Ah maternity leave. A year “off”! You have loads of time on your hands. You’re off work. A whole year away from the day job. Woohoo! Yet on the flip side, you have a new baby, you’re hanging out your ass with tiredness and you have no money! Or at least limited resources depending on what statutory maternity pay you’re entitled to. If you were organised and managed to save a bit pre-baby then great. But I know for most of us, we need to watch the pennies while away from the nine to five. Today we’re sharing a few practical tips for ways you can save money while on maternity leave. Be sure to share any money-saving tips with us in the comments and on social media too!
Buy and Sell Second hand
It’s a no brainer really but consider buying things second hand. Often clothes, toys and whatnot have hardly been used. I know personally that a lot of my son’s newborn baby clothes were literally worn once. We had so many and he grew out of them super fast. Also, consider selling all your junk too – Facebook market place, eBay, car boot sales, nearly new markets – there are loads of places.
Car boot sales
Car boot sales are a great place for finding cheap toys and clothes. I go to our local one most Sunday mornings for a mooch. And I’ve picked up some amazing bargains. Branded t-shirts and baby clothes for literally 10p here and 20p there.
Facebook marketplace
Have a nose through your local Facebook marketplace. I’ve picked up a number of bulkier baby toys. Some items would cost well over £40 new, yet I’ve never paid more than a tenner for things. So think play mats, walkers, bouncers and chairs.
eBay
I don’t mind eBay but I always find the postage costs make the purchase less appealing! It depends what I’m looking for but I don’t tend to buy much on eBay. I do however use it for selling all the bits I don’t need. Baby clothes go well, as do any smaller items you can post. I also don’t mind having to post stuff because it means we have an aim for the day and walk lots!
Audit any subscriptions
Have a good look at all your monthly outgoings. Do you need Prime, Now, Netflix AND Spotify? If not, ditch them. You can always sign up, one at a time, each month.
Toys
I can’t stress this enough! Don’t waste money on countless toys! You can pick up good quality toys for pennies at car boot sales and in charity shops. Also, you’ll find family members like to buy lots of toys and clothes. You’ll also find that as the baby gets bigger, they are more interested in your car keys, Vaseline tin and old tissues from the bottoms of your handbag!
Clothes
I was really fortunate to have a sister who’d had two boys and had a lot of beautiful Next baby and toddler clothes going spare! If you don’t have a sibling to nab stuff off, look at buying these second hand as you can get some real bargains.
Use your Children’s Centre
One big bit of advice if you’re new to this parenting lark is to go find out where your local Children’s Centre is. They will run baby groups for a small fee, and they also sell donated clothes for 50p or so. And you might make some friends too!
Are you currently on maternity leave or about to finish work? What are your money-saving tips? Make sure you share with us on social and don’t forget to pin this post for later!
