Saving money during Pregnancy

Pregnancy can be very expensive with all the new things you suddenly have to purchase. Even buying pre-loved soon adds up and there are so many appealing new devices and contraptions designed to make Mum’s life easier, but her pockets emptier. Not only are cloth nappies better for the environment, kinder on your baby’s skin and better looking than disposables, they are also a great way to save money in the long run as they work out considerably cheaper than buying disposables for the first few years (especially if you go on to have more children). We thought we would share some of the other ways we have discovered for saving money in pregnancy and beyond...

Consider getting some friends together for a swap party.

This works best if some of them already have children. Each person brings along a minimum of five unwanted items and they are all laid out so that you can help yourself. One woman’s junk is another woman’s treasure and maternity clothes, kids clothes and baby equipment may all be taking up space in your friend’s wardrobe. Equally, your sparkly tops that you can’t forsee ever wearing again may be rather appealing to her now that her children are growing older. It is a great way to de-clutter your life as well as saving money on things you need and anything left can be donated to a charitable cause at the end of the day.

Consider getting your maternity gear second hand.  

Ask in local charity shops – sometimes they have a small section and look out for local NCt nearly new sales as well. If you are feeling crafty, then head over to Pinterest where there are loads of tutorials on how to re-purpose your old clothes and charity shop bargains into fantastic unique maternity items.

Stretch mark creams can become very expensive...

So do some research and see if you have anything around the house that will work as well. Coconut oil is one of nature’s best moisturisers and will do the same job as many of the lotions and potions available. One of the biggest causes of dehydrated skin is of course dehydration, so drink more water whenever you can to help your body do what it does best – of course water is free so this is a great way to help your skin. Looking at the best diet for increasing natural collagen is also a cheaper way to look after your skin so fill your plate with vitamin C rich vegetables, zinc, gelatin and eating organic food.

One of the biggest expenditures when pregnant is a pram...

Some parents find that they really don’t get much use out of one. If you have suspicions that this may be you then why not consider investing in a great sling for the early days. Our Papoozle is perfect from birth (even with the tiniest babies) and significantly cheaper than a pushchair.

Cloth nappies are a great cost cutter.

Admittedly the outlay costs are higher, but you have the satisfaction of not needing to spend any more money. Once you have bought your kit you are all set to go with no weekly top ups. You can reclaim some of your money once potty training is finished by selling them on and some local councils offer an incentive to encourage you to buy cloth nappies too so check that one out!

How did you save money during pregnancy, do you have any great tips that we should add to this list?