10 Easy Ways to Save Money During Pregnancy
If you’ve just found out you’re pregnant, first off, congratulations!
This is an exciting time in any woman’s life, and no doubt the last thing you want to concern yourself with is how much having a baby is going to cost you and your partner.
However, as dull as it may sound, it’s important to take steps to figure this out, especially if your circumstances are going to change financially once your baby is born.
You or your partner may have decided to give up work or work fewer hours, which will have a knock-on effect on your finances.
Luckily, we’re here to help!
Top Ways to Save Money during Pregnancy
Read on for 10 great tips to help you figure out your finances so that you can feel more secure about where money is coming from and exactly where it needs to be spent.
Leaving you to think about your gorgeous bundle of joy without worrying.
1. Make a Budget or Spending Plan
If you haven’t already, now would be a good time to sit down and work out a budget; don’t think about leaving it until your baby is born as you’ll have your hands full!
Once you have an idea of your monthly incomings and outgoings, you’ll have much more of an idea of what you can afford to spend on baby gear and other bits and pieces.
Check out our handy guide on How to Budget and Harness your Finances and How to Create a Spending Plan that Aligns with your Values.
2. Start Saving
Hopefully, your monthly budget will leave you with a little money to spare. Consider putting this money towards a baby fund to use as a buffer for when you need it.
If nothing else, have a money jar that you use to stash any £1 and £2 coins from your purse. There are loads of gorgeous money jars on Amazon to choose from.
This will add up quickly and will be a nice little bonus once you’ve had your baby. Whatever you do, start now—you still have a few months to build up some significant savings.
3. Make Sure You’re Claiming All Your Benefits
As a pregnant woman, whether you work or not there are many pregnancy benefits and grants that you may be eligible for. Who knows, you may be in entitled to more than you thought.
4. Don’t Buy What You Don’t Need
If this is your first pregnancy, you probably have a huge list of things in your head that you think are necessary for when you have a baby.
However, trust us; you probably won’t end up using half of them.
So be savvy and avoid falling for the gimmicky baby-related items which companies like to flog to pregnant women. Instead, check out this handy NHS guide, which gives you some ideas of things you actually will need and use.
If you aren’t sure which products will work best for your baby, be that bottles, dummies or nappies, just buy a few to start with; you can always stock up on more once you know what works for your little one.
A costly item that you probably won’t need, but that most people fork out for, is a changing table.
You can save yourself about £200 by buying a simple changing mat at Mothercare (for around £7) and changing nappies on the bed or floor – your baby really won’t mind!
5. Sell Your Old Stuff
Now is a great time to get rid of some unwanted items around the house and make yourself some space and money at the same time.
Be ruthless, and if you aren’t sure about something, stick it on eBay! You can put the cash you make towards necessities for your baby.
6. Don’t Spend Loads on Maternity Clothes
As cute as that polka-dot maternity dress may be, you’ll be wearing it for such a short time that it really isn’t worth blowing your budget on.
Instead, buy preloved clothes on eBay or at car boot sales, or ask a friend of a similar size if you can borrow her old maternity clothes.
She’ll probably be happy to pass them on for you to borrow (or even keep if her baby-making days are over).
Also, consider getting yourself a bellyband so you get a few more weeks out of your favourite jeans; you may not be able to button them up, but they’ll still look good under tops.
7. Pink and Blue are not Mandatory!
If you plan on having more than one baby, save yourself some money by buying baby clothes that are gender neutral.
Whoever came up with the rule that girls have to wear pink and boys have to wear blue anyway?!
We say dress your baby in whatever colour you like, and then pass them down to any other children you may have.
8. Save Big On Nappies
Nappies are an expensive necessity, but you can save some money on them if you’re savvy; if you sign up for shop loyalty cards, you can save on disposable nappies (and other baby items); for example, with a Boots loyalty card you get 4 points for every £1 you spend, with each point worth a penny.
If you wait until you’ve got a few points, you can buy your first supply of nappies in bulk.
Or, even better, choose cloth nappies and save yourself a lot of money in the long run!
9. Keep Toys Simple
It’ll be a while before your baby is interested in playing with proper toys, so keep it simple at first.
Tiny tots are rather fond of pots and pans, spoons and Tupperware containers … all things that can be found in your kitchen!
Throw in a few books and a couple of soft toys and you’re good to go.
10. Don’t Go Overboard with the Decorating!
Try and keep things as simple as you possible when it comes to decorating your baby’s room.
The temptation is to go overboard, but you can still make the nursery look nice without having everything new.
Try and create a space that is dependent on what you already have in the house, so use paint you have left over from another room (or ask a friend who recently painted a baby’s room if they have any leftover paint) and try and use curtains and rugs that you already own.
You can add little baby touches with artwork on the walls or cute mobiles, but when it comes to more expensive things, keep it simple for now.
Once you get to know your child’s personality in a year or so, you can use that to guide you in your decorating decisions!
Finally, enjoy this time and try not to let any financial woes get you down. It’s important to take care of your health and wellbeing and that of your developing baby during this precious time.
After all, your baby really needs little else other than a feed, warmth, a clean nappy and your love; we promise he or she won’t care at ALL about what pram you buy or if you’re stocked up on the latest gadget or gizmo!
Right, it’s over to you!
Do you have any top tips on ways to save money during pregnancy? We’d love to hear them if you do!
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These are great tips, especially about making sure you are claiming the correct benefits. I always recommend buying things second hand, because most things are only worn once or barely used by babies!