by Michelle Lynne Smith

Created on: February 22, 2011

Babies have a reputation for being expensive, and with good reason. But some parents go overboard in their excitement, and end up spending a lot more money than they really need to. These are several ways to cut costs and still give your baby what it needs.

Unfortunately, the hospital bill is not something you can do much about. There are no coupons and no sales, so the cost is what it is. Even with good insurance, your bill will still probably be a few thousand dollars. If you have a C-section or any complications, it will be even more. The best thing to do is to anticipate the costs before the birth and start saving up now. It will be a lot easier to deal with the costs if you already have a little nest egg set up. If you can't pay the whole bill at once, most hospitals will be more than happy to set up a payment plan with you.

Most big baby brands have programs you can join through their websites, like Gerber, Pampers, Luvs and many others. Once you register at the website, you will begin receiving coupons for different things like formula, food, diapers and wipes. If you sign up with several different sites, you can get quite a few coupons that can save you a lot of money.

When parents start decorating their new nursery, many go overboard and end up spending thousands of dollars, or worse, use credit cards that they're still paying off when their child is starting college. I can promise you that the baby does not care what the room looks like or what brands the baby furniture is. If you are on a budget, then there is no reason to go buy all new furniture when there are plenty of people willing to part with their old baby furniture for a fraction of the cost. Look on sites like Craigslist or Backpage, or check out garage or estate sales, and you can find some great deals. We got my kids crib for $150, when the woman we bought it from had it custom built for $600. We also got my son's dresser for $90 when the family who bought it originally paid $300 for it only one year ago. As long as you buy good quality, there is no reason why used furniture will not last just as long as new furniture would.

Another thing you can do to save money if you are on a tight budget is to wait until after your baby shower to buy things. You probably don't know everything you are going to get until you have opened everything, so to avoid buying something that someone else has already bought you, it is best just to wait. It would also be smart to set up

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