Skip to Content

5 ways for new parent frugal living you might not have thought of

Are you going to be a new parent soon - we have some great tips for you for living frugally when the little ones arrives...and they may not be as obvious as you think!

Becoming a parent is a daunting task for us all. I remember it well. Just sitting down, with my wee daughter in her car seat after coming back from the hospital, just staring at her in our lounge, and then staring at my husband thinking…

“Right, erm, yes – what the hell do we actually do now?”

There are many things that give new parents a bit of a sore head, and have us all thinking that very same thing. That feeling of having to find a bit more money tops up an already rather stressful situation ;-). Babies, and money worries keep us all up at night, don’t they? So, why not reduce at least one of those worries just a teeny, tiny bit?

Here are my top frugal living tips for new mums and dads out there, to help ease the financial strain that having a little one can place on your pockets, and your sleep deprived minds.

1. Breast is best, well cheapest at least

I KNOW this is controversial, and breastfeeding isn’t for everyone; I know more than most as my history hasn’t been great. However, if you can breastfeed and all goes well, do stick with it, it really does save you a fortune. Breastfeeding is thrifty, it truly is. No need for all the formula paraphernalia; just you and your milk. *End of*

I appreciate that breastfeeding isn’t for us all, so clearly it is your choice. The cost consideration is just something else to take note of, and not a pressure to keep going.

2. Don’t buy it unless you NEED it not want it

This is obviously I know BUT, we are all taken in by the hype as new parents, and thing we need eery gadget and gismo for our baby, but actually we may not need it all.So spend wisely, and ask advice of those that have been there and done that – what did they find invaluable to get them through those early days. Other than a glass of non-alcoholic wine of course…

3. If you must buy it, get money off!

The most important thing in frugal living is to be sure you NEED it, and not that you just WANT it...are you going tor really use it for baby? If not, don't get it!

Of course, if you do decide you can’t do without it, then of course you might want to take a look at the voucher sites that are around, like voucherbin.co.uk. These can give you a few lucky breaks with offers on some ideal parent-y retailers like Mothercare. We ended up using a voucher site when we were buying our nursery furniture, and you can imagine the savings we got. Nursery furniture is often something you don’t want to compromise on BUT can be the biggest drain on the wallet. Shop savvy online, and you are going to do your little one proud. Sadly, my boy is seven now, and doesn’t like his animal bumpers and cot anymore ;-)

4. Go green and use re-useable nappies

Nappies for new borns are VERY expensive, they need to be changed about ten times a day *I know.*

It is amazing to think back to those days. As a mum of a 7 and a 9 year old, I am sure we are programmed to forget how many times we have changed those nappies. Just imagine how the costs for that will mount up? Why not reduce that cost then by buying reusable nappies?

They become even more frugal if you are going to have more than one child. You can reuse them with subsequent kids, and get even more cost benefit. We used them and though we were a little perturbed by baby’s bottom size at first, we soon got used to it. The benefits were not just in the back pocket either, but also environmental. Further reduce your costs by washing them overnight too.

5. Follow some amazing online bloggers

Now I am biased, but you can’t do better than subscribe to a few blogging friends of mine, from Diary of Frugal Family, to Baby Budgeting; all have excellent advice for those trying to be thrifty and get those baby costs down. This is a great list from Becky at family budgeting too, of the top thrifty parenting blogs in the UK. From 2012, but most are still going strong.

What tips do you have for frugal living; do let us know on Twitter and Facebook, or in the comments below as well.

This is a collaborative post.

Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine! Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time. KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania. Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on. Get in touch TODAY!

Sharing is caring!

Maureen

Sunday 1st of May 2016

I have three, and it kind of went like this… Child 1: baby registry for miles, baby shower, decked out nursery, used everything but 90% of it used once or twice. Outgrew a good bit of the clothing while tags were still on

Courtney

Saturday 2nd of May 2015

I have three, and it kind of went like this... Child 1: baby registry for miles, baby shower, decked out nursery, used everything but 90% of it used once or twice. Outgrew a good bit of the clothing while tags were still on. Child 2: Bring the most useful hand-me-downs from the attic, but most of the baby swag has been sold, given to friends, or will stay up in the attic. Child 3: A lot of the hand-me-downs are worn out. Replace only a few essentials but realize that babies don't need much at all.

That's how it has played out for us! :)

David

Wednesday 22nd of April 2015

We've certainly been guilty of buying what WE want rather than what she needs. The big ticket items like pushchairs are the hardest ones to avoid, but getting last years model in the sales felt like a big win. Any savings elsewhere really help too and this is all useful advice.

Comments are closed.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.