Baby On A Budget

One of the biggest stress factors for me so far in this pregnancy has been the finances.

If I had known my workplace had such an awful maternity policy, I may have spent a few more months saving up before I put this bun in the oven!

But rather than wallowing in self pity, I have been trying to be proactive by finding ways to save money in the lead up to my baby arriving, alongside buying the necessary baby equipment.

I thought I would share some of the money-saving tips I have found so far in case they could be useful for you too, so here goes:

Freecycle / Greencycle

If you Google ‘Freecycle’ or ‘Greencycle’ and the area you live in, you should come across some groups you can sign up to. They are basically mailing lists purely for people in your local area who want to give away things they no longer use. So far I have picked up a few baby bits including a cot, baby clothes and a bath seat. It is also a great way to get rid of things you no longer want to people who can make use of them, rather than just dumping them in the bin.

Websites

There are quite a few websites that offer free samples of baby bits, from nappies and creams to teddy bears and wash products. Some of these even come with money off vouchers, which is always handy.

My favourite sites so far are:

www.freestuffjunction.co.uk 
This site has freebies in a range of areas. The health and beauty section has a lot for babies.       

http://www.hipp.co.uk/join 
Freebies and coupons.


http://www.heinzbaby.co.uk/baby-club...FRJc4QodMW7A5g 
5 Mail packs - samples, vouchers, feeding guides.


https://www.aptamil.co.uk/register 
You get a free cuddly bear and guide on nutrition with this site. 


http://member.bounty.com/join/cpc/bs...FRJc4QodMW7A5g

https://www.huggiesclub.co.uk/newborn/member/register

https://www.pampers.co.uk/en_GB/signup

http://www3.sainsburys.co.uk/littleones/join-now

Financial advice

Getting advice from The Citizens Advice Bureau or a financial advisor can be helpful, especially if you have debts and want to sort these out in time for your new arrival. There are quite a few tips on many pregnancy websites about trying to budget, and consolidating debts so you can move them over to interest free credit cards for a few months to help ease the strain.

Making savings where you can is vital during pregnancy. I am cutting back on all the nicer foods and activities I used to do, and reminding myself that it won’t be like this forever. It is going to be hard, but you will be surprised how much money you can save just by changing little things, such as cancelling that gym membership, trying to swap your gas and electric to a better deal, and walking instead of driving round to the corner shop.

Car boot Sales

I have become a car boot junkie! You would be amazed by the great bargains you can pick up at these, which in the long run will save you a lot of money. I have been getting baby grows for as little as 10p each, as well as toys, books and useful bath accessories. I bought a bath chair for £2 which is still for sale in Asda at nearly £16, so it can really help the old purse strings!

The only downside is that you need to plan in advance for boot sales, as now we are heading into winter, a lot will shut down until Easter. However, when these close, many schools, churches and charities tend to organise indoor jumble and table top sales, so I am definitely going to keep an eye out for these!

Sales and Sites

Keep an eye out for all the shop and internet shop sales. BHS, Mothercare and Debenhams in particular tend to have a lot of regular sales, and clearance sections on their websites.

Ebay is a great site to find second-hand and brand new items for low prices. I am also a fan of Gumtree, as you can search by local area so you can collect rather than pay postage.

Borrowing

Since becoming pregnant, I have found that some of my friends have been great helps, as they have offered to loan me some of their play equipment and clothes that they have in storage until they have their next child or grandchild. This is by far a great way to save the pennies, and when you no longer need them they have another home to go back to, rather than take up space in yours!

My only worry doing this is breaking the items, but I will only borrow the more low cost items, so if they do break, I can afford to replace them.

In some areas, there are toy libraries, where you can borrow many toys for a few weeks free of charge. It is worth contacting your local library to find out how to do this.

Doing a Del Boy

Now is the time to have a massive clearout of your own, and seeing if anything is sellable. Gumtree and The Friday-Ad are free to post ads on and you can specify your local area, so people can collect easily.

Facebook now has selling pages and groups. Just type in the name of your local area and you are likely to find quite a few. This is another great way to advertise your things.

There are also some sites that you can bulk sell things to. Musicmagpie.co.uk buy cds, dvds and games, and they even let you send it to them by freepost.

If you are feeling really brave, you could even do a car boot sale yourself, and try and flog it all in one go.

Benefits

Make sure you look into what benefits you are entitled to, so that you are not missing out on anything. These include Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits, Child Benefit, Income Support, Mortgage/Rent help, Healthy Start Vouchers and Council Tax reductions.

Your midwife can provide you with a book about these benefits, and you can also look at the HMRC and Inland Revenue websites to try and calculate what you are entitled to.

Any other tips?

If you have any other money-saving or money-making ideas, please add a comment at the bottom of this post, as all ideas are very welcome!