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Have you noticed the vast amount of baby items available to parents? Are you overwhelmed by what baby items you need and do not need?
Soon we will be welcoming our second daughter into our lives and the world. Due to our daughters having a 6 year age gap, we are having to start over with receiving baby essentials. There have been many advances in baby products in the last 6 years. While it has been 6 years since we had a baby in our home, we do remember the baby products that were the most useful and those that were just a waste of money. This is truly important for us as we are working our way out of debt and living on a budget.
Recently we did a registry as my family is throwing us a small sprinkle shower. I noticed that there were over 90 items recommended for a registry for parents to be. When I completed the registry, I realized I only selected 17 items out of the 90 recommended items. Granted some of these items, we happen to still have just in case. However, it made me wonder if parents who are on a budget realize they do not have to register for everything recommend. Wouldn’t you want to save money by getting what is practical and essential?
We decided to share our experience with a few baby products that you could go without to save money. Keep in mind that this is based on our preferences and can be different for each individual.
5 Baby Items That Save Your Budget
Grocery Cart Seat Cover
We received a grocery cart seat cover with our first daughter. I remember we used it once and never again after that. For me, it was more of a hassle to remember lugging it into the grocery store and then trying to set it up in the grocery cart while also holding my baby and purse in the other arm. Perhaps they make easier grocery cart seat covers now for moms who do solo grocery trips. However, this is a baby item that we are going without this time around. I didn’t find it as a need and ultimately ended up giving it away.
Baby Wipe Warmer
I understand the thought behind warming your baby wipes so that your sweet baby doesn’t get a cold surprise to their precious bottom every time they need a diaper change. While this baby item can be a luxury at home. What about when your traveling? Based on the practicality of this baby item, we felt that this is an expense we can save from our budget.
Baby Diaper Genie
While I see the beauty in using a baby diaper genie. Between buying the product and the refillable bags, we found that these baby item expenses outweighed the benefits. We found that using a small trash can with grocery bags worked wonders for us and our budget. The trash can was small enough to not let the diapers build up for too long and we were finding a second use out of our used grocery bags. We plan to use this same budget-friendly trick. This works for those parents planning to use disposable diapers.
Changing Table
We were given a changing table with our first daughter. We used the changing table for probably the first two months of her life. After she was two months old, the changing table became a holder of everything and took up space in our too small apartment. We decided that with our second daughter that the convenience of a changing table for the first couple of months were not worth the expense. Instead, we will opt in for a simple changing pad that can be used on any flat surface available at the time.
Bassinet
When our first daughter was born, we lived in a very small one bedroom apartment. Due to the constraints on our budget and our home space, we opted out of using a crib. We received a bassinet to use with our daughter in place of a crib. She ended up only sleeping in it for a couple of hours total over the course of her first month alive. We gave up on using the bassinet and opted for co-sleeping as that is what kept me sane and our baby girl happy at night. In return, the bassinet ended up taking up space and wasted money for the family member who purchased the item for us. With our second daughter, we have decided to go without the traditional bassinet. Instead, we are saving money and space by getting a traveling co-sleeping bassinet.
What baby items did you not need that helped you save money on your budget?
