This greatly depends on - How old is your bub?, are you breast or bottle feeding?, are you using disposable or cloth nappies? What brand of disposable? Are you using nappy cream etc?
If you can identify which items are increasing your spend, then you can narrow down how to reduce the cost.
A few examples:
Breast feeding is free as opposed to formula, but you do need to buy breastpads. The Rite-aid brand breastpads are cheap but do not leak. They are as good as the Pigeon brand in terms of use, but don't look as nice, but then nobody sees them.
If using formula, religously check your junk mail as it is always on special somewhere each week.
I found that cheap nappy creams can actually cause nappy rash as opposed to preventing it. I used a top quality organic brand of which I only used tiny amouts at each change as a barrier and neither of my boys ever got nappy rash, so therefore I used much less product and spent less than my friends that bought the supermarket brands. Many friends babies developed nasty rashes from the chemicals in thier brands and then had to pay more for different products to cure it.
If using disposables, Huggies are the best brand but are also the most expensive. They too are always on special somewhere each week so check that junk mail. Alternativly, I am told by many friends that the Aldi brand nappies are fantastic and also much cheaper. Another option is to consider the new MCN's that is - Modern Cloth Nappies. They are shaped just like disposables and so easy to use. Try googling for them online and see the variety. The initial spend is quite high - around $800 - $1200 depending on brand etc but over 3 years you can literally save several thousand dollars compared to dispoasbles. If bub is old enough for solids - don't pay for store bought baby food. It is sooooo much cheaper to make it yourself and so easy too. Simply steam some vegies in the microwave and mash, or mash a banana etc. You will save so much money,and bub will be healthier eating fresh food than awful slop from a tin. Don't buy the straw variety of sipper cups. The straws get chewed through in one day so you will always be replacing the straws.
If you would like to post details on any other items you need help with, I'll see what I can come up with. Cheers, Andrea.
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Thanks Andrea - those are great tips! The nappies seem to be the biggest expense. Also, how quickly do they grow out of things? Any ideas on how to manage this?
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Hi Miranda I used to save money by buying my baby clothes from ebay in bulk lots. They often have people selling a dozen wondersuits at a time! In the early days this is all you need. Another place where you can save some money on baby clothes is at op shops. Go to the wealthier suburbs and grab a bargains. Mel.
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A great big thank you to the Ipswich City Council for having me out in April to speak with the community about money management. Your Mayor and council are to be congratulated for their wonderful intiatives in your community. I was delighted to be asked to present to you all, it was wonderful to meet so many of you!
Congratulations also to those who "stepped up" and attended the Back to Basics workshop as part of the Money Master Class series.
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