“He’s the dearest thing in the world to me…” That’s perhaps never been so true from a parent’s mouth. Because if the emotional aspect is indisputable, taking into account what a newborn baby can entail, there is a second reason to cry.
According to a study Ipsos for the E.Leclerc Observatory consumption in 2021, a first child costs on average 490 euros per month, or 5,880 euros per year, to their parents, between custody, care, food, clothing and equipment. And at the same time, inflation continues to gallop, reaching 6% last January. In this context, 20 minutes asked his young parent readers how they manage to moderate spending on their toddlers. They witness.
Avoid unnecessary expenses
“The most expensive expenses when you have a baby are all those that you could do without. In a few words, Jéhane summed up the thoughts of many readers. “Above all, don’t jump on Babycooks, bottle sterilizers, it’s bling-bling and totally superfluous,” comments Mehdi. According to him, everything that cooks for adults adapts to children. Need to heat the bottle? “A bain-marie or a microwave will do the trick,” confirms Marthe.
Advice that applies to all possible expenses. The easiest way, according to Marthe, is to make a birth list. If it lacks charm for some, it has the gift of proving effective: “Ask for what you really need. It’s still more practical than having 50 bodysuits, 30 toys and 20 cuddly toys. Most won’t be age-appropriate until you unbox them. Same advice for shoes: “It’s no use as long as it doesn’t work, better bet on good socks.” » Even furniture can be replaced. Cyril says he bought a secretary buffet as a changing table: “I can lay his mattress on the board and then I put it away in the cabinet with everything you need for his toilet. And I slip all her clothes into the drawers with a supply of diapers. A single piece of furniture for everything you need. »
The hunt for promotions and wholesale
Even by chasing the unnecessary, there are still a lot of expenses to plan for. For this, Fanny turns to another hunt: promotions: “I am always on the lookout. It allows me to buy 3 or 4 packs of diapers and hold out until the next promo. Brian is even more far-sighted. Clothes or toys, he looks at the good prices for products that are still unsuitable for his child: “My son has what he needs for the next eighteen months”.
Others prefer to bet on the Internet, like Nathalie: “I put alerts for all everyday products on sites like Dealabs, or even Google News. A technique that also allows you to buy in bulk. Infant milk, cottons, nappies, Romane buys everything she can on Amazon, “in batches, to the maximum of what my apartment allows me to store. She claims to save between 20 and 30% on these products.
The second hand, on the Internet or with the family
The Internet is also a paradise for second-hand enthusiasts. On Vinted or Beebs, “we find almost new things at ridiculous prices”, assures Fanny. “There are utensils for a third of the price new. It’s useful when you know that they will only be used for a few weeks,” says Alban.
But the parents did not wait for the Internet to retrieve the necessary. Mathilde, mother for only a few weeks, had anticipated the events: “For months, I had marked all the young parents around me by asking them to store the clothes. I bought whole stocks from them for a few euros. For some parts, it is even a “fourth or fifth life cycle”. Ditto for the furniture: she bought a bed on the left, a stroller on the right: “I don’t hesitate to pay the price when it’s quality. It’s still a lot cheaper than new. For pushchair models ranging from a few hundred to several thousand euros, even a 50% reduction is a huge saving.
Romain even industrialized the process. With his friends and a few members of his family, all young parents, he created a WhatsApp group: “As soon as we no longer use something, we say so. We offer them, we exchange them, or we sell them. I bought a good car seat for half the price. »
Washable and reusable, long-term savings
Even for diapers, Alex appealed to the second-hand market: washable diapers. “Diapers, cotopads, wipes, a large part of disposable products exist in washable and reusable versions. Over time, it’s much cheaper. Even more if you plan to have several children. »
Clarisse, she favors home-made. Instead of diapers, she bought diapers, for 12 euros for six, diaper clips for 3 euros and panties for 15 euros: “It’s enough and as a bonus, it dries super quickly after washing. Germain opts for home-made, even for the furniture. Distraught over the prices, he bought the materials and then “simply” followed tutorials on the Internet: “The bed cost me barely a third of a new one, and I was able to adapt it to the room . I’m thinking of doing the same for his future grown-up bed. »
And the food?
You can’t go homemade without addressing the cost of food. And the opinions are unanimous: favoring the manufacture of meals over small industrial jars does not cost more and above all makes it possible to ensure that the child eats healthier. A practice that requires a little more time, but here too, tips exist. For Anaïs, this involves “Batch cooking”: “By preparing the food on Sunday for the whole week, this avoids asking questions and being tempted to buy small pots at the last minute. »
Time is often needed to moderate the expenses when a newborn arrives. This led Arthur to a more radical solution: becoming a housewife: “By calculating our income, we realized that it was better for one of us to stop working. My wife had a better salary so it’s for me. » A way to avoid childcare costs, which represent half the cost of a baby according to the Ipsos study. “Financially, we are not so much of a loser and I spend a lot more time with my two children. Same for my wife who only has to take advantage of us when she comes home. »