Today, in this collaborative post we are talking about saving money when shopping for you and your baby when you are pregnant. It’s an exciting time but also a time when you may want to be aware of your financial options and what is out there to help you save money.
The average pregnant woman today will spend about £1786 on her baby. We are here to show you how you can save half of that.
Some people may not realize that the financial demands that come along with having a baby kick in very early. From the moment that your pregnancy test is shown to be positive, the chances are good that your bank account will be feeling the impact. Not only will you start investing in prenatal supplements but you will usually start to browse Baby Gap. Roughly two thirds of pregnant women will turn to their credit cards, while about a quarter of them will have financial issues after the child is born. If you use our helpful tips, you will be able to stay on top of your funds when the baby arrives.
Maternity Leave Income
The maternity leave income you have will generally impact your approach on pregnancy spending. As an employee, you can talk with your HR department about the maternity policy at your company. You will be entitled to a period of time of full pay, sometimes weeks or months, before you move onto the SMP, or Statutory Maternity Pay. This will equal out to 90% of the average weekly earnings that you get before tax, over the first six weeks. During the remaining 33 weeks, it will be £136.78, or 90% of the earnings you have, if it is less.
If you are someone who is self-employed, you could qualify for a Maternity Allowance, which is £136.78 per week over 39 weeks. When you visit gov.uk, you will find information on what you are eligible for. For some people, even cutting back on just one or two of the regular daily spends like hot drinks, takeaway or snacks, can have a great impact on your savings.
Pregnancy Freebies
While you may not feel like joining some of the schemes that pose a threat to your email inbox, there are a lot of baby clubs that will send you a steady stream of coupons that you can spend on baby and maternity goods. Some of them may even send you free samples or gifts, just for signing up, sites like WOW Free Stuff have an amazing freebie range.
When you join everything that you can, from Toys R Us and their mother and baby club to Sainsbury’s Little Ones, you will save roughly £50 each month after your newborn arrives, and about half of that during your pregnancy. You can take time to go through and edit your settings so that you only get a weekly email, which will come along with a great deal of money saving opportunities.
You can also look for regular baby events with different vendors, including Kiddiecare, Tesco and Asda. They will usually slash the pricing on everyday essentials and some of the bigger ticket items by about 50%. Some flash sale sites such as zulily.co.uk and savvymummys.co.uk will have incredible deals to dive into.
Utilise The NHS
Your pregnancy will bring you into close contact with the NHS, as you will be eligible for dental treatment and prescriptions during your pregnancy that can save you about £40 for checkups. You will also get it for 12 months after your child is born. Once you reach your second trimester, the midwife can book you in for antenatal classes at your local hospital free of charge. While they are more basic than private classes, which can cost about £100 for just a 12 hour course, they will help you to understand options for birthing and give you valuable information.
Take the time to see if you are eligible for Healthy Start vouchers at healthystart.nhs.uk. If you are getting certain benefits like child tax credit or income support, or if you are under 18, you can get vouchers for vitamins, milk, infant formula and more.
Smart Shopping
The fact of the matter is that your baby is only going to need a few things over the first few months. You will need a sleep space and a car seat, but even a pram may not be necessary if you are happy enough with a sling. You could save over £100 if you stay away from buying some of the non-essentials, such as fancy bedding and expensive gadgets. There are also items, like a moses basket and others, that you will not need for ever. Think about hiring them from thebabyloft.co.uk and you could save around £50.
When you are buying online, use a shopbot that will help you to find the best pricing, such as pricerunner.co.uk. If you do purchase new, you will see that you can go through cash back sites such as quidco.com where they put a cash percentage on shopping into your account that you can use later on.
And Don’t forget 2nd hand! You can save so much on big ticket items that way.