MANY parents are likely unaware of an app where you can get kids’ toys and clothes for free.
Parents can bag all the essentials they need for their newborn on sharing app Young Planet – and they won’t pay a penny.
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The cost of having a baby has soared in recent years, with parents now spending an average of £11,498 in the first year alone, according to the government’s MoneyHelper website.
Picking up preloved kids‘ items for free rather than buying them new could save you thousands of pounds in the long run.
One couple told The Sun they believed the app had saved them around £3,000 last year.
You can download the Young Planet app for free on Apple and Android phones via the App store or Google Play store.
The app is sort of like a dating site for toys, as it matches parents who need clothes and toys with mums and dads who want to get rid of old items cluttering up their homes.
The app asks you for your postcode when you register and uses this to find nearby parents giving stuff away.
You simply browse for items you need – you can search for specific items or browse by category, and you can filter “by distance” or “by date”.
Items have a rough age range on them so you know whether they’re suitable for you.
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You can give and receive things at no cost as there are no fees for listing items.
If you find something you’re interested in, you have to “request” it and send a message to the poster.
Once you’ve secured the item, you can arrange either to pick it up in person, get it delivered, or ask the “giver” to post it – but you are responsible for paying the postage.
Beware of scammers if you’re being asked to pay postage for an item.
Are there other apps out there like it?
Olio is a similar app that lets you find items people are giving away for free, but it’s not specific to kids’ stuff.
Olio is best known for it’s free food, which is given out to avoid it going to waste.
But you can also search for other items people are giving away for no cost.
To declutter your own home on the app, simply take a photo and upload your item, then wait for someone to request and collect it.
Gumtree is a website that has a ‘freebie’ section, so it’s worth checking regularly.
There are also swapping events you can attend where you can give away something you no longer need in exchange for a preloved item you can use.
Thousands of people around the country are exchanging everything from clothes to plant cuttings, instruments to tech.
The Sun’s consumer champion Laura Purkess recently attended a clothes swap in Hackney where she got around £130 worth of items in exchange for old high street clothes.
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