Here are some of the best ideas we’ve collected for saving money. Remember, too, that generous friends and family will probably bestow you with some very nice gifts of clothing, toys, gift cards, maybe even cash, so resist the temptation to run out and buy a lot of things. You may want to wait until after the baby is born to see what you really need.

1. Start a gently used baby co-op with friends and family. In an ideal world, you might wish everything could be new, but the truth is babies outgrow clothing, chairs, and even blankets in a very short time. We found one group of friends who have a baby shower every time a new baby is expected. Instead of buying something new, they gather up all their gently used baby clothing, accessories, and furniture and bring it to the shower. Some items have been through the whole group more than once, but every baby ends up with a closetful of clothes and the new mother doesn’t have to buy a thing.

2. Wait until you actually need an object to buy it. You may need far less than you’ve been told you will. For example, household objects are more fun than most of those store-bought toys all the mothers in the neighborhood are telling you about. One mother told us she put all her plastic storage bowls and lids in a box, and her toddler spent hours taking them out and putting them back in the box. As a bonus, the bowls and lids are not toxic, not sharp, and don’t have small parts that can come off in a little mouth. One exception to this is clothes. Take advantage of end of season sales to stock up un next year’s needs. Buy summer clothing for next year in the fall sales. This takes a little planning, but is a great way to save money.

3. Are you buying for you or for the baby. Fancy crib bedding is for your benefit and not really necessary. If you can afford it, great, but if it’s going to make a hole in your budget that you can’t fill, settle for something more generic at a lower price. The most important thing for your baby is that you keep the bedding clean. He or she won’t mind if the crib sheets don’t have a designer look. That goes for baby furniture as well. There is no need to sink hundreds of dollars into a fancy oak crib, no matter how gorgeous it looks in the store. Popular low-price and discount stores often have furniture for a fraction of the price. It may not be as chic as the cribs in the fancier stores, but you’ll be glad you didn’t spend the money when you move your toddler to a twin bed in a year or two.

4. If you can find used baby items at a thrift store, that’s even better. Many cities now have thrift stores that deal exclusively in baby items. One father told us he found a great stroller at a baby thrift store for only $25. Now that’s a real deal! Websites like Craigslist.com are also great resources for finding second-hand items available in locations close to you. The site lists individuals that have items for sale as well as businesses. You contact the seller personally to make the purchase so you don’t have to worry about entering your banking or credit card information online. Ebay.com is also another good resource, especially for finding used fancy clothing for weddings or holidays.

5. Talk to friends and family about what worked and what didn’t work. Other parents are a great source of baby product information. Find someone who has similar tastes and spending habits to you. A friend who buys every new gadget is not going to give you good tips on essentials. Your friends may have disagreements on what they like, but at least you’ll get an idea of what worked for different people and be able to make an informed decision. Another way to stunt your new appetite for spending is to ask yourself: Did this exist a few years ago? With all of the new products being marketed to parents, it can be tempting to spend money on unnecessary products. One way to judge an item’s use is to ask whether it existed a few years ago or when you were a baby. If not, it’s very possible you can get along just fine without it.

6. Join baby product clubs and communities. Most major baby products companies, e.g., Gerber, Similac, Pampers, Huggies, and others have websites where you can sign up to receive coupons for and samples of their products. If you sign up, you’ll receive coupons in the mail or by e-mail. Parents we talked to reported getting coupons for savings as high as $5.00. That’s pretty low effort on your part for some nice savings opportunities. Some companies like Similac send the coupons in the form of a check so low-price stores like Costco accept the checks. This gives you a double savings—the amount of the coupon and the lower price the discount store offers.

7. Check the weekly mail promotions for deals on diapers and other baby essentials. Newborns use as many as 10 diapers a day, which can be quite an expense. If you don’t take the paper, perhaps you could ask someone who does—a friend or family member—to save the coupons for you. Drugstores also send out circulars now with good savings on products. If you can’t find someone to save the coupons for you, you may be able to pick up copies of the circulars at the store itself. You can also ask the customer service department at your local grocery store if they have any special baby clubs. They may have money-back rebates when you purchase certain quantities of baby products. Another good source for coupons for baby supplies is your pediatrician’s office. Next time you visit, ask about coupons or samples they have available.

8. Make your own baby food (much easier than it sounds). Did you know you can make your own baby food and it is more nutritious and definitely less expensive than store-bought baby food? Parents often feel there must be something especially good about baby food from famous brands that justifies the high price. Not true. There is nothing magical about baby food. Adult foods that are similar in consistency to baby foods are just as good, but cost much less. One jar of baby food carrots, for example, costs about the same as a whole pound of fresh carrots. Baby food in jars offers convenience, but you can find small plastic storage containers that work just as well and you can use them over and over again.

A really great method for storing homemade baby food is in the freezer. Freeze food that you puree, such as steamed vegetables and fruits, in ice cube trays. This way you will have premeasured one-ounce portions of food. Just fill the trays and cover them with plastic wrap to freeze. After the food is frozen, remove the cubes from the tray and store them in plastic freezer bags marked with the date. When you’re ready to thaw the food for eating, place the amount you need in the refrigerator. It will thaw in about four hours.

Don’t thaw food at room temperature. If you need the food faster than four hours, you can thaw the food by placing the cubes in a small bowl and then placing the small bowl in a larger bowl that has hot water in it. This method takes about twenty minutes. If the pureed food is a little too thick for your baby, just add water or formula to the desired consistency.

Ways to Keep Shopping Impulses under Control

• • Always keep an ongoing list of things you need to buy on your next trip to any store. Review the list before you leave, and remember to take it with you!

• • Make as few trips to the store as possible each month, and avoid the malls entirely.

• • Give yourself a time limit for how to quickly get in and out of the store, along with a personal challenge to not buy anything that’s not on your list.

• • Avoid sales except for necessities. It’s too easy to justify impulse items when they’re on sale.

• • Beware of give-away gimmicks that entice us to buy things we don’t need.

• • Ask a friend to be a shopping buddy to help you stick to your budget.

• • Develop a desire for meaningful experiences rather than things.

Budget More Than Your Money

When children come into the home, more than your budget is affected. So is your time. It doesn’t take long to realize that you won’t be able to get all the things done that you could before you had a baby. This can lead to a lot of frustration for some parents. When dad arrives home from work to find the floor strewn with toys and dinner only half ready, mom can feel like she’s underachieving. One way to help combat those feelings is to allow yourself a set amount of time for each task you want to do during the day. A lot can be accomplished in 30 minutes so that might be a good place to start. First, make a list of what you’d like to get done in a day. Second, pick the four most important things on the list. Third, choose two hours during the day when you are most likely to have time that’s not required by the baby. Fourth, during those two hours, set the timer for 30 minutes and work on your first task. When the timer goes off, stop that task whether you’re finished or not and move on to the next task. You might be surprised by how much you get accomplished.

Another thing that helps is to write down all the tasks you do during the day as you do them. Include things like bathed the baby, fed the baby, baby’s laundry, etc. At the end of the day, you’ll see that you’ve actually done a great deal. You can feel better about how you’re spending your time.