by Helium01

Created on: July 05, 2009

Bringing up baby in hard economic times can be a daunting task. As if the overwhelming job of simply caring for a child isn't hard enough, throw in a one-income-family situation, overextended credit, and a recession, and being a parent can seen downright impossible. Finding solutions that work for you and your family takes time, lots of research, and consistency, but raising a baby on an extremely tight budget is indeed very possible.

The first bit of advice, and one of the most important is coupons, coupons, coupons! The Sunday editions of most major newspapers have hundreds of dollars worth of coupons each week. Buy a coupon file, clip every coupon you come across, and find the ones you need each week when you go to the grocery store. Planning meals in advance is also very helpful and can make the coupon selection much easier. It is not uncommon to have a $150 bill then be reduced to $75 after coupons!

Another little-known trick is to sign up for major brands like Pampers, Huggies, Enfamil, etc. Simply go to their website, enter your information, and wait for the coupons and free samples to roll in! Enfamil usually sends several cans of formula as a welcome gift. This is worth its weight in gold! Huggies and Pampers also send free diapers and coupons. If you register with enough sites, you may find yourself not needing to buy formula or diapers for a couple of months!

Consignment stores are also wonderful places to get great deals on baby apparel. You can find gently used clothes, shoes, blankets, cribs, changing tables, etc. at these stores. Since babies tend to grow quickly, it's not prudent to spend a lot of money on brand new, designer duds. Then, when your little one grows out of them, you can turn around and take them to the consignment store and make more money from them!

Another great place for baby clothes is eBay. It is very lucrative to buy heavily discounted baby clothes, then sell them, and use the money you make to buy a new season's wardrobe. This allows you to basically break even. If you choose consignment stores or eBay, you can buy a whole wardrobe with little or no out-of-pocket cost.

There are a plethora of avenues to explore online and in your town, but the key to saving money is putting forth the time and effort to do the research. Once you find what works for you, don't be surprised to find that you have more money and less stress, which means more precious moments with your bundle of joy!

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