As many of you know I'm pregnant, as you also know I'm a finance girl. I'm only 12-13 weeks pregnant (depending on the dating scan) but I'm already nesting. I anxious to have everything ready for our baby, even though I know we still have 6 months to go!
To get started on prepping for our baby I made a budget with expected expenses and then made a registry on amazon to double check my figures versus the going price of these baby items. My total comes to: $2,713! That amount covers cloth diapers, maternity clothes and bra's, food storage (for homemade baby food), and ALL other baby essentials for babies birth.
Here is the thing, $2,713 seems REALLY expensive to me. It isn't like I can't afford it, we wouldn't be pregnant if we couldn't afford to take care of our baby... but could that money be spent better? I think so!Everyone is super excited about my pregnancy, this will be the first baby in my husband's family in many years and the first grandchild to his parents! Although we don't expect other people to provide for our baby we are sure that we will get baby shower gifts, both grandma's are super excited and have ALREADY started shopping! There are things that other family members have also told us that they would get us.
My original budget included costs for EVERYTHING and was over the $2,713 quoted above. Since family has promised us certain things the cost went down, but at almost $3,000 was still too high for my comfort, but the budget did give prices for buying everything new.
My goal is to spend $1,000 to get things ready for the baby, and apparantly I'm not alone in wanting to spend around that amount:
http://allternativelearning.com/thousand-dollar-baby-budget-challenge/
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/how-much-does-a-baby-really-cost-how-i-raised-my-baby-for-the-cost-of-a-cup/
Way before getting pregnant I had read the second article, and I was inspired. I doubted I would do as well as them but with the average cost of babies first year over $10,000 if I did anywhere near that well I would be way ahead of the race!
My $1,000 isn't for the babies first year but to get ready for the baby, it includes:
Nursery Furniture (Crib, Changing table/dress, 9 cube organizer, changing pad, crib mattress & bedding, and a glider)
Cloth Diapers: I'm estimating this will be $300 by itself
Baby Clothes (0-6 months)
Breastfeeding Supplies
Feeding Supplies (highchair, utensils, bowls, containers)
Diaper Bag
Decorations
Mobile
Toys and Books
Cart Cover
Bath Supplies (Hoodie towels, washcloths, skincare, bath)Boppee
Play Yard
How am I planning on spending ONLY $1,000/$2,713 estimated cost? The baby shower will be a major source, since everything that is gifted is FREE! To save money we are going to shop second hand and shop clearance/sales. There are a few things I won't buy second hand, but most things I have no problem with buying pre loved.
There are many online yard sale sites on Facebook, some especially for children/baby items. In addition to shopping online there are yard sales, consignment (like Rhea Lana), and craigslist.
So far in my new budget I'm putting aside $200 a month for the baby which will give us $1,200! I'm really hoping not to spend over that and I'm hoping to stay at just $1,000!
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