< DICTIONARY

Diaper Fund

Diaper funds are a way for family and friends to contribute money to the expanding family in order to help with the cost of raising their newborn baby.

Traditionally diaper funds are used to pay for diapers, clothes, formula, childcare, or other baby necessities.

They can also be used to save and invest for the baby's future.

Diaper fund

What is a diaper fund?

Diaper funds are essentially cash gift funds.  

It is a baby cash gift registry that allows friends and family to contribute monetary gifts and cash for the purpose of saving for diapers, baby essentials or other long term financial goals.

Diaper funds are often offered as part of a baby registry as a way for people to give cash gifts.

Diaper funds offer a way for friends and family to help pay for baby necessities or invest in your baby's future instead of spending money on gifts the parents won’t use.

Many parents set up diaper funds to help with the expenses of raising a child.

Diaper funds offer a way for friends and family to help pay for baby necessities or invest in your baby's future instead of spending money on gifts the parents won’t use.

Typically, when gift givers choose to contribute to these Diaper Funds, parents actually receive gift cards to the store that provided the gift registry.

Greatest Gift's baby fund registry is different. Parents are encouraged to save & invest for the long run, but they get to choose what to do with their gift funds.

Parents can choose to use the gifts to buy diapers, save for college, or for anything else that they need or want. 

What are Diaper Funds Used for?

Babies need supplies, and plenty of them.

From diapers to clothes, formula, and other baby essentials, parents often find themselves spending hundreds and thousands of dollars on their baby’s first year.

Diaper funds are used to cover all of these baby basics and more.

Parents often find themselves spending hundreds and thousands of dollars on their baby’s first year.

As more and more parents want to set their child up for financial success from an early age, diaper funds are evolving to include financial goals and investments for the baby's future.

Parents are setting goals like saving for college, a future house down payment, an adulting fund, or even their baby's retirement!

diaper fund uses

Friends and family can use diaper funds to invest in the baby's financial future and set the little one up for success from day one.

This way, diaper funds are becoming a tool in creating generational wealth for the next generation. Kids and newborn babies especially have time on their side to let compound interest work its magic for years and decades, creating wealth.

Lastly, diaper funds provide a financial safety net for new parents.

They can be used as an all purpose fund to pay for any unknown expenses that may come up.

How Much Should a Diaper Fund Be?

A practical target for a diaper fund would be $750 if saving for the first year or $1,250 if saving for the first two years.

In the first year of life, a baby typically uses around 3,000 diapers.

Newborns may need up to 10-12 diapers a day, gradually decreasing as they grow.

Considering the average cost of $0.25 per diaper, this adds up to about $750 for the first year.

As your child grows, their diaper needs will change.

By the second year, you can expect to use around 5-7 diapers per day.

In the second year, your toddler will need an estimated 2,000 diapers, costing around $500.

A practical target for a diaper fund would be $750 if saving for the first year or $1,250 if saving for the first two years.

After two years, many children begin potty training, significantly reducing the need for diapers. However, this is a gradual process.

Embarking on the journey of parenthood brings with it the joy of caring for a new life, and part of this care involves managing the essentials, such as diapers.

A diaper fund is an excellent tool to ensure you’re financially prepared for this aspect.

How Much is a Monthly Supply of Diapers?

Babies needs diapers, and lots of them. Babies will use close to 3,000 diapers in their first year, and over 800 in the first three months alone!

Popular diaper brands like Huggies and Pampers cost anywhere from $0.25 to just over $0.50 per diaper, depending on how many you buy at once.

Considering newborn babies may need at least ten diapers changes per day, the cost can come up to $2.5 to $5 per day easily.

That comes out to $75-$150 per month in the first three months.

How Much Money Should be Saved Before Having a Baby?

While there is no specific amount that expecting parents should save before having a baby, preparing financially for a baby can help navigate the road ahead.

Calculate your monthly family budget and add additional baby expenses like childcare, diapers, medical bills, baby gear and other baby essentials.

Aim to save 3-6 months’ worth of living expenses in an emergency fund.

Creating a diaper fund lets you save for these expenses with the help of your close circle of family and friends.

Having some money saved on top of that to cover baby expenses can help relieve financial stress down the line.

Creating a diaper fund lets you save for these expenses with the help of your close circle of family and friends.

Instead of buying another blanket, family members can give you financial gifts that you can decide how to use, including saving it for your family’s needs down the line.

There are a few other things you can do to prepare financially for a baby.

Make a plan for parental leave and childcare. Examine your health insurance and understand what you should expect to pay.

Set up savings accounts, custodial investment accounts or 529 plans to start investing for the baby’s future.

How do you Set Up a Diaper Fund?

Setting up a diaper fund with Greatest Gift is easy and works well with all the best baby registries.

First, sign up and add a recipient account.

Next, set up a gifting page and choose financial goals to let your family and friends know how you’ll be using their monetary gifts.

Finally, add a link to your gifting page to your baby shower invite or share it with family and friends to let them know how they can invest in your little one’s future.

That’s it!

When you receive gifts, redeem them to your bank account, investment account, or 529 plan.

If you don’t have an account set up for your baby but want to set one up, Greatest Gift can help.

Discover guides, tips and financial products to set your kid up for financial success.

Popular Online Diaper Funds

We’ve gone ahead and gathered some of the best online diaper funds to add to your baby registry.

Here are the most popular online diaper funds:

1) Greatest Gift

A modern take on the traditional diaper fund or cash registry.

A best-in-class financial gifting platform for children's savings.

Made for parents who want to kickstart their child’s financial future.

Pairs well with your favorite baby store, offering your guests with a way to invest in the child’s future in addition to buying baby essentials or toys.
Greatest Gift continues to show parents how to save and invest for their kids.

2) Amazon Diaper Fund

Amazon may be one of the most popular online store, but it has a limited functionality when it comes to diaper funds.

You can easily create a baby registry on Amazon's website. Then, check the box to include a diaper fund.

However, there are a few things to note.

First, Amazon's diaper funds are limited to $550 in total contributions. You can't receive any more than that.

Second, and more importantly, the money received through the diaper fund arrives in the form of a gift card.

You have to spend the money you receive with Amazon.

3) Target Diaper Fund

While Target offers a wide variety of gift options, they lack a diaper fund feature.

The closest Target's baby registry comes is offering gift givers the option to buy gift cards.

Gift cards appear as an option as soon as you add your first item to your registry.

4) Babylist

Babylist's universal baby registry is flexible but lacks features when it comes to cash gifts and diaper funds.

Instead of offering an inherent solution, Babylist let's you add a Paypal account link. It then refers gift givers to your Paypal page where they can give you money.

Gift givers that choose to use Paypal to give cash gifts can expect to pay the Paypal fees - 2.9% +0.30 cents for a gift given with a credit card, and no fee for gifts given with bank accounts.

Gift receivers will face no fees if they withdraw their gift funds to a local bank account. They may pay a fee if they choose to withdraw to a card or check, or if they require the money more urgently.

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