The real secret to managing your baby budget? Understanding the low down and dirty practices of the baby product industry!
What kind of sick joke was this?
I gasped at the price of the baby crib and my right leg almost gave out from the shock!
My stomach felt sick as hell, but my wife had a big smile on her face and was almost vibrating with excitement.
“See hun, it’s on sale!”, she crowed with delight.
I almost popped an eyeball trying to hold back blurting out what I was thinking in that moment.
It would have gone something like “are you insane or is the baby eating away all your brain matter?”
Somehow, I don’t think that would have gone over too well and I wanted my wife to enjoy the experience of buying our first crib.
However, I instantly regretted not speaking my mind as we walked out of that den of thieves much poorer than when we walked in.
Jackass!
At the time, my wife and I didn’t have much money, and we were living in a modest one-bedroom apartment.
This was my baptism by fire into the seedy world of baby products, but unfortunately my wife and I would fall victim to this billion-dollar money sucking industry quite often.
If you want to avoid becoming the next casualty of this wretched industry, keep reading!
What should my baby budget and savings look like?
This is quite a popular question among many first-time parents, and how much you need to save is obviously going to be based upon your financial picture.
Some first-time parents can plan well ahead to have a baby, others may have little time to prepare, and a significantly lower income.
Having a child is a long-term expense, and while I would encourage you to work out a baby budget with your partner, your ultimate goal should be to focus on essentials and self-control, no matter how much money you make.
Therefore, even if you have the means to set a bigger budget, I am going to assume that you don’t like to throw money away.
If you do, I can send you my Venmo info!
Keep in mind that it is quite common for new parents to blow way past their budget, and then rack up bad debt.
However, I’m going to help you avoid this kind of misfortune by spilling a dirty little secret:
The baby product industry thinks you are a sucker, and they will prey on both your insecurities and excitement about being a new parent.
Make sure you let that sink in, chump!
Does that piss you off?
I hope so!
Please don’t get duped into buying thousands of dollars’ worth of baby products your child won’t need.
Be a wise consumer and avoid the trap set by these companies to try and use your emotions against you!
Self-control and education are your weapons to prevent this industry from robbing you blind.
Do your homework and understand what the essentials are for your baby, and make your mantra one simple phrase:
“Does my baby really need this?”
These six magical words will literally save you thousands of dollars over the years, and that’s not hyperbole!
It’s this kind of restraint that is kryptonite to the shady marketing practices employed by the baby product industry.
What are the baby product essentials I should buy?
While it isn’t exactly this simplistic, your newborn isn’t going to need much more beyond a place to sleep, some clothes to keep her warm, and a car seat/stroller to get around in.
You will also need other essentials like:
- Diapers
- Butt cream
- Bottles
- Baby monitor
- Baby bathtub
- Crib mattress, etc.
With your big-ticket items, such as the crib, stroller and car seat, there are always ways to save money if you do your research.
Self-control and education are your weapons to prevent this industry from robbing you blind.
You don’t necessarily have to drop $500-1k+ on a crib for your newborn. Playyards and bassinets are much cheaper and are perfectly suitable sleeping areas for your baby.
Car seats and strollers can always be found at bargain rates if you look for closeout models, which can save you hundreds of dollars in some cases.
Asking friends and family members for unwanted baby items can also save you bundles of cash.
In particular, ask loved ones to save baby/kids clothes for your child. We used to store a dozen or more bins stuffed full of children’s clothes in our attic, which helped outfit my kids for 7-8 years.
This trick alone easily saved us around 7-10k, because as you will soon find out, kid’s clothes are a huge scam with inflated prices!
Another hefty expense will be diapers, as your child will likely use 7,000+ diapers before you can potty train them.
Diapers rarely have any kind of closeout sales, but name brands like Pampers and Luvs have loyalty programs you can join to get coupons and other savings. You won’t find massive deals this way, but the savings really do add up over the years.
Finally, if your partner doesn’t want to breastfeed, or you need to supplement your baby’s breastmilk diet, formula could be another significant expense.
The best way to save here is buying the powdered form or going the generic route, which I discuss further in my book “Raising Daddy: The Ultimate Quickstart Guide for Expectant Dads”.
Baby products that are more optional than essential
The amount of baby products you can waste your money on go well beyond the scope of this article, but here is a list of items you can easily get by without:
- Changing station – this is more a product of convenience, as you will spend the bulk of your time changing your baby on a bed, couch or even the floor.
- Diaper bags – I have a vendetta against diaper bags, because they are nothing more than a big scam. If you have an old backpack laying around, it will do the same trick and save you $70-100!
- Crib bedding sets – this is another con that not only robs your pocketbook, it can also put your baby at risk for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Just buy a mattress sheet!
- Nursery chairs – your partner doesn’t need a special chair to nurse your baby. If you have a tight budget, just skip the nursery chair.
- Baby shoes – yet another waste of money. Baby shoes will hamper your child’s ability to learn how to walk, and you won’t need to invest in a pair until they have started walking well on their own.
I could go on an endless rant about the baby product industry and how they shakedown new parents but ultimately, I hope you now understand it’s all a big racket.
Knowledge is power and understanding that first-time parents should focus their budget on baby essentials, not emotional buys, will put you well ahead of the game!
