If you find yourself pregnant when the budget is tight, you'll be looking around for maternity clothes that are cheap and affordable. You only need to wear your maternity pants and tops for six months to a year, so you don't want to invest lots of money in clothing that will be obsolete once your pregnancy is over. As somebody who was in the same situation when I got pregnant, I can assure you there are many ways to save money on maternity clothes. From where to find inexpensive maternity bras, shirts, jeans and panties to tips for finding maternity clothes on sale, used or at a discount, I can tell you how to get your hands on these bargain clothing items both online and in local areas. (And tall, petite or plus-sized maternity clothes are not out of your reach either.)

Shop new sale items at Motherhood Maternity

My number one tip for finding affordable maternity clothes is to go online and search eBay or another auction house and buy your separates there. Why? Several reasons:

1. Other women just like you want to get rid of their maternity clothes once their pregnancy is over and their bellies get back to normal. They have four options--donate them to charity, give them to another pregnant woman, trade them in at local second-hand maternity clothing outlets (time-consuming but possible if there is one nearby that offers trade-ins or credits), or sell them for auction online (convenient, especially if you sell them in a big lot, and they might recoup some of the money they invested in buying them.)
2. Quite often the maternity clothing items sold on eBay are designer and trendy, cool styles that somebody else spent a lot of money on.  You won't have to.  You may find originally expensive, now discounted, gently-used maternity jeans that other women no longer have use for, for instance. If you're into hip clothing, then eBay and online auction is an especially good means of stocking up, since you'll find large lots of cool designer clothing.
   
3. The selection is astounding. I wore plus size maternity clothes--make that plus size petite nursing clothes. It's hard to get more hard-to-find than that. These items appear on eBay regularly. So do pants and shirts for pregnant tall women and other hard-to-find sizes. Pretty much anything that goes through the retail stores ends up on eBay sometime or other.
4. Did I mention the selection is great? I wore large cup Bravado nursing bras. They weren't all that easy to find when I was pregnant. I got mine from an online retailer on sale, as the color was discontinued so these were on sale and I bought several. Many women use the same bra for maternity that they do for nursing...and then they want to get rid of them. Where do all these extra bras go after pregnancy? Well, some go to your pregnant cousin. But if you don't have a pregnant cousin....You guessed it.
5. It's easy. I can't stress this enough. By the time you're needing maternity clothes, you're starting to feel somewhat better as your morning sickness has (hopefully) stopped, and so you're still good to continue most of your activities. But, if you're anything like me, there's a good chance you're finding yourself without quite the stamina needed to scour the town in search of discount maternity clothes.

Tip: Um, I'm not sure I need to tell you this, but...well...don't buy (or sell) used underpants on eBay. (Is it even allowed?) I got such stretchy and comfy maternity panties at our local store that I continued to use them long after my pregnancy. New-in-package underpants are fine. Just...you know.

Buying maternity clothes online new on sale is a hit or miss proposition. You may get lucky and find a good deal.

Your best bet is after Christmas, in mid-January through March...but if your pregnant belly is expanding at a different time of year, you can't exactly pick and choose the month to do your shopping.

Here's one tip to help you save when you buy your maternity outfits online and new: Look for savings not just in the clothing discounts, but in free shipping offers, flat rate or lowered shipping charges.

$6 Shipping on all orders at Motherhood Maternity Plus Size

Cheap Maternity Bras, Too?

As I said, I bought my favorite maternity bras online inexpensively. Wait--let me revise that. Bravado bras are not exactly cheap. But I paid a bargain price that was the equivalent of what a not-too-expensive maternity bra would be. (Yes, I had to put up with a leopard spot design. Nothing against jungle-themed bras--they just, um, don't do anything for me. But sometimes in life we have to make sacrifices for the sake of thrift.)

First do your research--find a comfortable maternity bra brand, like Bravado or Wacoal or Medela. Then look for discontinued fabrics and colors in your size at the manufacturer's website. Look for older models at department store websites at end-of-season or after Christmas.

As a last resort, get your pregnant self over to Motherhood Maternity (see the link "Shop New Sale Items at Motherhood Maternity" at the beginning of this article) at the mall and check out the sale rack for bargains. The bargain rack at Motherhood Maternity is where I found the super-comfortable maternity underwear I mentioned.

Low-end major department stores like JC Penney and Sears are a good source of inexpensive maternity jeans even when they're at normal price. They're surprisingly trendy, too. I ordered my maternity flare jeans from JC Penney online, if I recall, and they were less than $20 before shipping.

And check out local second-hand stores--thrift shops and the like--in the maternity section. Unless you have one near you with a good, constantly changing selection, you may have to look a while to find maternity fashions that aren't out of style, an off-designer, or, well, ratty. But in my younger days (I'm an older mom) I was game for that. It's actually fun. Not when I was pregnant, mind you. But I do like scouring the racks for used bargain clothes. If you're lucky enough to live near one of these, take advantage of it.