The arrival of a new baby can be both exciting and financially overwhelming. A tiny new baby can mean big changes and major expenses for new parents. How much money can you expect to spend on your little one in the first year? What financial tools should you consider creating? Here we’ll show you how to financially prepare for your family’s newest addition before he or she arrives. And, if you’ve already welcomed your little one into the world, you’ll learn the best ways to raise a baby on a budget by spending less while giving your baby better quality of life.
While the value of a child is priceless, the costs of raising a new baby can add up fast. Experts say new parents can expect to spend between $20,000 and $50,000 caring for an infant, just in the first year! If you’re not financially prepared, the joy of having a baby can quickly become drowned out by stress and struggle. Fortunately, there are a few minor switches you can make to reduce your expenses, and these small changes can safeguard more than your bank balance – they can also preserve your peace of mind.
Throw A Baby Shower
If you’re still preparing for baby’s arrival, you could get many of the one-time purchases you’ll need covered by hosting a baby shower and signing up for a registry at your preferred retail store or online shopping platform. That way, guests will be able to see what you need and if something has already been purchased for you by someone else. This can save you hundreds of dollars and provide you with big-ticket items like a stroller, car seat, bassinet, rocking chair, changing table, or other furniture and travel gear. Make sure to include smaller items like burping cloths, onesies, bibs, bottles, bath gear, and other low-cost items so guests on a lower budget can contribute, too.
The baby shower itself doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. There are dozens of options online for free printable games to entertain your guests. We love the adorable free templates at Truly Engaging. Send virtual invitations instead of mailing store-bought ones. And refreshments don’t have to break the bank, either. Throw a pot-luck, where everyone brings a dish. Or check out easy and inexpensive ideas, from monkey bread to spa water, at Instacart.
Ditch Expensive Disposable Diapers
Diapers and wipes generally cost around $70 per month or about $1000 in the first year. You can significantly lower this expense by using cloth diapers, which can be washed and reused. If you’re thinking, “Ew, gross,” wait! Consider the following:
Parents have been using cloth as diapers since forever. Before disposable diapers, they were the only option. And that was before automatic washing machines were in wide use, so women had to wash the diapers by hand.
The disposable diaper is a relatively new thing, introduced in 1948. By 2006, Americans were going through 3.6 million tons of disposables, constituting 2.1% of municipal waste. These diapers won’t biodegrade until the year 2500.
The use of disposable diapers may prolong potty training. In 1999, Pampers-funded pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton tells parents not to rush toilet training. Guess why? Something having to do with corporate profit, perhaps? And in 2007, Pampers introduced diapers for kids weighing more than 41 lbs (typical for age 5).
If you can’t stomach the thought of washing cloth diapers at home, a diaper service, like Mother Earth Baby, will provide cloth diapers and handle the ick for you for as low as $120 per month, plus an initial investment of $169.
But if you’re willing to be hands-on, an initial investment of $500 in cloth diapers breaks down to around $17 per month over 3 years. You don’t have to spend the $500 all at once, either. $100 might be enough to get you going. Talk about saving a bundle. And the environment.
Cotton cloth diapers are safer for baby. One peer-reviewed study showed disposable diapers may contain loads of harmful chemicals, citing, “different pollutants including polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), organically active compounds of ethylene benzene, xylene and toluene, polyacrylates or phthalates. Some of them may be risky for children’s health.” And the toxins in disposable diapers have been linked to cancer, reproductive impairment, and dermatitis in babies and children.
With all of this information, we think the minimal extra effort of dressing your baby in cloth diapers is one of the best ways to raise a baby on a budget. That doesn’t mean you can’t break out the occasional disposable for convenience on an outing with baby, but to rely on them full time doesn’t make sense cash wise or for the overall health of baby or our planet.
What do you think about this subject? Would you consider using cloth diapers? Let us know in the comments below!
Save Money And Bond With Baby By Breastfeeding
Another basic baby expense that takes a big toll, both financially and physically, is baby formula. Sources say buying baby formula can cost between $2700 and $4200 per year, as of 2024. That’s not including bottles or distilled water.
And various extremely toxic chemicals that can impair brain growth and brain function, among other things, have been found in baby formula. According to Forbes, thousands of liability lawsuits have been filed in recent years against popular brands Enfamil and Similac citing severe and irreversible damage to babies caused by their formulas.
Breastfeeding, on the other hand, is completely natural and provides baby with all the nutrients a growing brain and body need to function properly now and into the future. It’s also cheap.
If you’re a new mom whose milk hasn’t come in, Mother’s Milk Bank can help you get the human milk your baby needs. If, on the other hand, you have too much breast milk, you can donate to the organization and help other mothers in need.
While a Yale study suggests breastfeeding costs mothers up to $11,000 per year, the study is, in our opinion, completely out of touch. Its premise relies on estimating the cost of things like increased food intake and vitamin supplements taken by nursing mothers and the time spent breast feeding. It’s just not realistic, and we question whether this study was conducted in good faith and who paid for this one. The funding source is not listed in the study, so it’s a private entity, because government funding must be mentioned, while private entities are not required to disclose.
Anyway, from real-life experience, we confidently say that breastfeeding is waaaay cheaper and safer, and don’t let any corporate goons or scholastic tools fool you. If you work full-time, and most moms do, it’s easy for most lactating women to use a breast pump and fill bottles for caretakers to use when you’re away. It’s also a welcome relief from the discomfort of too-full titties. Pop the bottles in the fridge and heat them up in a pan of hot water when needed until they reach body temperature. Easy peasy.
However, whenever you can, breast feeding your baby one-on-one gives both you and them much-needed bonding time and can boost immunity, happy hormones, and emotional well-being. So open up that heart chakra and let it flow — you’ll save thousands of dollars doing so.
Blacklist Commercial Baby Food
Commercial baby food can really rack up the costs and cause a slow leak to appear in your bank balance. And, like formula, harmful substances, including toxic levels of heavy metals including arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium have been found in baby food, even in those labeled organic. These were found in all of the brands tested, and a Harvard study cites popular brands Gerber, Nurture, Beech Nut and, Hains.
Other brands, including WalMart, Sprouts, and Campbell’s refused to supply researchers with samples of their baby food. What are they afraid of? The big bad wolf? Or maybe, they are the big bad wolf in this story.
Either way, buying commercial pureed baby foods can cost an average of $200 per month, or $2400 in a year, and with costs projected to double in the next year or so, that’s a hefty sum. If you’re reading this, we know you don’t want to pay that much to feed your littlest one. And you especially don’t want to pay that much to poison your helpless baby. The good news is, you don’t have to!
Feeding your baby solid foods can be practically free! If you wait the recommended six months, baby will be able to sit up in a high chair at the family table. They will also have the functions and grippers to chew and swallow most of the soft foods your family eats. Oatmeal, yogurt, hummus, soft fruit, soft cooked veggies, mashed potatoes, rice, even small shreds of meat soaked in gravy, shredded cooked pasta, and small bits of soft cheese. If you’re concerned about choking, puree the foods yourself in whatever blender you use to make a smoothie or whatever.
At this point, baby can start drinking veggie and fruit juices too. All without added chemicals, artificial colorings, preservatives, or heavy metals. Boom-chicka, you’ll have the smartest, healthiest baby on the block. You’ll also have much more money in your wallet.
If you just did these three things – cloth diapers, breastfeeding, and feeding baby your food — you would save between $7,000 and $10,000 in the first year with your new baby. Think of all the things you could do with that money! It’s like having a side hustle without the hustle!
More Easy Ways To Save Money With Baby
Check out even more easy ways to save extra money with a new baby:
Shop Salvation Army or other inexpensive thrift stores for baby clothes and shoes. They outgrow them in a month anyway. You can find baby blankets and other soft items there, too. Plus, you’ll avoid paying for child labor in overseas sweatshops where most fast fashion found in retail stores is made.
Same goes for toys, which babies get bored of and ignore in a few weeks or even days. Sure, get some classic learning toys from the store of your choice. But babies and toddlers are often just as happy playing with an empty box as they are with a $20 plastic toy.
Get children’s books from sales at your local Friends of the Library or other second-hand book stores. You can sometimes get them for as low as $1. Or get a free library card and borrow them there.
Choose free play-date activities, like going to the park or playing on the lawn or inside someone’s house.
When visiting to the zoo or another baby-friendly venue, go on discounted days. Most family attractions have them, and babies usually get in free.
Can you think of other ways to reduce the cost of raising a new baby? Leave them in the comments below for others to read!
We hope you’ve found some helpful information here that you can use to make life better for you and your baby on a budget. And congratulations on your new addition!
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