10 top tips for saving money whilst on maternity leave

Posted on February 3, 2011

Whilst I love spending time with my little boy my maternity pay recently came to an end. I’ve been trying to save my pennies until I returning to work in a few weeks. I thought I’d share my 10 top tips for saving money whilst on maternity leave:

Buy second hand toys

Little ones go through toys quickly so buy second hand where possible. Ebay, NCT sales, charity shops and toy swaps are great places to find new to you toys. The toys are usually in great condition and your little one doesn’t care where they’ve come from.

Make your own fun

Go to your local park, feed the ducks, find out if your local library is running free activities, sign up for free taster sessions such as gymboree or debutots, arrange play dates with friends.

Cook from scratch

Whilst I was pregnant my guilty secret was a Chinese takeaway. Now I’m a new mum takeaways have been replaced with cooking soups from scratch and actually using my recipe folder rather than just filing great recipes and not cooking them! Pick up recipe ideas from your local supermarket or magazines.

Enter competitions!

Since being on maternity leave I’ve found a new world of mummy blogs and competitions. I’m not ashamed to admit I enter competitions to win things for my little boy. He’s benefited from clothes, toys, a new pushchair and he’s tried lots of tasty baby foods.

Recycle

Ebay unwanted clothes and recycle books on Amazon. I’ve cleared room in my house and made some money too.

Beg, Borrow and Steal

Ok, you don’t actually have to steal but you can beg and borrow from friends. We were given a lovely moses basket and stand, car seat and buggy from friends who no longer needed them. Other friends passed on a bouncy chair, baby gym and 1-3 month clothes so we didn’t need to buy much for the first few months of Edwards’ life.

Don’t be afraid of shopping around!

By this I mean Primark and other shops. My husband is a clothes snob and whilst I want the best of everything for Edward my practical side says he doesn’t need Burberry babygrows. Primark has some lovely items and we particularly love their boys pyjamas!

Take advantage of free samples

Join every Mother and Baby club you can and take advantage of free samples and money off coupons. Boots, Sainsburys, Tesco and Asda all have baby clubs.

Reuse!

Try reuseable nappies, especially if you’re eligible for a free voucher for a starter pack from your local Council.

Be savvy with your credit cards

Think about taking out a 0% interest credit card. If you take out a credit card with Tesco for example you could get o% interest for 13 months as well as clubcard points. Perfect for any large purchases!

I could add more ideas but these are the things I’ve done so far through my maternity leave and they helped give me a pot of money for Christmas presents! If you have any great ideas for saving money please leave a comment.