Believe And Budget
Money Talk with The Maloneys
How living tiny with a baby has saved us hundreds!
Whenever you think you are ready for kids, you will not really ever prepared for kids. They are a lot of work no matter how much money you save up for in a baby fund, but living tiny has helped us save so much money!
We want to share with you some tips we have learned by living tiny with a baby that has saved us hundreds compared to others. These will help you too even if you do not live tiny!
Let’s dive in…
Tip 1 – A Diaper Fund
Tip 2 – Make the gender a surprise
Tip 3 – Find a friend/family member to borrow clothes from
Tip 4 – Only buy a few books
Tip 5 – Go to the Library to get new books every week
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Tip 6 – Do not buy a million toys
Tip 7 – Buy used toys off of the marketplace with multi-purpose
Tip 8 – A pack and play does wonders for a crib
Tip 9 – Cute baskets are a great dresser
Tip 10 – You don’t need all the “things” people tell you, you need!!
These tips I have summarized up top and will go into more details below, but we hope you are not overwhelmed because you are having a baby and did not plan on it (like us!) Or you did plan on it and still are overwhelmed and excited, but you’re on a budget!
Tip 1 – A Diaper Fund
This was one of the best decisions we could have done. We opened a diaper fund on Amazon and had our family and friends give to it for our diapers. We had quite a bit in it and it lasted us about 6 months. We recommend using this too, however diapers are cheaper at the store we have found plus you can usually find coupons!
I will also add to this my cousin did a diaper party and got a bunch of diapers, but if you did not know you do not use that many boxes in the first month or two because there are so many. However, once you get to the Size 3, 4, and I am sure 5, 6, and 7 too. You will be spending more for less in the mega boxes.
We usually budget so far 1 large box a month. (We are still on size 3 as of writing this post)
Want to budget for your baby? Check out the budgeting tool that helps so many build over a $10,000 baby fund!
Tip 2 – Make the gender a surprise
Oh, did this help me!
We thought Ember was going to be a boy, so we bought a few gender-neutral items for her. However, if I knew it was a girl before she came I would have bought so many bows, clothes, and honestly a bunch a crap we did not need or use!
Beware – when you find out!
The first couple weeks we had Ember and I knew it was a girl…I was like we need to buy PINK stuff! Really, though I would have been fine without it all.
It is good to be surprised, and plus it is exciting to have your spouse tell you what it is after you’ve pushed and gone through the pain!
Tip 3 – Find a friend/family member to borrow clothes from
We are so lucky to have my sister who has three kids already, because when we went back home she gave us a lot of clothes!
My sister even said, these are all hand-me-downs or presents from family and friends for the kids.
We got so excited and bought items off of the marketplace but really did not need to!
Oh! Yes! We definitely recommend – no matter how cute they are – to not buy shoes for babies.
We are six months still not walking and not wearing shoes! My mom bought us one pair of shoes and we have worn them maybe once or twice for a photo! To be honest, I hope they fit when she can walk!
Until then, we are not buying shoes for her.
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Tip 4 – Only buy a few books
Yes, you want to be a wonderful parent! I did too!
I personally did not like reading growing up or writing for that matter, but I wanted my kid to grow up enjoying both.
We received so many books from the baby shower, which I am glad because we could read them to her! However, don’t buy a bunch because you will get bored of them fast. We even traded some of the books already at the little house library’s and with friends to read different books at night.
Onto the next tip, and one I love because it’s free!
Tip 5 – Go to the Library to get new books every week!
Yes, this is why you should only buy a few books.
We live in a pretty big city and have only visited one library, but wow is it nice! We got 4 books last week and read them! Ember likes to eat the books, so I have to be careful when I let her look at them by herself. We do not want to pay a fine, but really you guys the books are free and at our library NEW!
The library is free and there are so many books to get for your child!
Can you believe you can rent up to 50 items?
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Tip 6 – Do not buy a million toys
This is so true!
I have been following people in the debt free community with babies, and they have so many toys for them everywhere in their house. I want to tell you – you do not need a bunch of toys! You as a parent actually get more bored of the toys then they do!
Ember has one small box of toys, a 4 in 1 sitting toy that we also use for her high chair, a 4 in 1 tummy time mat that turns into a ball pit, and a tummy time blow up mat that we also use as a pool splash pad for her.
She is the happiest baby ever too! She loves to play with the bottle of rice I made for her and the oatmeal container more than her own toys!
We did not buy bath toys – use regular toys.
We did not buy beach toys – use regular toys.
Kids will be kids, but they do not need all we think they do. We have a stroller and we use it daily, and my kid loves to go on walks! She has the biggest smile on her face when we go to the park. Which by the way, the park is also free fun!
Tip 7 – Buy used toys off of the marketplace with multi-purpose
This goes along with the last tip, but the 4 in 1 sitting toy. We actually saved money on too by buying it off the marketplace. If you search the marketplace, you will find that people pretty much give away baby stuff because there is so much of it.
All you need to do is disinfect it and clean it before giving it to your child.
SAVE, SAVE, SAVE MONEY!
Tip 8 – A pack and play does wonders for a crib
We use a pack and play for a crib and Ember sleeps great! We actually bought it off of Facebook marketplace for $50, so saved us so much money here!
Tip 9 – Cute baskets are a great dresser
This goes along with tip 8, but a kid doesn’t need a dresser right away! If you have a closet with some shelves, you can get cute baskets and do it real cheap here! My sister even has it nice and cute with baskets on her changing table. Of course, living tiny we do not have a need for a changing table.
Which this is not a tip, but we did not buy a changing table. We use the floor, the bed, anywhere in our tiny home!
Saved us more money!
Tip 10 – You don’t need all the “things” people tell you, you need!!
We have all seen a bunch of post on pinterest where it says, “10 items you must have for your baby” or “20 items we love for a new baby.” Let me tell you this – you do not need all those things! We do not have the baby shusher, mamaroo, swing, breast pump bra (use an old sports bra and cut holes in it!), a million bottles, spoons, and all of the “things” people say you need.
Remember you can still be content with having a baby and not buy all the stuff you think you need. We actually recommend letting the baby come home and then deciding what you really need. We learned we needed a few things once the baby came home, but not a lot. The joy of a baby – they do not need a lot. It’s the parents who need a lot or want to get them a lot!
Learn to just love them and they will be happy and content! As my family says, the first one is the “sucker” baby!
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We are the Maloneys!
We are here to help you live a better life by believing, budgeting, and growing your networth!
We paid off 112k worth of debt in 6.5 years, cash funded our $10k wedding, saved $10k for our baby, paid for 2 cars with cash, and grew our networth to six figures!
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