Save Money on Baby Items

Photo Credit: milan6

Raising a baby can be expensive. In fact, a recent survey done by Baby Center suggests that parents will spend $10,000 on their baby in the first year. These expenses include diapering, feeding, clothing and toys, not to mention doctor's visits and childcare costs.

As with all expenses, there are ways to cut down. Here are my favorite tips on saving on baby items:

1. BUY USED
Parents want the very best for their children. There is nothing wrong with that. However, the very best does not have to be the newest! You can find great deals on gently used clothing and baby gear in consignment shops, on E-Bay, Amazon and even on Craigslist. As long as the item you are purchasing meets all safety guidelines (no drop-side cribs, car seat inspection, recalled items) and is in a condition that suits you, there is nothing wrong with buying used. You can easily save 75% on baby gear.  Most baby gear (swings, bouncers, etc. is only really used within a baby's first year, so the depreciation is great, unless you plan to use the gear on multiple children.

2. JOIN REWARDS PROGRAMS
A lot of companies reward loyal customers for buying their products. Pampers Gifts to Grow and Huggies Enjoy the Ride let consumers collect points for buying participating products. The points can then be traded in for various rewards like magazine subscriptions and coupons. Beechnut also has a similar program that rewards consumers that buy baby food and rice cereal with free item coupons. Old Orchard rewards consumers that buy their juice with free products and money saving coupons.

3. REGISTER WITH BRANDS
Baby brands like Gerber, Similac and Enfamil all have baby newsletters. If you register for these newsletters, you will often receive coupons, samples and free items via postal mail and email.

4. SWAP ITEMS
Swapping is the new thing! There are now  a lot of websites that let users swap all kinds of baby good from clothing to toys. Babies outgrow things very fast (especially clothes!) so swapping gently used items you do not need for gently used items you do need is a great way to save money. It may seem weird to put used clothes on your baby, but all of the items are in good condition. Here are my favorite sites:
Swapbabygoods.com
BabyCenter Swap
Thredup.com
Outgrowingin.com

5. GO "ALL NATURAL"
Making your own baby food, breastfeeding and cloth diapering are also great ways to cut down on baby costs.

Buying used items, joining rewards programs, registering with baby brands, swapping items and going "all natural" are ways to make the often costly task of raising a baby less expensive.