It can be really expensive to raise a baby. You not only have to buy formulas but also diapers, wet wipes, powder and such more. Diapers are essential items for babies. How do you save money on diapers? How viable is to use washable diapers instead of use and throw diaper?
From my experience, disposable diapers are way cheaper than using cloth nappies. With re-usable nappies you're looking at the extra cost of buying soap, fabric softeners and so on while with the disposable diapers, there are some really good, cheap brands these days and it's become more affordable to buy those than ever before.
I'm glad I'm past the diaper stage (way past, ha ha). My daughter used to buy disposable diapers in bulk, to get a better deal. She also watched for sales and stocked up then, or used coupons. Many manufacturers offer coupons these days. I'm sure there's a app for that as well. I always kept some cloth diapers on hand, just in case, but with careful shopping disposable is do-able. It's also nice when people give lots of diapers as gifts at showers, especially when they give varied sizes instead of all newborn. Some people even make that a thing now, and ask guests to bring diapers. Some people also make those diaper "cakes," which are cute and creative.
In my opinion, disposable diapers are more economical in the long term if you think about all the other costs associated with washing a cloth diaper. With regards to other baby items, sales. sales and more sales. Once you found that you are pregnant, you have about 7 months to plan and prepare for your baby's birth. Shop when you there sales for baby items. There are huge savings, sometimes you can get up to 50% off. Another way to save on baby items is ask family and friends for things like pram sets, baby car seats, baby furniture like drawers that they no longer use. You can also get these items from antique shops. Getting these items free or second hand will save you a lot of money. You can concentrate on buying food and clothes for your baby.
Many of the items that I got for my babies was secondhand and that saved me so much money. Most baby items are not used long enough to wear out. Another way I saved on baby items was to look out for sales on what I needed especially diapers. Coupons are another option and there are also money saving apps that give you money back on certain baby items. So if you use a coupon and the app, you are saving twice on the same product.
It's true, you can save a lot of money by borrowing the big baby items like cribs, playpens, car seats, strollers, and high chairs, or buying them gently used. One thing to keep in mind is that many designs have changed for safety reasons. Make sure the items you borrow or buy used conform with current guidelines (and have not been the subject of any recalls). You should be able to look up many of them online. Some, you can tell by looking at them (cribs with wide slats for example).
I am not sure that I would be ready to trust a washable diaper, but then again the cost is only going up and it was crazy back when I had younger ones. Might be easier to try to save elsewhere, though.
There are 2 places to save a lot of money for children at any age. One is Walmart's children dept. I love window shopping and I pass by seeing a lot of inexpensive new items for children of all ages from infant on upward. Then there's the thrift stores for children things. I sign up for their email notifications of specials and sales at Savers and I've a Saver's Card where I get discount day and when you get to my age, Senior Discount Day, lol. Good luck, in savings for children's things. By the way Walmart has organic baby foods too-sorry not up on prices for baby food though. Good luck in bargain finding!
The prices in Walmart are unmatched by any other major or small supermarket but other than them you can rely on coupons and discounts.
Even though we can get the hand-me-downs from others, milk and diapers are two items that are really expensive and we can't avoid too. I have been breastfeeding my babies until they were two years old ++, and it really saved me lots of money. I didn't realize this until I started to purchase formula milk for my eldest when he was 2.5 years old. As for diapers, I started to use cloth diapers for my second child when I realized the option. It's not the big white cloth I used to use for my eldest, as it didn't really work well for my eldest so I had to go to disposable diapers. I found out the cloth diapers which are more absorbent, though the start up cost is quite expensive, but I can use them for my two kids without buying a single disposable diaper, so it helped me to save lots of money too.
Milk and diapers make the most important items for a baby and buying cheap products for them might lead to other issues as well.
Washable diapers are not a solution, if I would use them I would consume more water and gas plus my time, and I don't think I would save any money. I prefer to use disposable diapers because are easier to use and the only way I can save a few penny is to buy the diapers from an outlet store.
