Some people believe that you shouldn’t have kids when you are financially unstable, but some things happen unexpected. These 5 tips will help you have an easy pregnancy journey while on a tight budget.
My pregnancy was very unexpected. I had just left my job 1 month prior and my boyfriend just started his 3 months ago when I found out I was 8 weeks pregnant. In my first trimester we still had one income but when I was 4 months pregnant, my boyfriend lost his job. It took him 7 months to find another job so we had no income stream at all. I was worried about how we would take care of the baby and I still had to find ways to take care of myself and the pregnancy. Thankfully, in New York you have many resources that help low-income family and single moms.
How to afford a baby and pregnancy on tight budget?
Talking from experience, having a baby on a budget is not fun. I was tempted to buy all the cute clothes and baby items I laid my eyes on but couldn’t afford to do so. It is hard to not go overboard when faced with adorable baby stuff, but it’s do-able. Being pregnant on budget, will require some self-control, research and creativity.
During the 9 months, I slowly started gathering all the baby items I needed and stuck to the necessities. We are living in a small one bedroom apartment so we didn’t have space for a ton of new baby stuff anyway. Keep it minimalistic and only get what you and your baby will need for the first 3-6 months. Start your baby registry early, around 3 months, and focus on the essentials.
This is the time where you will also have to rely on the support of friends and family to help where they can. My boyfriends mother, my family, and friends helped with most of the baby items like clothes. In total, my boyfriend and I only spent about $500 preparing for our baby. The rest were gifts from different organizations, friends, and family.
Start applying for whatever your insurance allows you to get for free. With my insurance, I got a free Lanisoh breast pump, breastmilk storage bags, postpartum shapewear, compression socks, and maternity belt through Aeroflow Breastpumps. Find a company that works with your insurance so you can get maternity and breastfeeding items for free or at a discount.
Related: How to Fit A Baby in A Small NYC One bedroom Apartment
How to financially prepare for a baby in 9 months?
During the 9 months of my pregnancy, I still did little jobs from home to bring in money. I started freelancing and helping businesses with their digital marketing. My boyfriend was continuously applying for jobs and doing Uber when he could. We couldn’t afford to take any breaks because we didn’t even have an emergency fund.
In the next coming months, it’s important to have a plan for your finances. Since you will have an extra person in your household, you will need to create a new budget and start building your emergency funds. Considering life insurance and making a plan to pay off any debts will also be beneficial when bringing in a new child into the family.
5 tips and resources when broke and pregnant:
1. Check and Update your insurance
Make sure your insurance is up to date. You do not want to be left paying the prenatal visits, ER visits, and lab work out of pocket. In NY, pregnant women with low income or no income are required to have health insurance. If you do not have insurance or cannot afford it, the state will provide you with Medicaid and cover the majority of your doctor visits and medication if needed. During my pregnancy, I had to go to the ER several times and these visits were all covered by Medicaid.
You can easily check your eligibility online and sign up. Everything will be mailed to you within a 2 weeks. I used Access NYC to sign up for insurance when I was 8 weeks pregnant.
2. Low income benefits
Other low income benefits include WIC: Women Infants and Children. WIC will provide you with nutritional food on a monthly basis. This helped me take of some grocery expenses on a monthly basis and provided me with some healthy produce. Once you give birth and decide to breastfeed, they will increase the monthly benefits you are receiving. Once your baby is 6 months, they will also be receiving baby food products.
Look to see if you qualify for government assistance like SNAP or rent and utility assistance programs based on your income. Once the baby is born, they will also help the baby with assistance and Medicaid.
3. Sign up for freebies and coupons
I signed up for free baby safety classes, registries, and sample baby products. Stores like Target, Walmart, Amazon, Babylist and BuyBuy Baby provide you with a gift bag when you sign up for their registry. One of the first thing I did when I found out I was pregnant was sign up for different registries and collected all the free items. You’ll receive several free baby items like sample pack of diapers and wipes. My favorite gift bag was from Target because they also gave a Dr. Brown bottle. In Baby on a Budget: Free Goody Bags, Samples, and Coupons I list all the free baby gift bags and samples you can get from different stores.
4. Find Non-Profit organizations and groups for pregnant women
Non-profit organizations all around New York help pregnant women and infants get necessities and maternity products. During my pregnancy, I even got a free doula to help me through labor and post-partum through the Caribbean Women Health Association.
Another non-profit organization called Moms For Moms helps single women with baby items and post partum items for mom. There requirements are that you need to be a single mom (not married) and low or no income.
Related: Join These Free Programs For New Moms To Get Free Baby Products and Services
Facebook groups like the “Buy Nothing” groups give away free stuff. Join your Buy Nothing neighborhood group and keep an eye out for anyone giving away free baby clothes or items. When I was pregnant, people were giving away diapers, breastpumps, basinets, baby cribs and much more in my neighborhood Buy Nothing group.
Related: How to Get (Free) Baby Items when on A Budget
5. Baby Registry and shower
Have someone host your baby shower for you and set up your registry ready. This will be your opportunity to get all your pregnancy and baby necessities. Add all your most needed items like diapers, wipes, a stroller, infant car seat and clothes. Make sure you have all your baby’s necessities by checking out: 10 Must-Have Products to Add on Your Baby Registry
Think ahead and make sure to ask for diaper funds and gift cards as well, The cash will come in handy when you need to buy some extra items that you still need.
Don’t focus on your limitations; look for new opportunities
These are some of the things that got me through the broke nine months and more. If you’re pregnant and broke, don’t panic; just have a plan of action. If you do it right, you will not have to spend excessively on baby items for a while. Four months in and I’m still using diapers that were gifted from my baby shower and non-profit organization. I also did not buy a lot of baby clothes, but my baby more than enough! Most of his clothes were gifted and we just bought the basics or when we saw something cute to add on to what he already had. We had boxes and bags of clothes that friends and family bought us in addition to the free stuff the non-profit organizations gave us.
