It’s hard to gauge how much everything’s gonna cost when you have a baby. We know every parent desires to give their precious little one everything that they have, but there is a limit to our resources too (yup, we meant the money bit). Fret not though, with a little forward planning, you can still make the most out of your expenses. Here are some simple ways to fully maximise your spendings with the arrival of a newborn:
Don’t look down on hand-me-downs
Have a friend who has an older kid? Great! Ask your friend if he/she could pass down his/her kid’s clothes that have been outgrown. We all know that kids outgrow their clothes very fast. It would be a waste having to constantly buy new clothes which they can wear for only a short period of time.
By reusing baby clothes, you not only get to save on clothing, both you and your friend are doing your bit for the environment too.
You can even extend this arrangement to another parent friend with a younger child.
This doesn’t only apply to baby clothes, of course. If your friend’s child has outgrown his or her baby cot and stroller, check if you can have it!
Image from Shutterstock
Upsize!
As much as we advocate reusing, we know many parents cannot resist shopping for new clothes for their soon-to-be-born babies. (Look at all those cute baby clothes!)
If you must buy, keep in mind to buy bigger sizes for your little one. Going for clothes in the nine to 12 months old range would do your savings a lot of good.
What’s more, you are likely to receive newborn clothes as gifts from friends and families too.
Image from Shutterstock
The NTUC Good Start Bundle (GSB)
One of the few bundles with essentials and perks that benefits parents and their newborn would be the NTUC Good Start Bundle (GSB).
The NTUC Good Start Bundle is free for all parents with children born between the year 2016 and 2019. Upon registering, you are entitled to goodies such as complimentary entries to The Little Skool-House Early Literacy Centre, a Plus! Card and exclusive rates for birthday celebration packages. Also, when your baby is above six months old, you’ll receive a FairMily kit worth up to S$100. All you have to do is sign up for the bundle here.
The key to a child’s development is definitely a good education. With the GSB, your child will enjoy complimentary entries (worth S$180) to The Little Skool-House Early Literacy Centre (ELC) on Thursdays. The ELC is specially designed by The Little Skool-House’s early childhood education specialists, featuring interactive learning zones for children to discover languages and literacy in a fun way. You can also get the Early Experience Matter: Mother Tongue Reader or Parent-Child Activity Book from NTUC First Campus when you attend Embracing PArenthood Community Celebration events held by People’s Association.
The complimentary Plus! Card (for non Plus! members) lets you earn LinkPoints at various shops and you can redeem the LinkPoints for rewards such as dining and lifestyle vouchers. To give you a peace of mind, a complimentary one-year health insurance is included as part of the GSB for your baby. That’s not all, celebrate your baby’s first month or first birthday at Downtown East with exclusive rates just for you.
All in all, the NTUC Good Start Bundle is worth over S$300. And, the best part is it’s free for Singapore citizen babies born between 2016 and 2019. Yup, you don’t have to fork out a single cent. As the saying goes, the best things in life are free!
FairPrice FairMily Kit
Items may differ, depending on stock availability
Items included in FairPrice FairMily Kit
Early Experiences Matter: Mother Tongue Reader from NTUC First Campus
Exclusive Birthday Celebration Packages at Downtown East
Complimentary entry to The Little Skool-House Early Literacy Centre
Plus! card for non-Plus! members
Image from plus.com.sg
Shutterstock Image
Complimentary one-year health insurance coverage from Income
Long Live Meal Preps
Eating out eats into your wallet. To save money, it’s often more economical and healthier to prepare your own meals at home. After all, you would know what goes into your baby’s food when you prepare it yourself.
Need ideas for baby food? Here are some easy-to-prep ones that you can try:
- Barley cereal: Blend barley into a thin smooth paste with apples without skin and serve warm
- Sweet beverage: Blend your desired portion of sweet potatoes and mix it with apple juice
- Mango milkshake: Blend mango chunks and add choice of breast milk or formula milk
Do not fret if your baby doesn’t finish his or her meal; half a tablespoon sized portion should suffice when it comes to solid foods.
If you wish to make the above recipes a bit chunky or wish to offer your baby solid foods, offer it to your baby with your clean and washed finger, just like a spoon. This would help your baby get used to solid foods.
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Have you more money-saving ideas to share? Drop a comment below to share with us!
