ahead. It’s a beautiful thing to care and love unconditionally for someone you helped create.

But, beyond the joy of parenthood lies the responsibility of providing your child with the best that you possibly can. But the unsavory truth is that raising a child is going to cost a lot of money. While it’s easy to use the excuse that you’re simply giving the best for your child, the truth is that splurging on your child early in their life can be wasteful when they’re not going to remember the designer clothing and expensive toys you got them as an infant.

So, how do you mitigate the financial impact of raising a baby? You need to look at the most essential aspects first:

Breastfeeding

Baby formula can costs up to $1,400 during the baby’s first year. Then there’s also the fact that you’re going to have to try different brands to see which suits your baby.

You can completely eliminate this problem by breastfeeding. It’s the best solution for your baby’s nutritional needs and it’s also free.

If you need to store milk, borrow a breast pump (these are expensive and can cost $150 to $800). The plastic attachments are the only parts that can’t be shared and you can purchase a replacement set for about $45.

As for baby bottles, buy one or two to start with to see which brand your baby likes. Don’t rush to buy a dozen of a certain brand just because people rave about them.

Clothes

Avoid buying baby clothes in advance because babies are known to have unexpected growth spurts. And while name brands are good, you can save about 70% of their price when you buy overruns. You aren’t going to notice these defects anyway.

As for staples like undershirts and socks, consider buying them in all-white so you can simply bleach stains off instead of having them spot cleaned with laundry spray.

If you’re planning to have more than one baby, buy unisex clothes. This ensures that you’d still be able to use the clothes later on regardless of your next baby’s sex.

Food

Like baby formula, baby food can become quite expensive if you stick with processed baby food over natural alternatives. There are many baby food recipes that are just as healthy and extremely easy to make. (I mean, mashing a few bananas shouldn’t be too much for someone who stays up all night just to make sure the baby’s fine.)

Baby Furniture

Baby furniture like cribs and chairs aren’t cheap. Instead of getting one of each, save some money by buying “convertibles”. Furniture that can be converted into something else. Like, say, a baby crib that can be converted into a toddler’s bed later on, or a booster seat that can be converted into a chair later on.

The best part about raising a child is in being able to instill values in them. They learn from you. And when you live a frugal life, your kids are bound to get that too. One of the country’s biggest problems is that there are few people who are financially literate. We have a chance to change that, especially with these finance skills to teach kids.

So, financial literacy and frugal living aren’t just for your benefit, but also for the nation’s. The less people we have who are poor, the better we are off as a country.

Have you read?

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