While there’s never a perfect time financially to be a parent, it’s undeniably challenging to make ends meet at the moment. We’re all working together to get through a unique and difficult period in life and the situations enforced by the pandemic are making frugal living a worthy and important thing to talk about.
And so, we’re here to talk about a few practical ways to keep your costs down as a new parent. With much of the cost of being parents involving purchasing things for the first time, you’ll be amazed at how much you can save by looking for second-hand items and much more. Let’s take a look right now.
Communities help!
Many of the expenses most damaging to the wallet as a new parent are those for the first few years of your child’s life. Thousands of parents each month buy clothes, bottles and other sundries from a variety of places, skyrocketing the cost of keeping their little one fed and happy.
What does this mean for you? It means there are a slew of baby products in perfect condition each week and month that are discarded or given away. You can find excellent items that would otherwise cost you the world when added up.
Take advantage of your connections with friends and acquaintances on social media to see who might be able to pass on other items. Facebook’s Marketplace feature can also be a great way to find items being given away close to where you live.
Once you’ve looked into that option, you can take to the wider internet to see what can be found. Websites such as Gumtree are excellent examples, but be sure to cast your net wider and see what other websites exist where you can find items. Freecycle is a perfect example of this; less well-known than Gumtree, but nevertheless a high-traffic site that is dedicated to charitable giving. Perfect.
Don’t be tempted by credit
New parents are a demographic that is highly inclined towards taking out new credit cards or building up debt on existing ones. It’s easy to see why this happens; the overwhelming list of new products and services required to raise a child can be intimidating, causing you to be tempted in putting all the things you need on a credit card instead of planning properly.
While buying on a credit card is perfectly fine when handled responsibly, you will likely find yourself able to afford your items if you have simply planned in-depth beforehand. We always advise having emergency funds saved up, as well as clear portioning and budgeting of all your available income in advance.
When armed with this thorough planning beforehand, you will be more likely to weather the storm of purchases through your allocated funds, instead of panicking and placing items on a credit card. Remember, you’ll be raising this child for many years; it’s important to avoid paying more than you need to for items through interest repayments!
Don’t overload on projects
Being a new parent commonly means the realisation that much must be done around the house. Your everyday items may need adjustments or replacing and it’s common to expect a number of tasks around the house crop up, each of which seemingly requiring their own improvement loans!
This is a time in your life where prioritisation will reap huge rewards. While it’s tempting to go all out and start redecorating rooms and buying items for the car, consider the times in life in which your child will need those items. Instead of going on a spending spree, incorporate your new costs into your budget and create a timeline for the next few years that places those expenses logically alongside the growth of your child.
Deep breath!
You’ve got this. The team thanks you for stopping by to read our article and wishes you the very best for you, your partner and your loved ones in the months and years ahead.
