So you've probably picked up on the fact that maybe expenses add up pretty fast. The good news is that you can greatly reduce what you spend by planning ahead. I have a ton of tips in this section and you don't need to do all of them, but doing some of them can certainly help you save a significant amount of money. So start saving money in early pregnancy. In a minute, we'll discuss several specific tips on how to spend less money, but I also recommend you start saving money during pregnancy so that you have money to spend on the essentials. If you're past early pregnancy, and you didn't start doing this yet, then I highly recommend you start saving right now for the remainder of your pregnancy.

So estimate how much you will need to save up during your entire pregnancy include things such as maternity clothing, baby items, a birth class, a doula if you're hiring one, even medical fees and co pays if you're responsible for paying these with your insurance for prenatal visits or testing. For my second pregnancy, we had to account for a big additional expense making a down payment. On another vehicle because we had one car that only fits five people in this baby make six of us. So if there are any special circumstances you have where you need to account for a bigger expense, meaning to pay for larger car, home, etc to accommodate your new baby, I would include this in your savings plan as well. Now break your estimated savings amount down into the time left before your due and start setting aside money regularly. Preferably however often you and or your spouse get paid.

If you get paid every week, save a little each week or if you get paid monthly and budget each month if it's bi weekly, then budget savings for every other week etc. So for example, if there are 20 weeks left in my pregnancy and I need to save $2,000 this would be around $100 a week or $200 every other week if I'm getting paid bi weekly. And just to know if you have an inconsistent income perhaps due to being self employed or you're in a seasonal based fluctuating business, you may want to estimate your income by averaging out what you make In general, or by looking at how much you made in previous years during certain months, if you've been in the same line of work for a while, think about when you'll be likely to get paid, you can still try to come up with a savings plan and make adjustments as needed.

But regardless, you will also want to keep in mind when you will need to use the money you save. You don't want to put it too close to your due date for baby items or expenses that should be taken care of before the baby is born. Now for the more interesting part of the section in my humble opinion, how to save money by spending less. What do I know about saving money in this way? Wow, full disclosure. I ended up in my first pregnancy only spending about $312 295 of that was on a birth class.

The remaining amount about $17 was on a maternity band I purchased to wear over my pants and belly. No baby items no other maternity clothes. That's right. I spend zero dollars out of my own pocket on pregnancy expenses beyond the two things I listed while I was pregnant. No did go to the chiropractor several times while I was pregnant, which was not covered by my insurance, so I did have to pay for that. However, I have issues already with my back and neck.

And although I went to someone specializing in treating pregnant woman, I still would have went to the chiropractor even if I wasn't pregnant. So I didn't really consider this an additional pregnancy expense. You your personal situation, of course is different from mine, you may need to spend more than that or less, but I'm about to share some of the strategies and tips that I use to save money as well as some additional additional ideas that can save you even more. So the first one, if you live in the US check if you qualify for free reduced cost insurance through the state marketplace. And no i didn't qualify for this until I became pregnant. But the income standards for reduced cost and free insurance allows for more income for pregnant moms and children than for women and men in general.

You may or may not qualify, but it's certainly worth checking out. I had found a high deductible plan previously so if I hadn't called them and asked I would have been responsible for paying thousands of dollars. Sign up. up saving. So for more info on this, you can review Part Five under section one which is be prepared with good insurance where we talk about that in more detail. To do a baby registry or registries, maybe registries can save you money in three ways.

One, if people use them, they'll be purchasing items you actually need, which means they'll be giving you what you need without you having to buy it to most stores you register at will give you coupons or discounts off of your registered items during a certain time frame. Three, you'll often get a gift bag from stores you register at with different baby products to sample. I've gotten a few free bottles and pacifiers, small packs of wipes, a few newborn diapers and other samples. So these are bottles and pacifiers that I didn't have to buy and it also gave me the opportunity after my baby was born. To see how I like different products and how they worked for my baby. I know that you can check out the registering section which is Section four of this course in part two for how to get the most out of your registry three be agreeable to a baby shower.

The third way that you can save money. While you can't really force people to throw you one, if you have a shower, this will save you money unless perhaps you're the one paying for it, in which case it may not save you money. So if someone else wants to host a shower for you don't turn them down unless you have a really good reason. And for details on baby showers and tips on planning them, you can check out section five I dedicated a whole section just to that. The fourth way you can save money, consider finding out your baby's gender and telling people while you were pregnant, if you really don't want to know the gender of your baby, and you want to be surprised that I'm not trying to stand in your way and you can feel free to move on to the next point.

However, by finding out and letting people know what you're having, you'll be likely to get some nice baby clothes and items passed down to you from family and friends who still have them from their kids of the same gender. Because here's what happens if those same people don't know your baby's gender. They may give you a few baby items that are gender neutral but will not give you gender specific items that you could be using. From birth on, by the time you have your baby, you already have to have other items and clothing ready and anything people have that they realize after the fact you can use may not get to you in the timeframe where you could actually use them. Now, I cannot guarantee that you will be gifted baby items from others during your pregnancy if you find out the genders, gender but I would say that most women who find out that gender until others before they have the baby will find that at least some people do pass things down to them who had the same sex baby.

And also just to know I do discuss in the baby shower sections course as well. Just some things to consider as far as if you want to do a baby gender reveal at your shower. In this way to save money. Don't open new baby items with a packaging on until later in your pregnancy and only if you need them and make returns on items you don't need. If you don't want to take stuff back people gave you I get it. I wouldn't suggest running around and telling everyone Hey, I'm going to take this stuff back You gave me no But any potential hurt feelings aside, people that genuinely care about you wouldn't want you lacking certain items while you have extra newborn clothes, diapers or other things that you won't be able to use.

And I nurtured stuff back because I was pickier didn't like it, I simply return things I wasn't going to be able to use. And you don't always just have to return things. If you're taking back diapers or clothing, you can likely exchange them for items in a different size that you can use. While I was pregnant with my first baby, I ended up getting extra baby items I didn't need. And this was only having less than 20 people at my shower total. I decided I wasn't going to open new baby items until until later to see if I need to come.

And I ended up being able to return over $100 worth of items that I didn't need. I was passed down a lot of us baby items. And by the way, I only kept in us things in good condition. I didn't keep stuff that was stained and so on. And so I ended up getting a lot of extra things I didn't need. So even returning things I still have things that I didn't have to To use before my daughter outgrew them.

So just some examples of things I took back. I got a ton of newborn in zero to six months I socks. And yes, you do need some socks but your baby does not need 40 pairs of newborn socks. I got a ton of bibs which my baby ended up not really even using even when she was at the age where I started using them, she wouldn't keep them on. I had way too many to begin with. I was given a ton of baby wash claws out of any time I've gotten behind on laundry I have never ever had a time where I don't have at least five to 10 clean ones still.

And that's what's taking some of them back. And I believe I also took back a pack of newborn diapers as well because I ended up having too many after she was born and she was in the next size before I could use them. So that's why it's good not to open more than one package of diapers at a time so that you know the size still fits before you get to the next box and hopefully you can take them back if they don't. So what if you don't know what store an item came from it Do you want to take it back? You can check the brand names on the packaging and do a simple online search. So for me, I just googled them like where are x bV brand items sold.

I only ever attempted to take back items that still had the packaging intact. And just to know if you're returning items to a store without receipts, which I did, and the items that weren't on the baby registry at the store, they'll often limit how much you can return within a certain dollar amount and or timeframe. So if you have more items than what they would allow that you need to return to get around this you could have someone else such as your husband or dad to be or a family member or friend return additional items for you separately if needed. So the sixth way to save money ask other moms you know with babies or toddlers who live in your area like coworkers, friends, neighbors, family etc. If they know places in the area that sell inexpensive or gently used maternity clothing and baby items and clothes.

So by asking this you may get one or both of the positive results below. One. They may tell you about places you can save money locally on As items or give you other money saving ideas, I guarantee you that if you ask enough moms, you'll find someone who gives you money saving tips that you wouldn't have thought of. And or they may offer to let you have or borrow their old maternity clothing or baby items. So asking about places that sell used clothing items may give this idea but you aren't outright asking them for things. So you're avoiding being awkward.

And of course, you don't want to expect that people would offer to give you stuff but some people will pass down gently used items if they realize that you still need those things. So the seventh way you can save money offer to pick up any used maternity or baby items that others mentioned they can give you. So unless someone already brings them to you or they set a definite time to drop them off to you, you can offer to pick them up from them and ask what is a good time for you to stop by as far as items that are too heavy for you to lift yourself because of course you can't be carrying heavy stuff while you're pregnant. You could bring your husband or a friend or family member to help you carry or move any bigger items when you go pick them up from Someone else if you don't have your own car, so you have someone who does can take you to pick up any needed baby items.

And then you'd also have an extra set of arms to take advantage of to. Of course, if there are really big items that won't fit in your car or the vehicle of whoever's taking you, such as a tall dresser, you'd have to figure out something else. But this generally will work for smaller items. If someone mentions they have stuff they can give you but say they need to go through the stuff they have first like in their atom, attic, basement, etc. And it's someone you know well enough and you're comfortable with, you could always offer to help them go through what they have and set a date or time to do so. So this eliminates procrastination.

By offering to pick things up from others and setting a time to do so you make it easier to get the free things and this ensures that you actually get them. If you had to buy things you would need to travel to a store to get them anyways unless you purchase everything online. So if someone is unable to give you an exact date or time for you to pick something up from them, you can check back with them later. You can make a reminder no On a physical or electronic calendar to check back with them in a week or a few weeks, depending on how much time you have left before your due date, and then try asking them again. You don't want to pester people of course, after giving them some time, you can still check in with them again, because they might have just forgotten we're all busy it happens.

So the eighth way you can save money after you've had your shower or gotten most of what you think you'll get from others. Check places like thrift stores, Craigslist, eBay, eBay for remaining baby items you need. I would say be really careful if you do use Craigslist or other places that sometimes have scam scammers and if you reply to a Craigslist ad and pick something up from someone, I recommend going during the day and taking your husband or dad to be or someone else with you. I have a female family member who uses Craigslist all the time and she's never been in any danger that we know of. But she has come across scammers occasionally and regardless you do just want to play it safe. But I have seen some really good deals on there for us baby items.

Thrift stores are also a great place to look for maternity folding. So a lot of times use maternity clothing will be in pretty good condition because women will generally only use these for a limited time and just when they're pregnant or maybe a little during the postpartum timeframe. The ninth way to save money when it comes to diapers, there are a few options you have for saving money. So I say pick one that works the best for you. So, the three options are one you could find a good price generic brand that you like, which is what I've been doing for the most part two if you really prefer a new name brand of diapers, take advantage of sales and combine them with coupons when possible. And or you can also take advantage of diaper points programs.

Like tops for example has its own diaper points program and some of the individual diaper brands I believe, Pampers and Huggies, some some other ones may have me do this as well. Or three you could use cloth diapers for some are all the time. I'm not gonna lie I personally never did this with cloth diapers. That's where I personally draw the line with thrifty, but a lot of moms have and they swear by it. And my goal of this course is to offer unbiased tips and suggestions that you can consider and see what works for you. So if you're thinking of trying this with a cloth diapers, you can start whenever you want.

But you might want to wait until your babies a little older, like two or three months for three reasons. One, there's a good chance people will give you several packs of smaller size diapers to hold your baby off for a while. So you may not need to buy newborn diapers regardless, to newborn and younger babies go more often, which means you'd be washing more in the beginning. And it's also kind of crazy, trying to keep up with everything in that stage when you already have a newborn in three disposable diapers become more expensive per diaper with bigger sizes. So I personally think it's most cost effective to use cloth diapers later, especially if people have already given you divers for when they're younger as we just talked about and point number one. But again, you could start this whenever you want.

Never depending on what you're comfortable with. So if you plan on using cloth diapers and people to buy you disposable ones, you can likely return those and put the money towards something else. Although you may want to wait until your baby's born before you decide for sure to stick with cloth diapers or not, because you may change your mind once you actually start using them. The 10th way to save money for maternity clothing, you don't always need to buy or use official maternity clothing. Sometimes just a larger size will work especially in your first and second trimesters. So I have found that larger size shirts work pretty well for me personally.

But maternity clothing may sometimes look better simply because it's designed to work with a pregnant figure not just someone who weighs a little bit more. However, I do think that maternity jeans and pants are much more comfortable on this far is getting actual maternity instead of just a bigger size of regular pants. So pants are the one thing I would suggest always buying actual maternity clothes for 11 try to wait until you start to need maternity clothing before you purchase everything or anything. I will say with one exception unless it's clothing specifically designed to grow with you. And I don't mean that you should wait until you have no clothes left to wear. But by waiting until things just start to get a little snug, you may be able to find maternity or bigger size clothing that will work for how your body is personally growing.

So something you buy way ahead of time is not necessarily going to fit you well once your belly grows and you start gaining weight. Although maternity clothing is designed with a pregnant body in mind, not all pregnant women have exactly the same shape or carry most of their weight in the same spot. So two women that are both six months pregnant and both weigh 150 pounds may have completely different shapes, even if they're on the same height. And just like you may find for regular woman's clothing, you may want to try things on and find things that flatter you the right way. And you may find that this is also the case With maternity clothing for myself personally, I noticed there were parts of my body that had been out of it while I was pregnant while other areas like my belly, of course grew significantly.

So I do think sometimes you're better off waiting until you can start to use maternity clothing. And then you can get things as you start to need them preferably clothing that currently works, but so leaves you a little bit room to grow as you gain a little bit more weight. And you may need to go on maternity clothes, shopping a little more often by doing it this way, but the goal is that you actually spend less because anything you buy will fit you well and flatter you. So additional tips I have for us to baby items. Be careful if you get things like a crib or car seat that was previously used. You want to make sure that they're still in safe condition.

You'll want to check that there hasn't been a recall and you'll want to know exactly how to set them up and install them. If you get something like a car seat secondhand, you would want to see if you could get the manual with it or look up the manual online or get a copy from the manufacturer of possible or just be shown from the previous owner how to set it up. And also for use car seat you don't want to get one that's been an accident. And you also want to make sure it's not expired most car seats will have an expiration date on the very bottom of them at least if they're sold in the US. car seats bouncers swing some strollers and some other baby items will often have a removable liner that can be washed and this is great for when you're giving used items because then you can easily just wash this and then feel okay about placing your baby in there.

I also recommend checking used clothing for stains and worn out areas and doing this in good lighting. Because sometimes use clothing in thrift stores will have spots on them or holes are worn out sections in the fabric. So just check them well before you buy them. And also this can also happen with us clothing the others give you I personally use some baby onesies people gave me that were stained as burp rags instead of buying more Burp Burp rise, and this worked pretty well for me. Certain people do certain things and they want them back. After you're done using them, make sure you make a note somewhere of exactly what they let you borrow to remind yourself to return them after your baby outgrows them.

Otherwise you may forget what came from who and who wanted what back. So to do next, download the money saving workbook, use page one of the workbook to estimate your pregnancy and baby expenses. And depending on how much you get paid, you could use either the monthly savings plan on page four or the weekly bi weekly savings plan to figure out how much you need to save for the remainder of your pregnancy. And then fill out the rest of the workbook and when you're ready, move on to the next section and this course is applicable to you.