look out for NCT sale aswell normally twice a yr they are cheap if you have a small little one or are pregnant but get there early or all the bargins go!

shop in sales and get stuff cheaper that way, when adsa do baby week nappies are cheap as chips also wet wipes you can never ever have enough wet wipes!!

the IKEA cot is good but only for small babies as it isnt huge i found it was fine uptill 12-13months then it was to small for both mine (ds was in 3-6/6-9 clothes at that age so he wasnt big!)  i got a x display toys r us cot bed for £80 down from over £200 keep an eye out for these!!

Hello ladees - just wanted to congratulate you on your wicked post - very innovative!! And great tips -i am indeed on a budget with no man so thankyou so much for your help!! My solution to buying things on a budget is that i started at 12weeks so i have 6months to get everything - and where possible iv called on family and close friends to provide hand me downs!! How is everyones pregnancy goin?? Im gettin really fat but with no obvious bump at all - at what point did everyone start showing properly??

Thanks xx

*Bump*

hi thought id add my tips im now expecting bump 2 and made the mistake of buying all new for my dd now 3 the best tip i can give is second hand, (i wouldnt buy second hand mattresses and carseats for saftey reasons)after selling all dds stuff ive got to buy again now and car boots, freecycle, the ecycle in our local paper, also bargain pages are quiet good, ive recently been looking in our local community transport and bought a second hand cot from there costing £30 the same cot is in argos priced at 279.58

Cosatto Hogarth Cot Bed in Pine Colour, with Sprung Mattress

377/0894

look out for offers in local supermarkets its never to early to start buying nappies ect,

ive brought a great lullably elephant, meant to be £15 but i got it for £3 its cool!

I'll agree with the fact that toys don't have to be bright bits of plastic! I remember a wooden spoon and an upside down saucepan being a staple - and I've just been to visit my baby cousin who couldn't be happier than when being spun around a turned upsidedown, you don't need toys, love will do!

But other than that, I found that my parents have a lot of mine and my brother's old toys, and a lot of our family friends have also borrowed our old baby stuff and are now offering it back to me... I got offered the cot I had when I was a baby 20 years ago! Its surprising how much second hand stuff you can get from relatives and stuff!

Great advice! Especially the last part about being creative. For example, the Ikea Sniglar cot doesn't look as fancy as a lot of the posh (and expensive) cots out there but at £29 you can do a lot with it to make it better. If you wanted to make it into a bedside cot you can drill your own holes slightly lower than the height of your bed so that when you put it together minus one side your little one's mattress lies flush to yours.

If you're feeling artistic you can pick up some really nice stencils and paint your furniture yourself to make it really unique or paint on your own design. I find personalised furniture much nicer than anything you buy with pre-designs on and they usually last longer because they don't have to be so baby-ish.

Sign up to websites that have baby stuff, loads of them give you discounts if you sign up and 25% off can be really useful for big buys!

Very good advice i will take a lot of it in thankyou. My mum when she was having my sister found that saving energy meant she had more to spend on the new baby. All she did was switch to energy saving lightbulbs and turned down to 30 and she saved a packet! Also as she hadn't got rid of my clothes from when i was a baby she had loads of nearly new clothes. It's pretty handy to ask family members and friends for a some bits and bobs ok they are hand me downs but baby isn't going to notice the difference.

Leanne x

figured i would post reccomendations of places to shop and extra tips for coping on a low budget, if anyone else has any please please please add them and try to keep this thread going

okay some of my recommendations for places to shop for certain items and some tips on not spending more than you can afford....

for maternity clothes

primark is fab atm esp as loose "smock" style tops are all the fashion atm, these are imho actually more comfortable than a lot of maternity wear found in shops these days (and at least £10 cheaper)

to make your pre pregnancy trousers last that bit longer in pregnancy loop an old hair bobble through the button hole and fasten to teh button and wear with a long top.

Bump bands are another great way to carry on wearing your pre pregnancy clothes last you throughout your pregnancy.

stick with a couple of trousers say 2/3 pairs and jazz them up with a nice belt or fabric sash. a single pair of jeans can have a variety of different looks dependent on how you accessorize.

jogging bottoms with drawstrings are really comfy although aren't the most flattering in the world.

Avoid places like mothercare, topshop etc. as they tend to be overpriced, New look and h & m have maternity ranges that are much more affordable.

for baby

hauck sport buggy and raincover- £39.99 (suitable from birth) pink or blue from Argos

sniglar cot £29 and mattress £12 from IKEA

babygros £1.75 for 3 from George at ASDA

Sleepsuits £3.75 for 3 from George at ASDA

Cot bedding bale £29.99 Toys r us

you can usually buy bottles from the £ shop

and some other tips

as well as breast being best for baby its also best for the budget (and trust me you'll get waaaaaay more sleep than if bottlefeeding) no need for bottles sterilisers, making bottles in the night etc.

keep an eye on your local freecycle yahoo group there's always people posting baby things, some of which have been used only a couple of times and quite often not at all

reusable nappies cost a fair bit to originally kit them out but believe me they do work out sooo much cheaper than disposables

babies don't need the top of the range nappies if you are going for disposables, boots, tescos asda etc. own brands are just as good (and a damn sight cheaper too)

most family members etc are normally more than happy to help out with buying a couple of bits here and there for baby, so don't be afraid to ask them.

babies outgrow things really quickly so theres little point in buying fancy baby clothes and equipment.

Ebay and charity shops are great, please don't be afraid to but second hand i mean at the end of the day the clothes are probably only a couple of months old and so long as you give them a good wash they'll be absolutely fine.

check your local paper! people very often put ads in there for whole bin liners full of baby clothes some of which have probably never been worn or maybe worn once, for as little as say £5 and as they're normally in your area you won't be having to pay out for postage on them.

Nursery Plans (such as hte one that mothercare do) are a good way of buying the bigger things if you really feel that the basic one isn't what you want.

theres little need for a baby monitor as trust me even if you're in a 3 storey house with baby on the top floor and you're on the bottom if your baby cries you will hear it!!!

as for toys, our baby will be more than happy with a bottle filled with dried peas to rattle about and social interaction with you is more important than sitting alone in a bouncy chair with some colourful bits of plastic that make noise. Creativity is key, theres allsorts of stuff you can make just with bits and