6 ways to save money on baby items

Before Baby T’s arrival, I always wondered why people say raising kids is one of the most rewarding things in life. Now I’m a dad, I finally understand the reasons. It’s so wonderful to see Baby T learning new things and developing his own personality. My life has changed dramatically since becoming a dad, and I am really enjoying this journey. This morning while having breakfast with Mrs. T, Baby T clapped his hands for the very first time. He was laughing and smiling while clapping his hands. It was a great way to start my day. It’s so neat to see him learning these little things that we take for granted.

Having a newborn means increasing household spending a little bit. We do, however, try our best to reduce baby-related spending. Here are 6 ways to save money on baby items

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1. Buy Used

When we checked out strollers and cribs in baby stores during Mrs. T’s pregnancy, we were SHOCKED to see the price tags. Most strollers are over $600 brand new, some strollers are selling over $1,000! The same goes for cribs. This is INSANITY!!! 

After a bit of research, Mrs. T and I decided on the stroller and the crib brands. We looked all over Craigslist and various moms groups to find a used stroller and a used crib. Our hard work didn’t go wasted. We were able to find a used stroller and a used crib of the brands and colours that we want. Both items were only used for about a year and we saved over 60% compared to buying brand new!

We also purchased a number of items used, such as baby clothes, cloth diapers, and toys.

A word of warning – make sure the used crib that you are buying is not being recalled or have any defects.

2. Use Cloth Diapers

Using cloth diapers instead of disposal diapers was a no-brainer for us because cloth diapers are much more environmentally friendly. Cloth diapers also save us a lot of money too!

According to Kerry at Squakfox, using cloth diaper will save you $1,799 (or 77%) on a single child! When Mrs. T and I went through the numbers, we found using cloth diapers will save us over $2,000! When we have more kids in the future, we can re-use the cloth diapers. Cloth diapers is an excellent long term investment.

3. Use Pass Downs

If you have friends that have older kids, don’t be afraid to ask if you can borrow items that they no longer use. Most people will be more than happy to help out. It’s nice to be able to loan out some items as a way to clean up the closet. Baby T is about to turn one and we already have a few boxes of clothes packed up in our storage room. We would be more than happy to loan these clothes to friends with younger kids.

4. Think Long Term

A lot of people buy baby items for the convenience and not think about the long term solution. A good example is baby car seats. Most people buy infant car seats because it’s easier to take them in and out of the car. When the baby is older, a new car seat is needed. Consider buying a convertible car seat that can be used for more than a few months. One item at $500 is cheaper than two items at $400 a piece.

5. Do We Really Need This

“Do we really need this?” is probably one question that gets asked a lot in our household. This question not only applies to baby items but other items too.

Do we really need a fancy automated baby bouncer/swing? No we don’t!

Do we really need a fancy $100+ designer diaper bag? No we don’t, a $10 cheapo from Babies “R” Us will do!

Do we really need a fancy $80 diaper pail? No we don’t, a cheap $10 metal garbage bin from Ikea will do.

Keeping asking this question and tally the money saved.

6. Avoid Baby Bjorn brand (or  other name brands)

After looking at different baby items in stores, we realized that the “Baby Bjorn” name will automatically add 50% or more to the cost of the item. Just because it’s from Sweden, it doesn’t mean it’s top quality. This also applies to other name brands too.

Extra

Here in Canada, there are tons of baby freebies you can get as expecting or new parents. Make sure you check them out, fill out the form, and get these free samples. They will save you quite a bit of money.

Do you have any tips you want to share?

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14 thoughts on “6 ways to save money on baby items”

  1. Buying used is much more affordable and often times baby stuff is barely used and in great condition because they outgrow it so quickly. I never understood the diaper pail…the expensive part isn’t just the pail but the refillable plug ins. I just take the garbage out daily…problem solved.

    Reply
  2. I spent WAY too much money on new things for my son when all he did was either poop and pee all over them or he outgrew them within a matter of weeks. You can save so much time and hassle when you buy or swap used items for kids. Facebook is a great place to go to find stuff. If you just put a message out there to your friends, you can find just about anything you would need for free.

    Reply
  3. Great list as I agree with all these points.

    Number one thing is to buy used for sure. You can find great items hardly used or even new for half off or more.

    Kids toys are great also to find used. I saved a bundle finding some Thomas the train sets online for like 1/4 the price of new.

    Also You dont need as much as you think. Their are products for everything and turns out you dont need 95$ of it. I still gripe about when my wifey bought a $30 bum wipe warmer to have warmer wipes!!!! Also the teething necklace was a complete scam that should be tossed in the pile of suckers who also bought a qray bracelet lol.

    Reply
    • Wipe warmer is basically a waste of money IMO. When I see these unnecessary items I always wonder “Why?” It’s not only a big waste of money but waste of resources to make these items too.

      Reply
  4. We don’t even have kids yet, but I already have almost an entire nursery full of hand-me-downs! I’m all about taking anything free, so I’ve gladly accepted free cast offs from friends and family. Once we do have a kid, I’m hoping we won’t need to buy too terribly much!

    Reply
  5. Great tips 🙂 I don’t have kids yet but I’ll keep in mind this post for future reference. I didn’t know using cloth diapers can save so much money. I would put all the savings into an RESP 😀

    Reply
  6. Good points! With two little ones at home, Mrs. SAD and I try to maximize our savings with the expenses. Luckily, we have two daughters, so I don’t think we have bought hardly any extra things for baby #2, as it’s all hand me downs. The cloth diapers I have big tried, so I’ll discuss that with the Mrs.

    Reply
    • Hi Special Agent Dividend,

      You’re lucky that the 2nd baby is the same sex. Hopefully our next one will be a boy too. If not we’ll dress her up with her brother’s clothes regardless.

      Cheers.

      Reply
  7. I am 100% with you guys on buying used and using cloth diapers. Modern cloth diapers are simple and easy to use. We calculated our return on cost to balance out at a little over 5 months. Other bloggers like Retired Before Dad and Pretired Nick got us on the band wagon, and we don’t regret it one bit. (It may be different if we were both working full time.)

    Also, everything we bought was used. There is a great second hand maternity store around the corner. We buy and sell with them all the time. For instance we bought a great used swing from them for $35, used it for about 5 months (until our son outgrew it), and sold it back to them for $15. 6 months of use for $20……outstanding value in my book.

    Keep spreading the word, and have a great weekend
    -Bryan

    Reply
    • Hi Bryan,

      Cloth diapers are great. We had to use disposal diaper a few times while traveling with Baby T and we were shocked how much garbage we were producing each day. We feel better using cloth diapers because we’re helping with the environment.

      Reply

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