This post is about how to save money on baby products.
Congratulations on your pregnancy! Once the excitement of a baby on a way and as the weeks and months go by, many moms, including myself, find themselves thinking about all the upcoming expenses.
At 20 weeks pregnant, you are already spending on the gender reveal. Around 30 weeks, you may have had to chipped in for the baby shower expenses.
Then come hospital bills. And don’t get me started on the additional expense if you choose to hire a midwife and/or doula that your health insurance does not cover.
With all these expenses before the baby is even born, you may begin wondering how you can begin reducing costs. After all, babies (and toddlers) do tend to outgrow many items within 2-6 months.
I found myself going the minimalist mom route due to a limited budget and awareness that many items my daughter would have she would soon outgrow.
How to Save Money on Baby Products
In this article, I go over the many different ways and things you can do to reduce your spending when you begin planning and purchasing items for your baby on the way.
I have also created a free printable checklist on Baby Registry Must Haves to help you rule out items that are more of a luxury than a necessity, specially if you are on a budget and/or looking to reduce costs.
How to Save Money on Baby Products
Use Facebook Marketplace
Facebook marketplace became my best friend throughout my pregnancy. Many moms swear by it, and I do too. Do not knock it out until you try it!
Because you are dealing with real people, you also have the opportunity to ask for items at a cheaper price. Many people just want to get rid of their items, so many will say yes.
If you find meet ups to be dangerous, you can opt to meet in a public space or do a no-contact delivery. Many people leave their items outside their homes for you to pick up and you pay them through apps like CashApp or Venmo.
Join Buy Nothing Facebook Groups
Also on Facebook, search your local buy nothing facebook group to see what people are giving away. You might be surprised at what you may find.
My daughter randomly stopped liking Cerebelly pouches. If you know you know. I hoped she would still like them but she never came back to them, so I had to give away almost $80-worth of Cerebelly pouches because I did not want them to go bad. I know for sure the lady I gave them to felt like she hit the jackpot.
Buy Secondhand
Yes, thrift stores are amazing, but sometimes their items can be lacking, depending on which one you visit. There is also Once Upon a Child, but their locations are limited and many people do not have access to them. I believe the closest one near me at the time of my pregnancy was 2-3 hours away.
Cue online stores. Alongside checking Facebook Marketplace daily, I fell in love with Mercari. For me personally, while I did want to give my daughter good quality items, I did not want to spend its retail price. This was also the case for many breast pumping items I had to purchase as an exclusively pumping mom.
RELATED: 17 Must-Have Breast Pumping Supplies
Utilize Your Baby Registry for Maximum Savings
You might have heard this already, but you can save significant amount of money if you know how to take advantage of the baby registries available.
The two most popular ones are Amazon Baby Registry and Target Baby Registry. Both of them give you a goodie bag with sample items and baby bottles, as well as coupons for certain baby products. From there, as you get closer to your due date, they will offer you a 10-15% discount on items you added to your baby registry and purchase using your baby registry code.
If your due date is around the holidays, this is a perfect time to stack coupons/discounts. Say you have been eyeing a crib. With the Black Friday sale, you can get it 20% off its original price. From there, you purchase it through your baby registry and save an additional 10% from your baby shower discount.
Additionally, I suggest waiting until after your baby shower, as some people may purchase items from your baby registry or you may receive gift cards to either Amazon or Target.
Much like the example above, you can stack the gift cards (aka free money) with your baby registry discount to get your items at a reduced price.
Find Amazon Dupes
I know we all want our babies to be rocking the highest quality and softest baby clothing we can find.
For many parents that is bamboo clothing. I understand it can be out of budget for many or it may just not seem worth it, after all, babies do outgrow their clothes in 3-6 months.
Luckily for us, Amazon does have bamboo baby clothing dupes you can purchase for a fraction of their original cost.
Apply for Free Formula Samples
If you are unsure if you will be breastfeeding or formula-feeding, Enfamil offers you free formula samples when you apply when you are pregnant.
I received three decent-sized cans of formula. I ended up not needing them, and through Facebook Marketplace I was able to gift them to a mom in need. This was specially helpful because back in 2022 there was a formula shortage, so I was happy to help any mom in need of formula.
Enfamil also sent me coupons for formula and as my daughter grew older, they sent me coupons for their toddler formula. Again, I did not need them, so I gifted them to a friend whose daughter was drinking Enfamil’s toddler formula.
How to Save Money on Baby Products
If you are currently expecting and may feel overwhelmed by the rise of cost of living and the rise of expenses due to having a baby on the way, I hope this post has helped you alleviate your costs.
One thing that I did not mention above and did not count on was having friends with older babies. My daughter is now 2 years old and I cannot remember the last time I bought her clothes or shoes. My friends often pass down their daughter’s items to me and I get to give them a second life.
If I need to buy specific items, like for example, a good winter jacket, I do head over to Mercari, where I know I can find good quality items at a reduced price.
RELATED: Is Mercari Legit? All You Need to Know About Mercari
P.S. If you would like to know about cloth diapering your baby to reduce costs, I recommend reading Everything You Need to Know About Using Newborn Cloth Diapers next.
Other Pregnancy Posts:
- Baby Registry Must Haves (Free Checklist Printable)
- Can I Save Money with Cloth Diapers? Actual Cloth Diapers Cost
- 17 Must-Have Breast Pumping Supplies
- Nursing Cart Essentials
- Best Postpartum Care Package Ideas
- Why You Should See a Prenatal Chiropractor During Pregnancy
- How Much is a Doula? Is It Worth It?
Other Posts You May Like:
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- What are Toddler Play Schemas and Why Do They Matter?
- Montessori Furniture to Foster Independence
- 13 Tips and Books to Raise an Eco-Friendly Toddler
- How to Raise a Child Who Loves to Read
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