By Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

Just wanted to point out that Faye over at the WRAL Smart Shopper blog has a piece from Dan Griffin of SavvyDollar.org on frugal baby tips.

I completely agree with him that having a baby doesn't have to be expensive. There are so many products out there that they market to anxious moms-to-be that are really not necessary at all. My babies have survived without bumper pads (and all the other fancy baby bedding that can go along with them and aren't recommended in cribs anyway), diaper genies, wipe warmers, sterilizers and so many other things (baby food and baby food makers included, but that's a whole other post).

Dan also recommends shopping consignment sales, which I fully support as Go Ask Mom readers know. He mentions a few of them, but I'll take this opportunity to share our list of more than two dozen in the region. Click here for the list.

He offers some other tips too, including using cloth diapers. Read Dan's full post here.

Would love to hear from readers about what they did and didn't spend their money on when they had a baby.