Looking for money saving ideas

[Macca]

My main thing with babies is that they are an addition to your family, not the only reason for your existence. Remember that you and your husband must still have a relationship as well, men are wired differently to women and he needs to switch from work mindset to family mindset when he first arrives home.

Don't just hand him the baby and time out, talk to him first, ask him how his day was, maybe a coffee then ASK him would he give you a mental break for half an hour or so.

When you get past the "angel on a pedestal" mindset, it becomes quite easy to avoid the "my precious bundle must have the best of everything" trap.

As previously posted most families and friends will have stuff in cupboards that they never threw out, as soon as you start talking about op shops people will be glad to help. I would be learning about equipment and safety standards then doing the op shop rounds for prams, cots etc.

Quite often you will see new stuff on special and/or in op shops so take your time and buy a range of sizes when it is available.

Healthy babies will always grow if fed, watered and changed to keep them comfortable, they are far tougher than the current Yummy Mummies think they are and remember they have not read the latest book and don't care if their clothing and pram did not cost a bomb.

Just love them and do what you feel is right

 

[luce.rocks]

Don't just hand him the baby and time out, talk to him first, ask him how his day was, maybe a coffee then ASK him would he give you a mental break for half an hour or so.

Hmm, I have to disagree Macca. It's a lot easier to focus on your partner and chat about his day when you don't smell like milk vomit. At our place, when hubby gets home I give him a quick kiss, then he goes and changes clothes, washes his hands and face and then takes bub for me so I can have a quick shower. THEN we sit down for a nice face to face and chat about our days.

 

[Macca]

Hmm, I have to disagree Macca. It's a lot easier to focus on your partner and chat about his day when you don't smell like milk vomit. At our place, when hubby gets home I give him a quick kiss, then he goes and changes clothes, washes his hands and face and then takes bub for me so I can have a quick shower. THEN we sit down for a nice face to face and chat about our days.

I guess it depends on what sort of job he has and whether or not you have changed your top/shirt before he gets home.

The main gist of my post was that I feel it is important to welcome your spouse /partner home and then after the "family mode" kicks in they look after bub while the other has time out.

 

[luce.rocks]

I guess it depends on what sort of job he has and whether or not you have changed your top/shirt before he gets home.

The main gist of my post was that I feel it is important to welcome your spouse /partner home and then after the "family mode" kicks in they look after bub while the other has time out.

Point taken

 

[Angel13]

Thanks guys, lots of great advice. Thanks.

- I recently bought a cot from Gumtree which was about 2 1/2 years old for 1/3 of the price of a new one.

- I'm not buying a separate change table. Going to use a chest of draws which is a nice height and will put a change mattress thing on top.

- my gfs threw me a baby shower this Sat gone and I got so many things for the bub from friends and family, I was very touched by people's generosity and totally blown away with how much stuff there is out there for babies. I got Rockers, swings, blankets, wraps, mats, clothes, books, those colorful things to hang on the pram and the list goes on.

Now I will look at what we have vs. what we need and do a gap analysis.

 

[streetie]

Read this blog

Mrmoneymustache.com

He has over 300 very interesting articles he has written about saving money and how we don't need all the consumerist crap we are taught to buy.

It's very interesting

 

[Mooze]

Due with our first 4 weeks after you

What we've found so far
- Utilize Target etc online shopping/layby - car seat, linens, cot mattress, baby wipes, etc all as it comes on special gets added to the layby - go pick up once and it's all waiting at the counter for you.

- Stocking up on non perishables - bit extra every week so we don't have them in the bills when I'm off for 12 weeks (contractor so I get govt mat leave but not our work scheme)

- we're regional - finding second hand stuff has been hard as it seems to get passed from friend to friend more often (we only moved here 16 months ago - so have a few things passed on but will need to buy a few new) - ikea currently on special until Wednesday - again order online and pick up

- Get the most out of credit card reward points - have a bit over a thousand in coles gift cards saved (it's about knowing how to get the most points for the least/mandatory (fuel etc) spend)

- Ordered a lot from the US - either we couldn't get it here, or the things we wanted either had dreadful service or were two to three times the price here. We've got family in US who'll bring it out but it's still often worth it if you use a shipping combiner

Good to know someone else will be on doing the sleepless night thing and up for a chat

 

[Mooze]

Two more things

- Baby clubs - google for your area - a lot of major malls even have them these days along with all the pharmacies etc - lots of samples and freebies, as well as discounts

- Big thing for us was banning hubby from buying anything without prior say so, he'll be the work at home (own business) and has gotten very excited about what to get and kinda went over the top a few times.

we've also done a lot of second hand clothes - that way if it's a really bad chucky pooey day I won't even hesitate about just throwing the clothes away if need be for sanity.

 

[Richard Feynman]

Read this blog

Mrmoneymustache.com

He has over 300 very interesting articles he has written about saving money and how we don't need all the consumerist crap we are taught to buy.

It's very interesting

There's an article on there specifically about the costs of babies:

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/09/mrs-money-mustache-what-do-newborn-babies-really-need/

 

[gottabespotless]

The main gist of my post was that I feel it is important to welcome your spouse /partner home and then after the "family mode" kicks in they look after bub while the other has time out.

My husband would arrive back home at 4.30am after a 12 hour night shift and yep, bubs and I were usually up to greet him ... actually, from memory, we'd been 'up' most of the night! Hubby would then toddle off to bed and have a full (uninterrupted) day's sleep before going off to work again late in the afternoon. It must have been all my sleep deprivation because it took me a long time to realise that he was doing the rosters at work and putting himself on night shift ensured he got the most rest! Grrrr. I can laugh about it... now.

 

[Macca]

My husband would arrive back home at 4.30am after a 12 hour night shift and yep, bubs and I were usually up to greet him ... actually, from memory, we'd been 'up' most of the night! Hubby would then toddle off to bed and have a full (uninterrupted) day's sleep before going off to work again late in the afternoon. It must have been all my sleep deprivation because it took me a long time to realise that he was doing the rosters at work and putting himself on night shift ensured he got the most rest! Grrrr. I can laugh about it... now.

Sneaky ! Not quite in the spirit of my post, it does cut both ways. I hope he gave you a break in the afternoon as he was so refreshed after his long sleep. Maybe a nice walk and a coffee with some friends for you or was sleep a higher priority

 

[missmonopoly]

"packaged" baby food can really add a lot on to your weekly shop but is also very handy on some occasions.
I tried to limit the amount of packaged baby food when mine were little not only for the cost but also because I believe real food is best

My "packaged" food when I was heading out for the day was often a banana or avocado . Always make sure you have a spoon on hand or a fork to mash them with and you can carry them around in your pram or bag without having to keep them cold, they are already perfectly "packaged"

 

[irawin]

Congrats!

Nappies - if using disposable, for newborns, try snugglers ($20 on sale compared to $30 Huggies when on sale).

Sorry we did not try cloth nappy, woolworths or coles brand disposables. Babylove is pretty good too.

Go to a Babymarket in your state: http://babykidsmarket.com.au/. In SA, it is once every three months.

 

[gottabespotless]

Sneaky ! Not quite in the spirit of my post, it does cut both ways. I hope he gave you a break in the afternoon as he was so refreshed after his long sleep. Maybe a nice walk and a coffee with some friends for you or was sleep a higher priority

Your post just made me think of that time in my life.

Yep, I got plenty of breaks and 'me time' - largely due to those 12 hour night shifts actually as they resulted in plenty of days off over the course of a month and extra annual holidays. Hubby was and still is the best husband and father a girl could ever wish for!

Back to the OP, I think the real 'cost' with having a baby comes from the loss of income - not just the initial time taken off work after bub arrives, but throughout the course of their childhood. Most women (and it is women in most cases although I acknowledge that men as the stay-at-home-parent is becoming more common) take a break from work resulting in a loss of income that has possibly been enjoyed for a long time.

Babies and young children really don't eat much or want for much at all but having to go from full-time work to no work at all or part-time work but perhaps with the added cost of child care can really be a shock. It really does take some fine tuning of the finances. For us, becoming parents resulted in us selling one of our IPs at the time - the best decision we ever made. No regrets.

 

[devank]

First of all Congrats!

I’m going to be slightly different to everyone

I agree that babies don’t need expensive items but they need the most secure you can afford. It also depends on how many children you are going to have. If you are going to have more than one then make sure whatever you buy can last that long. Don’t just look at the cost alone. Buy anything to make your life easier or save time.

Here are my thoughts on few items.
Pram: We bought one of the Maclaren which costed around $400+ in 2008. That was the lightest, easy to fold and safest at that time. We wanted a pram where mum can hold the baby in one hand and handle the pram with the other hand. It is still going strong perfectly fine for our 3rd child. If you are person who would go for a run with the baby then you need to buy those special ones with shock absorbers.

Car seat: Please buy the safest possible. I prefer the manual ones where you tighten the harness manually. Many people find it difficult to press automatic (button) one. If you are going to have 3 kids then buy narrowest seat possible. If you are going to have more than one kid then you probably don’t need the seats which can be used from new born to 12 years old. Later on you can buy a newer slightly grown up version.

Baby monitors: We had a baby monitor with a breathing motion sensor for the first one! We didn’t bother connecting that motion sensor for the 2nd one. 3rd one didn’t even have the sound monitor!

Nappies: In my view nothing beats Huggies but you can get Aldi’s nappies for haft the cost. Again first child had only Huggies until she stopped using it. Second one is switched to Aldi’s nappy after age two. Third one is switched to Aldi’s nappy after six months! If you really want Huggies then keep an eye for sales (generally at BigW, Woolies, ToysRus or Cincotta) and buy then in bulk. Same thing with wipes… in my view the scentless huggies are the best. Buy one or two with the plastic box. Then you can refill the box. These wipes are handy to wipe anything in a hurry. Don’t ever buy one of those nappy bins. Refills costs a lot! We use scented bin bags from woollies which cost few bug for pack of 100. They also have small disposable nappy bags (only one used nappy can fit). These are very handy to have in your nappy bag.

Feeding chair: They costs about $400.00 but it is worth it if you are going to breastfeed. It is also useful to settle the baby.
Baby food: Aldi (and other supermarkets) sell pureed fruits in small tubes. They costs about $1.20 but they are so handy while you travel or in an emergency.

Bonds wonder suit: They are comfy, worm and easy to handle. Easy to wash and iron too.

Baby Bjorn: We use them a lot.

After saying all these, do what ever you feel is right as long as it is safe. Every parent & child are unique.

Most of all… Don’t forget to enjoy every moment

 

[BayView]

Congrats!

Nappies - if using disposable, for newborns, try snugglers ($20 on sale compared to $30 Huggies when on sale).

Sorry we did not try cloth nappy, woolworths or coles brand disposables. Babylove is pretty good too.

Go to a Babymarket in your state: http://babykidsmarket.com.au/. In SA, it is once every three months.

Forget Huggies or Snugglers.

The Aldi nappies are as good as any, and cheaper.

 

[grantwhit]

http://www.cheapskates.com.au/

Don't buy any major household items brandnew. The amount of "stuff" on gumtree that is worth <1/2 RRP is ridiculous.

 

[irawin]

Forget Huggies or Snugglers.

The Aldi nappies are as good as any, and cheaper.

Now I wish ALDI opens up soon in Adelaide!

 

[Jamie M]

Forget Huggies or Snugglers.

The Aldi nappies are as good as any, and cheaper.

+1

Those nappies are great value.

I love ALDI because I don't need to spend 20 minutes at the checkout chatting away about the weather while the bags are packed.

I love the brutal efficiency of the ALDI scan and item throw straight into the trolley. I just always seem to stuff up the system when the guy spends 2 minutes scanning all the groceries and then I spend about the same amount of time fumbling for my credit card.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Richard Feynman]

If you happen to have a spare room in your place, airbnb could bring in a couple of extra grand per year. Might not suit your situation, but worth investigating.