9 Ways to Save with a Baby on the Way

Do you have a baby on the way? Whether you are expecting or you recently welcomed your new bundle of joy, it’s time to learn how to save money. From finding cheap baby stuff to reducing the cost of diapers and everything in between, today’s tips will help you save money with a baby like a champ.

No matter how you swing it, babies and “stuff” seem to go together like “peas and carrots.” Even if you want to limit how much you spend (or have around the house!), there are clothes, toys, diapers, strollers, nursery items, and more to buy. As a first time mom, it’s hard to know what the cost of a baby is going to be - and how to reduce it. With your first baby, you don’t know whether you need that bottle warmer or if the electric breast pump is worth the extra expense over a manual pump. It can get so stressful and I am speaking from experience! 

Click the photo to shop the items in our baby girl’s nursery.

I have done a lot of research and I’ve figured out ways to save money with a baby on the way, without the stress. Read along for more information! 

Rock the Registry

Baby registries are a GREAT way to save money and let the special people in your life celebrate with you. Even if you don’t plan to have a baby shower, complete a baby registry at Amazon and at least one other store (ex: Target, Buy Buy Baby, etc). 

Another benefit of a registry is that after your “shower” date or your due date, the company will send you a 10-20% coupon (usually called a Completion Discount) to help you to purchase anything you didn’t receive but still need.

Save on the Cost of Diapers

Yes, cloth diapers are more work. Yes, they are more expensive on the front end. However, if you can receive cloth diapers as gifts from friends or family (multiple people can go in on a big purchase together!), you will save TONS (to the tune of ~$800 in the first year) on diapers. 

Breastfeed

Strictly from a financial perspective, breastfeeding your baby will save a huge amount of money. Baby formula can cost about $1,500 during your baby’s first year. Do keep in mind, though. A lot of people struggle with breastfeeding and it’s not as easy as it seems, so please do not be upset if you cannot breastfeed! Fed is always best.

Use Your Insurance

Most insurance companies are required to cover the expense of breastfeeding support and equipment (like pumps). Use your insurance to save big on these items.

Don’t Throw Away Coupons

I am so guilty of this! Don’t do this when it comes to baby stuff! Life happens - you never know when you’ll need that formula or diaper rash cream coupon. Using coupons on things that you have to buy new can help you save hundreds of dollars in a year.

Save on Gear 

Have you ever seen nursery furniture once a baby has outgrown it? It’s practically new looking. The same thing goes for bouncy seats, play cribs, baby swings and many of those large, expensive (sanity-saving) items. Save a small fortune by purchasing these items off of Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Nextdoor, or through your friend network.

Make Your Own Baby Food

Baby food is ridiculously expensive to buy and super easy (and cheap!) to make. Take a little time to make your own baby food. Seriously. You’ll thank me!

Use Samples

Often pediatricians will have samples of formula, diaper rash cream, and other baby care items that they can share with you. Ask your pediatrician what they recommend and use the samples to see what you like before you buy anything. 

Thing About Things That You Can Change To Save More

There should be some things that you can change in your life. Paying for a membership (like the gym or a tanning membership) that you do not need or use anymore? Cancel it to save some extra cash! Are you paying a fortune in rent? Buy a home! You might be paying about the same (maybe), but it will also be building equity in your home. But, if you decide to tackle moving while pregnant, it can be a feat. Make sure you get help from a great real estate agent, a cleaning company, and a professional moving company such as Texans Movers. If you are focusing on residential moving in Texas during your pregnancy, or even after the baby is already here, Texans Movers will help you out during the process so that you can reduce stress! I truly think that utilizing professional movers does save you money as well, because to me, time = money. Plus, you do not have to worry about breaking any fragile items, large furniture items, or even hurting yourself, which will end up costing you even more money in the long-run.  

Texans Movers are very experienced and they service Houston, The Woodlands-Sugar Land, as well as all surrounding areas. No matter if you are moving to or from an apartment, a larger home, or if it is a business office move, they can help you out. They say, “At Texans Movers, LLC, we are the industry-leading movers in Houston, TX. We have been servicing the state of Texas for over ten years now. We are a family-owned and operated business that services houses, apartments, condos, townhomes, and all commercial and residential projects. Expect top-quality service from a highly rated company. Texans Movers, LLC offers you a full line of home moving and home packing services. Our goal is to exceed your expectations by customizing our moving services to fit your needs. We work closely with our clients to ensure we deliver first-rate customer service and offer the best moving experience possible. To learn more about the best movers in Houston, TX, contact us today at 832-861-1344.” Texans Movers can help with antique moving, art moving, packing services, shrink wrapping, safe moving, residential moving, commercial moving, and so much more. Just check out their site for more info!

Whether you have a baby on the way or you are enjoying your new arrival, I hope these ideas help you save money during your baby’s first year!

10 Easy Bathroom Upgrades You Can Do Yourself

We have officially lived in our new home for 9 months! We have spent countless hours on upgrades to make our house into our home. The one thing I can tell you is that there are so many upgrade options out there, some reasonable and some not. I'll be sharing what we used to upgrade our master bathroom to create a space that not only looks put together but a welcoming space to spend time in. Here are 10 easy bathroom upgrades you can do yourself.

For our bathroom, we started out with pretty much a blank canvas. During the design process, we went with everything white.

These matte black cabinet pulls were extremely affordable and purchased off of Amazon. We had the option of doing this through our builder, but doing it ourselves was cost-effective. Not shown in this picture is our matte black towel ring (shown in the builder grade chrome). These are about $15 on Amazon as well. While I searched up and down for unique ones, I concluded that they are just towel rings and will be hidden with a towel anyway! Save money and put it somewhere noticeable, for example, the faucets. This photo above shows the builder grade chrome, but we upgraded to this modern matte black faucet from Amazon.

The light fixture! My favorite so far in the bathroom. We instantly removed that ugly chrome builder-grade light fixture and upgraded to Wayfair's Vallie 4-Light Vanity light (on my side) and the Vallie 3-Light Vanity light on Nick's side. This made a huge difference! See below (you can click HERE, and all the items are linked for easy shopping!)

In this photo, you can see the almost done master bathroom. I have said this a number of times to friends— if this was our "forever" home, I would take the bathtub out and put a stand-alone tub, lol. Instead, I have opted for, again, a matte black Gibson MOEN tub faucet that matches the sink faucets. Our faucets are already MOEN, making the switch to matte black easier because we did not need to purchase a whole new valve. This was something I wish we knew for our faucets; however, we figured it out... I mean, Nick figured it out, lol. The Matte Black Gibson Tub Faucet is on its way, and I cannot wait to show y'all!

Above the bathtub, we replaced the builder-grade chrome towel rod with a floating wooden shelf from Target. I never understood the placement of those things, unless to showcase your most beautiful towels….?! The quality is great, and the price was even better! Under $40! This is the larger size. I have purchased the smaller size for other spots in our home.

For the mirrors…the mirrors came as just a standard mirror with no frame. Instead of buying a whole new mirror, we used a company called Mirror Mate. Mirror Mate offers custom-sized frames at such affordable prices. The frame we went with was called Cherokee Montauk Sand Frame. The frame looks like bleached wood, which was the look I was going for. With Mirror Mate, you simply measure your current mirror (instructions can be found on Mirror Mate's website), order online, and receive parts in the mail. You'll install the frame by gluing and piecing together the parts, SO EASY! Then, you place the frame on top of your mirror. Easy peasy!

I never really show photos of our cave shower because… well, it's full of my products! Here is a picture of it:

Our shower is somewhat of a work in progress. It needs some sort of shelving system to organize our (ok...my) products. The showerhead and turn knob will be upgraded to the Gibson Matte Black Shower Head and Knob. In fact, it should be here today! I'll be able to post an updated photo soon. I placed a funky bath mat from Urban Outfitters that says "Get Naked" to add some color to our black and white bathroom. You can get the same bath mat here. Urban Outfitters also has A TON of super cute bath mats.

Oh! One other fun and minimal change I made to the bathroom was updating the handles to our French doors. Eventually, I will replace the two in the photo of the shower, too.

This was a fun and random bathroom update but definitely gave the door some character. The crystal knobs were easy to install; I even did them myself, lol! I purchased them on Amazon, and they were under $10, but excellent quality!

I will update y'all when the MOEN Gibson Tub Faucet and the MOEN Gibson Showerhead come in and the installation process.