Having children costs quite a bit of money. However, many of the costs associated with raising children are things that we have at least some control over. From big things like whether and how often to place your child in child care to the little things (which can really add up) like where and how you purchase clothes, toys, and other things that your children need, it is definitely worth taking a little time to evaluate what you are currently doing and see whether there are some money saving changes that you could make to ease the strain on your family budget.
Believe it or not, you can set yourself up for savings even before your first child is born. When you are expecting your first child, chances are that you will be both purchasing baby items yourself and being asked by others what items they can purchase for you as baby and baby shower gifts. If you select and register for baby items, especially big ticket items like car seats, strollers, and the like in neutral colors, you leave the possibility open for using those items for other children if you plan to have more than one child.
I thought about this when I was buying and registering for baby items for my son. At the time that I created my baby registry, I did not know whether we were expecting a baby boy or a baby girl. After we found out that we were expecting a boy, I did not go back and change everything in my baby registry to blue because I knew that we wanted to have at least one more child after our son was born. I selected a charcoal gray infant car seat with base, an orange jogging stroller, a green and brown high chair, a natural colored nursing pillow, and other neutral colored items. Do keep in mind that car seats have “expiration dates”, so when you are expecting your next child you will have to check your car seat to make sure that it is still okay to use. We are having a baby in April, and I am happy to say that our infant car seat held up very well (we got a good quality one) and the expiration date is not for at least another two years.
That is just one idea for keeping the cost of providing for your children affordable for your family. Tomorrow I’ll share some more of my favorite frugal tips for parents.