Anyone else actually looking forward to the budget thingy tomorrow?

[cherryglitter]

I didn't even get the £500 or the HIP grant

I didnt get SSG but I did get the HIP. xx

 

[AppleBlossom]

HIP didn't exist when I was pregnant

 

[aob1013]

There are essentials that your LO needs but a lot of what we buy are extras that in reality we don't need. How many of us will be honest enough to say that their LO has outfits in their wardrobes which have hardly or never been worn before they didn't fit anymore? Do you really need to spend £800 on a pram? You may WANT to but that is not the same as NEEDING to.

We've spent £800+ on a pram and lots of other ridiculous things, but only because we can afford to do it - if you have the money to do it, and it is your money there's not an issue whatsoever.

However, if you are using someone else's money, i think you should obviously be spending the minimum and making the money stretch etc x

You want to know what I honestly think, even if it is your own money you should be questioning whether you need to spend that money. The things we are spending this money on will be used for such a very small period of time that it has never seemed worth it to me. I am also not convinced you necessarily get better quality the more you spend. We have a Mothercare travel system that I bought when I was pg with my son. After he died we decided to keep it to hopefully use in the future. However Em hated the car seat and we had to buy a Maxicosi one. It didn't fit on the travel system so my pal gave us a loan of her Bugaboo and in comparison to my 3 wheeler it is dead flimsy and we were so glad to not have spent that kind of money on a pram.

We are in a strong postion financially but I could never justify spending that kind of money on Em just now. Her room is gorgeous and she has lots and lots of pretty clothes but I worry about setting a precedent that everything needs to be top of the range or that we need every toy or gadget. Where does it stop?

Aww shame you find it flimsy, so many people recommended it to us - i can't complain one bit

If it's your money, you are entitled to do whatever you wish with it, we can justify it, and we are so lucky to be able to buy whatever we like - i don't mind spending £800+ on a pram seen as it is 0-4 years and can be used for our next baby
We've also got plenty of second hand clothes, groegg from ebay secondhand, carboot sale clothes, second hand bouncer, i love a bargain too

However, if you are using someone else's money i definately don't think you can be frivolous with it.

Be seriously careful when going up and down pavements...it just doesn't always make it. Our 3 wheeler does things like that easily. Also, it hasn't been great when we have been walks etc off road.

Aww we haven't had any problems at all, lucky us

Another reason why i got it was because i nanny for a girl that has one, and as i have to do everything with her in it, up hill, down hill, a beach, tiny walkways .. and i have never had problems with pavements - guess i'm one of the lucky ones

 

[cherryglitter]

HIP didn't exist when I was pregnant

Don't worry, when I found out I could get £190, for FREE, I couldn't believe it! Me and OH were shocked. I never realised until I got pregnant how many things you get 'thrown' at you, so to speak. xx

 

[louise1302]

i didnt get any of the either bex they started the hip grant 2 months after archie was born and now theyre probs going to stop it before this one comes, in fairness though i dont really 'need it' as nice as it would be to get it, i think rather than cutting it completely they sohuld means test it and give it to the families that are going to struggle getting fresh fruit and veg which if i remember rightly is what it was brought out for

 

[AppleBlossom]

HIP didn't exist when I was pregnant

Don't worry, when I found out I could get £190, for FREE, I couldn't believe it! Me and OH were shocked. I never realised until I got pregnant how many things you get 'thrown' at you, so to speak. xx

I know. I wonder how many people actually use that money to buy food/vitamins etc and NOT towards holiday or on new clothes lol

 

[cherryglitter]

HIP didn't exist when I was pregnant

Don't worry, when I found out I could get £190, for FREE, I couldn't believe it! Me and OH were shocked. I never realised until I got pregnant how many things you get 'thrown' at you, so to speak. xx

I know. I wonder how many people actually use that money to buy food/vitamins etc and NOT towards holiday or on new clothes lol

Lol, god knows! I thought it came out for fruit and veg too, hence the 'health' in pregnancy grant! Surely if they were going to give it, it would make more sense to do it with vouchers?!

I can't believe the government would just give people money and not know where it's going.. <<< What am I saying!! ! xx

 

[Lillipop]

The hip wern't availiable when I was pregnant with Ollie either.
I laughed when my friend told me about it!
Though what a complete joke!
Who is actually going to use that to stay "healthy"
My friend used hers on a new phone.
x

 

[aob1013]

I'm using my HIP grant on nappies and his babycare essentials

 

[cherryglitter]

I'm using my HIP grant on nappies and his babycare essentials

How refreshing to hear that xx

 

[Dream.A.Dream]

I actually did use my HIP grant on good food (However I then promptly puked it back up thanks to my hyperemesis, but I tried ). Mainly because OH was made redundant and we had no money so my food shop previously was mainly staples such as bread and pasta. Couldn't afford fruit and veg because it's not cheap! xx

 

[aob1013]

I'm using my HIP grant on nappies and his babycare essentials

How refreshing to hear that xx

I definately think that vouchers should be introduced, not ones that shout 'i'm on benefits' all over them, but how about £100 mothercare vouchers? .. and say £90 babies are us vouchers? That way you can't go and buy the latest iPhone/bag/game console etc xxx

 

[cherryglitter]

I actually did use my HIP grant on good food (However I then promptly puked it back up thanks to my hyperemesis, but I tried ). Mainly because OH was made redundant and we had no money so my food shop previously was mainly staples such as bread and pasta. Couldn't afford fruit and veg because it's not cheap! xx

No it really isn't! Fresh veg especially. Im forever buying whatever is on offer! xx

 

[cherryglitter]

I definately think that vouchers should be introduced, not ones that shout 'i'm on benefits' all over them, but how about £100 mothercare vouchers? .. and say £90 babies are us vouchers? That way you can't go and buy the latest iPhone/bag/game console etc xxx

Yeah they really should be!! Im surprised it wasn't given in a form of vouchers anyway! How can they justify handing out £190 in cash?! I just can't understand it! xx

 

[aob1013]

I definately think that vouchers should be introduced, not ones that shout 'i'm on benefits' all over them, but how about £100 mothercare vouchers? .. and say £90 babies are us vouchers? That way you can't go and buy the latest iPhone/bag/game console etc xxx

Yeah they really should be!! Im surprised it wasn't given in a form of vouchers anyway! How can they justify handing out £190 in cash?! I just can't understand it! xx

It's like they are inviting people to abuse the system xx

 

[faun]

I think that it would be good to give the HIP as a prepaid card with the money on that can only be spent for food maybe it would be only accepted at supermarkets but the admin costs would be huge so i don't think it would work.

 

[Ju_bubbs]

I'm really not looking forward to it! I'm already struggling a lot, and have been left with a lot of 'luxuries' like a sky subscripton, contract mobile, landline and broadband contracts etc, that were quite affordable before OH left, but now I'm left to struggle to pay for them until the contracts are up on a very minimum income while also having an unplanned baby to provide for!
I can only see my life getting a lot harder tbh!

 

[cherryglitter]

At the risk of sounding really ignorant - it's kind of like saying, have a child and you can possibly get a £500 SSG and a guaranteed £190.. then all the other 'guaranteed' benefits afterwards. It's just sickening!

I can see why so many people I know left school and decided to have children at a very early age! I am not saying everyone is the same and I know thing's happen, but I know a lot of people who have intentionally gotten pregnant to reap the 'benefits' - quite literally!!! xx

 

[flubdub]

There are essentials that your LO needs but a lot of what we buy are extras that in reality we don't need. How many of us will be honest enough to say that their LO has outfits in their wardrobes which have hardly or never been worn before they didn't fit anymore? Do you really need to spend £800 on a pram? You may WANT to but that is not the same as NEEDING to.

We've spent £800+ on a pram and lots of other ridiculous things, but only because we can afford to do it - if you have the money to do it, and it is your money there's not an issue whatsoever.

However, if you are using someone else's money, i think you should obviously be spending the minimum and making the money stretch etc x

You want to know what I honestly think, even if it is your own money you should be questioning whether you need to spend that money. The things we are spending this money on will be used for such a very small period of time that it has never seemed worth it to me. I am also not convinced you necessarily get better quality the more you spend. We have a Mothercare travel system that I bought when I was pg with my son. After he died we decided to keep it to hopefully use in the future. However Em hated the car seat and we had to buy a Maxicosi one. It didn't fit on the travel system so my pal gave us a loan of her Bugaboo and in comparison to my 3 wheeler it is dead flimsy and we were so glad to not have spent that kind of money on a pram.

We are in a strong postion financially but I could never justify spending that kind of money on Em just now. Her room is gorgeous and she has lots and lots of pretty clothes but I worry about setting a precedent that everything needs to be top of the range or that we need every toy or gadget. Where does it stop?

Aww shame you find it flimsy, so many people recommended it to us - i can't complain one bit

If it's your money, you are entitled to do whatever you wish with it, we can justify it, and we are so lucky to be able to buy whatever we like - i don't mind spending £800+ on a pram seen as it is 0-4 years and can be used for our next baby
We've also got plenty of second hand clothes, groegg from ebay secondhand, carboot sale clothes, second hand bouncer, i love a bargain too

However, if you are using someone else's money i definately don't think you can be frivolous with it.

Be seriously careful when going up and down pavements...it just doesn't always make it. Our 3 wheeler does things like that easily. Also, it hasn't been great when we have been walks etc off road.

Bugaboo's are very good. Not a bad thing to say about them and always managed to get on a pavement with one x

 

[aob1013]

There are essentials that your LO needs but a lot of what we buy are extras that in reality we don't need. How many of us will be honest enough to say that their LO has outfits in their wardrobes which have hardly or never been worn before they didn't fit anymore? Do you really need to spend £800 on a pram? You may WANT to but that is not the same as NEEDING to.

We've spent £800+ on a pram and lots of other ridiculous things, but only because we can afford to do it - if you have the money to do it, and it is your money there's not an issue whatsoever.

However, if you are using someone else's money, i think you should obviously be spending the minimum and making the money stretch etc x

You want to know what I honestly think, even if it is your own money you should be questioning whether you need to spend that money. The things we are spending this money on will be used for such a very small period of time that it has never seemed worth it to me. I am also not convinced you necessarily get better quality the more you spend. We have a Mothercare travel system that I bought when I was pg with my son. After he died we decided to keep it to hopefully use in the future. However Em hated the car seat and we had to buy a Maxicosi one. It didn't fit on the travel system so my pal gave us a loan of her Bugaboo and in comparison to my 3 wheeler it is dead flimsy and we were so glad to not have spent that kind of money on a pram.

We are in a strong postion financially but I could never justify spending that kind of money on Em just now. Her room is gorgeous and she has lots and lots of pretty clothes but I worry about setting a precedent that everything needs to be top of the range or that we need every toy or gadget. Where does it stop?

Aww shame you find it flimsy, so many people recommended it to us - i can't complain one bit

If it's your money, you are entitled to do whatever you wish with it, we can justify it, and we are so lucky to be able to buy whatever we like - i don't mind spending £800+ on a pram seen as it is 0-4 years and can be used for our next baby
We've also got plenty of second hand clothes, groegg from ebay secondhand, carboot sale clothes, second hand bouncer, i love a bargain too

However, if you are using someone else's money i definately don't think you can be frivolous with it.

Be seriously careful when going up and down pavements...it just doesn't always make it. Our 3 wheeler does things like that easily. Also, it hasn't been great when we have been walks etc off road.

Bugaboo's are very good. Not a bad thing to say about them and always managed to get on a pavement with one x

The only thing i have to complain about is the pram envy haha xx