Budget for New Baby Tight? How to Prepare for Your Little One Without Spending a Fortune

Is your budget for new baby tight? We get it; babies are expensive. Every time you turn around, you need to buy something else. Watching money fly out the window when preparing for your bundle of joy can stress you out.

The good news is, you’ve come to the right place because we’re here to help you save some bucks with tips on how to stock your nursery and get the gear you need when you’re on a tight budget.

If you want to learn ways to get discounted or free diapers, a free breast pump, onesies for about $1, or free children’s books, read on.

How to Budget for New Baby Diapers

Trust us; you’re going to need a lot of diapers. Here you can find ways to get discounted or free diapers for your little one.

1. Get diapers and wipes when they’re 50% off or more.

If you can get at least a 50% discount on diapers and wipes, you’re getting a stock-up price as far as we’re concerned!

You’ll see the deepest discounts on brand names because of regular diaper coupons that manufacturers like Kimberly Clark and P&G put out. Combine these with store sales, and you’ll be able to save 50% pretty easily.

Download the KCL app and we’ll tell you when it’s time to print Huggies coupons or Pampers coupons and which store to shop so you can stack a coupon with a sale for the deepest savings.

KCL Stock-Up Prices:

• Huggies jumbo packs: $4
• Huggies 56-count wipes: $0.99
• Pampers jumbo packs: $5
• Pampers 56-count wipes: $1.49
• Store-brand jumbo packs: $3

2. Don’t be diaper-brand loyal — go with whatever brand offers coupons and sales.

This is a Couponing 101 lesson — you’ll save the most money possible if you’re not brand loyal. Instead, buy the brand that has the sale you can stack with a current coupon.

That’s usually a brand like Huggies or Pampers, but sometimes Target offers a store promotion on their store brand, Up&Up. If Up&Up brand diapers hit stock-up prices, be prepared to pull the trigger even if you tend to buy Huggies.

3. Stock up on Huggies diapers and wipes at Target.

Target offers some sort of week-long baby promotion about once a month.

Discounts vary, but they’re typically along the lines of “Spend $100 on a Baby Department purchase and receive a $25 Target gift card.” During these promotions, plan to buy your wipes as well in order to reach the minimum spend.

The other type of discount on Huggies at Target is “Buy 2 Huggies Super Packs and receive a $10 Target gift card.” When you can use Huggies coupons with these sales, it results in about a 50% discount on Huggies.

To help you budget for new baby stuff, sign up for a Target RedCard for an additional 5% savings.

4. Request free diaper samples from Cuties.

via Facebook

Visit Cuties.com and fill out their request form to receive your free diaper sample in the mail in about seven to 10 days.

5. Get free diapers through the National Diaper Bank Network.

The National Diaper Bank Network and its community partners provide free diapers for those in need. To determine your eligibility, contact your nearest diaper bank.

How to Budget for New Baby Breastfeeding Needs

Whether you’re looking for breast pads, a pump, or baby formula, this is the section to learn how to save huge on these items.

6. Buy reusable breast pads for $0.95 each.

Instead of spending money on expensive nursing pads, why not buy several reusable ones for $0.95 each? Visit BreastPads.com and apply the code 10FORFREE to receive a $35 credit. A 4-pack, or two pairs, of breast pads is $7. You get 10 pairs free, but you’ll have to pay $18.92 shipping, which comes out to $1.90 a pair or $0.95 a pad.

7. Find out if your insurance will cover the cost of a breast pump. (Most will!)

If you have a Marketplace insurance plan, you can get a breast pump for free. Many employer-based insurance companies will spot you the money to buy a pump, although it’ll be subject to your specific company and plan.

You can visit a website for the brand of pump you want to buy to see if your insurance covers it.

For example, Lansinoh will help you quickly determine if your insurance covers the cost of their pumps. Just enter your state and insurance company to find local suppliers. Or call your insurance company directly to find out if you’re covered!

8. Create your own sale on CVS brand formula using ExtraBucks.

Infant formula coupons are notoriously hard to come by, and the best way to save money is to create your own sales.

One way to consistently do this is to use ExtraBucks you earn from other CVS shopping trips as cash toward your infant formula. Plus, look for rebate offers through Ibotta — they’re higher value than brand-name formula offers.

For example, we’ve seen an Ibotta offer for $6 off CVS Infant Formula, compared to $3.50 off Similac Infant Formula.

If there’s no Ibotta rebate, consider getting a discounted gift card from Raise to spend at CVS to save up to 3.5% on top of other coupons and discounts.

How to Budget for New Baby Gear

Baby gear is krazy expensive. We’ve got some savings tips for you so you don’t go broke buying things like a stroller and mattress.

9. Ask for Amazon’s price on baby gear at Target.

You can use the Amazon app to scan items and compare prices as you shop at other stores like Target. Target will actually match Amazon’s price on identical baby gear brands like Owlet, Nuna, Thule, Munchkin, and more.

If you’re shopping in store, you might as well ask for a price match and get it for Amazon’s price. For example:

• Target: Munchkin Bluetooth-Enabled Baby Swing, $198.50
• Amazon: Munchkin Bluetooth-Enabled Lightweight Baby Swing, $175.24

10. Shop travel gear from Albee Baby to save over 20% on retailers’ prices like Kohl’s.

To help you keep your budget for new baby stuff legit, shop around for baby gear. For example, Albee Baby is a little-known online retailer that sells popular brands like Maxi-Cosi, Britax, Nuna, and more for lower prices than regular retail stores.

Which makes it a great place to score a deal on travel gear like car seats, strollers, and travel systems.

For example, Albee Baby sells a Britax B-Free Premium Stroller for $289.99. The same stroller at Kohl’s is $399.99, and you can’t use coupons on it. That’s $110 in savings.

11. Trade in an old car seat at Target and get a 20% off car seat coupon.

Twice a year, Target runs the Car Seat Trade-in Event. In 2023, the most recent Target Car Seat Trade-In happened in April, but the next one should be in September.

The event lasts for about three weeks, and you can bring in any old car seat to Target. When you turn it in, Target recycles the car seats and gives you a 20% off coupon you can use on a future car seat purchase.

TIP: First-time baby? Ask around and see if any of your friends have a car seat they’re not using that you can trade in for the coupon.

12. Buy a crib mattress at Walmart.

Need a mattress? Buy it at Walmart to save between $6.99 to $24.99 over Target and Ikea.

Crib mattress

• Walmart: $35
• Target: $41.99
• Ikea: $59.99

How to Budget for New Baby Clothing

Babies don’t care how much their clothes cost or what they look like — that’ll happen soon enough. For now, shop clearance sales and save.

13. Buy Gerber onesies for about $1.

Watch for Target and Walmart clearance sales at least once a year when you can buy Gerber baby onesies for about $1. Also, look for a Gerber coupon or a rebate offer that you can use during the clearance sale. Here’s a deal example from June 2022:

14. Don’t buy Baby Gap clothes unless you can get them for 75% off.

Seasons move so fast in retail, and at the end of every season, Baby Gap marks items down like crazy and then offers 40% off on top of marked prices.

Look for seasonal 40% off sales during January, April, July, October, and December.

Or shop online during Black Friday when you can get everything in the store for an additional 50% off sale prices. Here’s a deal from Jan. 2021:

How to Get More Baby Freebies

Who doesn’t love freebies? Here are a few other freebies we couldn’t fit into our other categories; enjoy.

15. Get free baby books from Imagination Library, Archive.org, and more.

We found several places that offer free children’s books! Check these out:

• Imagination Library: IF you’re lucky enough to have this program near you, your child can get a book for free every month.
• Archive.org: They have a large digital collection of children’s books that you can read for free.
• The Library of Congress: Read free digital classics.
• Free Kindle books: Enjoy free Kindle edition children’s books from Amazon.

16. Sign up for samples, baby books, baby freebies, and more.

Be sure to sign up for all these baby freebies, and you’ll score free diapers, formula samples, a nursing cover, baby books, and more!