How I Saved Over $1300 on Our Baby Nursery!

I’m a big believer in saving money where you can but not sacrificing quality or buying complete junk just to save a penny. Here’s how I managed to save over $1300 on our nursery and baby items (and we’re not even done putting it all together!).

There are a variety of approaches here, so I think you can definitely find a tip or two to help you in your search to save money on baby items. Take what works for you and leave the rest!

Take Advantage of Sales and Promotional Offers

Target’s car seat trade-in was a time-sensitive offer I didn’t want to pass up, and thankfully, my cousin had an expired car seat I could use! It’s fairly common to see people giving away expired car seats for others to use in these trade-in events because they’re so helpful, and kids outgrow car seats pretty quickly (and car seats expire in just a handful of years). The process is simple: you bring in an old car seat and/or base, drop it off at Target, scan the promo code at the drop-off site (ours was in the customer service area), and then proceed to save the Target Circle deal to your account for use when checking out in-store or online.

I additionally found a car seat and stroller combo that was on sale, so that was a way to save additional money. And I had a $10 Target gift card through Paceline, an app I use to get gift card rewards for working out. All in all, I got what was originally a $450 travel system for $322, saving us $128!

Use Cash-Back and Gift Card Apps

As I mentioned above, I had a $10 Target gift card balance from using my Paceline app. I get rewarded for getting 150 minutes or more of activity with my heartrate above a certain threshold every week, and sometimes (it seems like it’s every couple of months or so), one of the offers is a $5 Target gift card. These accumulate slowly, but if you start early enough and stock up, every little bit helps! I’ve also gotten several $1 Amazon gift cards that also help chip away at balances. If you want to try out Paceline for yourself, you can use my referral code: YTPWG7.

Other things to consider are adding browser extensions to help you find the best deals or give you cash back, like through Honey. I have it enabled on my Chrome web browser, and it notifies me if the price of an item I’m looking at is cheaper somewhere else, if there are discount codes to apply, or if there is a cash-back reward at that store. You can use my referral link to check it out for yourself!

[This post contains affiliate and referral links. If you purchase items through an affiliate link or use a referral link, I get a small commission or discount on my own purchases in return at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work!]

Use What You Already Have

Our nursery is going in what used to be our office/second guest room, so there was already furniture in it. If you’re in a similar situation, consider what could be repurposed. You don’t have to limit yourself to items that are branded for nurseries, especially when you might have items in your home already that could work! That extra dresser or table languishing in the corner of the basement, garage, or attic? Use it! That rug that just needs a wash to look new again? Use it!

We had tall bookshelves in our office, and they’d already been through a lot (read four moves and some flooding), so they’re not in pristine condition. To me, that makes them perfectly suited for use in a nursery! I’m not worried about them getting beat up with use by kids because they’re not precious to begin with. Additionally, they come with hardware to anchor them to the wall to prevent them from tipping over. If you want to use bookcases or other large furniture items that don’t come with anchors, it’s a good thing to consider adding your own as tip prevention, especially when little ones start pulling up on everything and climbing!

I assumed we saved at least $50 on each bookshelf, for a total of $100.

Accept Hand-Me-Downs

My sister-in-law and cousin have been offering me items they no longer want for a few months, and it’s been so great! I really appreciate their kindness and generosity in gifting me things I would otherwise have to buy myself. I’ve gotten a breast pump (that I will likely use as a backup — see below for my plan for a primary one), nursing pads, breastmilk storage bags, a baby swaddle, a travel bassinet, and some nursing covers. I didn’t total the exact cost of these items since they can vary so widely, but they definitely are saving me money!

I added $50 to my list of savings to account for hand-me-downs, and that’s very conservative!

Check With Your Insurance

Most insurance companies will provide you with a breast pump; you just might have to do a little work to figure out which models are covered. There are forms you can fill out online to have medical reps contact your insurance company on your behalf to find out what’s covered and what’s not and explain your options to you. I filled out a few, and I got some responses saying my insurance wouldn’t cover the models from a couple companies, but then I got another reply saying a third option would be covered, and so was a belly support band!

I saved at least $30 on a belly support band and $225 on a breast pump!

Look at Your Local Buy Nothing Group, Marketplace, Garage Sales

I’m really coming to love my local Buy Nothing Group on Facebook for getting rid of things I would normally donate because it helps me build up my immediate community, and it’s also a great place to search for items you need! Things can go quickly, but if you’re checking regularly, you can find some really great things for free! I’ve seen a LOT of baby items, and while they’re in high demand, they pop up pretty frequently. I haven’t personally gotten much of these yet because most of them are clothing items, and I’m waiting until after my baby showers to determine what I might still need in this area.

One thing I have capitalized on and found the bulk of our savings in is Facebook Marketplace. I found our dresser, crib, and glider on Marketplace, and I saved a ton by doing so! We got our chair (originally $400) for $125, dresser (originally ~$275) for $125, and crib (originally $230) for $120, for a total savings on furniture of $535! Even my husband applauded my efforts to save us money on these items.

Certainly, this could take some time to find items that are still in good condition, close enough to pick up (or opt for shipping if it’s offered), and that haven’t been sold by the time you reach out to the seller. That’s why I started early. I decided I wanted to prioritize getting furniture so I would have it sooner rather than later and not wait to see if I got any of it at a baby shower, so I started shopping for items in late September (for a baby due at the end of January). I ended up getting all the pieces by early October, so it really didn’t take long at all, but it made me feel more prepared to start early and give myself extra time.

This is our work-in-progress nursery. It hasn’t been painted yet, and most of the shelves are empty, so it’s very plain, but we saved TONS on all the furniture!

Skip Things You Don’t Need

Deciding what items you need and what items you don’t is a personal choice, but I prefer to look for items that can grow with our children and our family. I didn’t want to buy a changing table that I would have to get rid of in a few years when we’re no longer changing young kids’ diapers. Instead, I opted to put a wipe-clean diaper changing pad on our registry with a plan to put it on top of the dresser we got from Facebook Marketplace.

This philosophy applied to what I selected for our registry, too. I have several baby showers, but I didn’t want to include items on my registry that I didn’t think I would really get use out of. I wrote a whole post about building a registry, so I won’t go into great detail here, but I prioritized items that would be of high value and frequent use, including more “must-have” items and fewer “nice-to-have” items. For instance, I didn’t include a mobile for the crib or a ton of toys. I know we’ll get some toys, but those can always come later, and I don’t think a mobile is entirely necessary. I also didn’t include a wipes warmer, though I do have a hand-me-down wipe dispenser with a weighted plate to make it easier to grab wipes with one hand, because I know from experience how essential that is!

I figure we saved about $50 on a changing table.

It’s all about deciding what you, your baby, and your family will benefit from and putting those things first.

Consider Adding Items to Your Registry Instead

This echoes my last point, but you don’t have to buy everything yourself! I had some people expressing concerns that I was buying too much myself (nursery furniture, car seat and stroller combo), but I had my reasons (taking advantage of time-sensitive offers and wanting to get nursery furniture established early). Most of the rest of our items went on our registry. My baby showers are early enough (all in November for a baby due at the end of January) that I’ll have sufficient time to buy anything necessary after a baby shower to cover any gaps.

This approach gives friends and family members the opportunity to support your growing family by providing things you really need, not just decorative extras. I know people who would much rather gift diapers or a medical kit or bottles than yet another teething ring or squishy toy, so consider your audience when adding items, and think about covering a variety of price points.

I attributed another $200 for putting a bassinet on our registry instead of buying it ourselves. I had been regularly checking Facebook Marketplace, but I hadn’t been able to find anything that met all the criteria I really wanted (the ability to rock, storage underneath, and a side that lowers down). I wasn’t willing to settle on something we’d be using so much for the first few months, so I put it on our registry instead.

DIY

The last idea is to DIY things. Now, I know not everyone is particularly crafty. I love DIY projects, and so does my husband, so that’s within our wheelhouse. But I know it doesn’t appeal to everyone, which is when I’d suggest either letting other people help or using some of the other ideas I’ve mentioned.

I’m planning to crochet a simple baby blanket because 1) I like them, and 2) it will give me something to do in the winter when I’m nesting. :) My husband is charged with the task of building new bookshelves in our basement bedrooms to accommodate my book collection that’s moving out of the office as we transform it into a nursery. And I asked my grandma to paint a forest landscape for me to hang in the nursery as a connection to her and a gift to the baby for a special touch. You could ask friends who are artistically inclined to contribute something handmade, have a friend take pictures during your pregnancy if you want to hang them up, or ask someone else to help upcycle some furniture or decorative items to give them new life.

I figure we saved probably $50 between the blanket (which I did have to buy yarn for) and the painting from my grandma.

Overall, the savings breakdown worked out like this:

I hope these tips help you create a nursery for less! It’s always my goal to make things simpler for all of us, and saving money in one area (like a nursery) allows us to invest it somewhere else (like vacations or dinners or whatever else we love)!

Did I miss any tips? Let me know if there are other ways you have saved money on baby items in the comments below!