Money saving ideas /forward planning

[Mrs Doddy]

With number 2 on the way and a bit of debt I need to seriously tighten our belts

We won't need any clothes if its a girl, we don't need any high chair/ bottle stuff ect - I will new to buy my lo a new bed and move her into the bigger room so baby can have the cot bed and the little room (already decorated)

I thought nearer the time to buy a pack of nappies /wipes in every shop so it spreads the costs

Don't think there's much more I can do is there ?

What about general money saving ideas but at the same time be able to go out with lo (and baby when it arrives) and have fun

 

[ames_x]

We had been TTC so started putting £15 each away a month in a joint savings account. We are still doing it now and have £415 so far.

We need everything new, apart from a cot as we still use the matching furniture in our sons room.

We will start spreading the costs by doing what you suggested on every shop. I will also go to the Next sale and pick up a few white babygrows etc, I've also bought nearly new baby clothes off ebay in great condition.

As I will be going on Maternity leave I wont be upgrading my iphone, I will just be PAYG currently my phone bill is £45 a month so that will save me at least £30 for days out etc

 

[Mrs Doddy]

I was wondering about paygo mobile how does that work with Internet access ?

 

[rachybaby85]

Mrs Dodd, have a look at giffgaff if you want PAYG. Its payg but also can se it up so it's like a contract without being locked in, you just buy what they call a goodybag each month if you want to, or just use it as credit. I'm spending £10 a month and getting 250 mins, unlimited txts and 1gb of internet goodybag for that.

 

[MarcsMrs]

Well Im having another girl so dont need any clothes or anything but did have to buy a new cot as DD isnt ready to be out of her cot yet! And a double buggy!
Any of the things we need we got second hand this time!
We also switched to cloth nappies & wipes to cut down on ongoing costs! And am hoping to breastfeed so that will cut down on formula costs!

 

[Toms Mummy]

I was wondering about paygo mobile how does that work with Internet access ?

I'm on payg with Vodafone and get a freedom freebie pack eascvh month which costs a tenner! I get so many texts, minutes and internet withing that and I never go over!.... If I did I'd just pay using credit

I have found it so much easier this time round to get lots of 2nd hand free stuff of friends as they're all done having children now and just want to de-clutter

I did find though, that since having Tom and being a sahm it is easier to spend on stuff like lunches out/coffees, days out etc.... So I always make an effort to make a packed lunch with a flask of coffee whenever we go out .... It really adds up!

 

[Dream.dream]

Coupons for groceries and buying things in season and on sale . I've started planning our groceries around what's on sale for the week and honestly we are saving about 200 dollars a month on our grocery bill. Also when we stopped buying anything in a package or processed it saved us a lot of money .

We take the money and buy gift cards to for diapers so that we don't have to store a bunch of diapers and we have the money specifically put away for them so we won't have to worry about it in our budget for a while after baby .

 

[Kirstiedenman]

I am using cloth nappies this time to cut down on expenses for nappies. I am also going to find out the sex this time as we had a boy last time and if it is a girl don't want to be left at Christmas when baby is due to buy clothes so I can space that out through out the pregnancy but bonus if its a boy as we won't have to buy anything. The only thing furniture wise we might have to buy is a cot if my son is not out of his yet which I am hoping he will be not that he really uses it as we co sleep so he pretty much is in our bed every night. I will also be breastfeeding so won't have to worry about formula costs. We have just started a budget where my husband and I get an allowance every week and we have cut our food shopping down by $100 which we will probably put that extra $100 aside every week into our interest savings so by the time baby comes there will be just over $3000 which will cover husbands leave that he takes. I have also already put all my Christmas and birthday presents on layby for my son nephews and new baby so I can just pay $20 off a week and not all up front. I was definitely not this organised with my first lol and it was a huge shock to the system. We didn't have any money put aside and had to go out a week before Christmas and buy baby clothes as he was born 19th December so it's nice to have a plan this time.
Oh and when I bought my pram for ds they were having a big sake where you got the second seat for free for the steelcraft strider so I saved over $200 back then so already have the pram situation covered as well

 

[Pearls18]

We set aside money every month and are planning on buying most of what we need nearer the time. I'm not as snobby this time about wanting everything new either, so looking around for second hand things of what we do need. Got a gorgeous rocking leather feeding chair that is worth £299 for £90!

 

[megrenade]

We will be cloth diapering #2.

I also breastfeed and we never see the doctor unless it's for a good reason.. I bought a lot of things second-hand as well.

We probably haven't spent more than $50/mo. on our son in his 14 months of life and he is extremely happy & healthy.

 

[bubbles82]

I've been making sure to put at least £50-£100 away in a separate account each month as soon as I get paid, to cover pocket money while I'm off work so I don't feel I have to completely deprive myself of coffees and lunches out when I want to get little one out and about and meet up with family and friends.

I started adding packs of nappies and wipes etc to our shopping, and always grabbed some when they were on offer anywhere and we quickly built up a massive stash of them but it got to the stage where I didn't want to buy any more as we had a whole cupboard full and I wasn't sure how many I'd need in each size or if certain brands would be suitable etc. So I decided to start stocking up on other things we will definitely need that won't go out of date or be wasted, such as toothpaste, toilet rolls, shampoo, dilute squash, cereals etc, especially if the brands we use are on offer. It might not be stuff for baby directly but it will still help with our costs while I'm off work, and makes sense to buy extra when stuff we use is half price etc.

I also signed up with Quidco and bought a lot of baby stuff I wanted online through them and got cash back on stuff I would've been buying anyway, plus cash back when renewing all of our things like car and home insurance, an made sure I shopped around for the best deals with these, and cut down all our outgoings as much as possible such as mobile phone etc. I was due for an upgrade but just kept my old phone and got a cheap sim only deal which has saved me a lot. Also the Quidco app pays to check into shops and things if you have an iPhone, maybe only 5p or 10p a time so doesn't seem much but it soon adds up if you're wandering round town anyway, and I have a few quid from them paid into my account each week which is better than nothing, every penny adds up!

 

[Yipee]

This is probably repeating things other people have said, but here are things I do to save money:

-buy almost everything second-hand, or free hand-me-downs
-have a veggie garden (saves us a bundle each month on groceries)
-cloth diapers
-breastfeeding
-no cable or landline phone (internet for entertainment, and cell phone only- no iphone either; way too expensive)
-conserving electric every way we can
-cooking at home from scratch (very little eating out or convenience foods- even bake own bread- saves a ton)
-free entertainment like hikes, park, beach, etc

 

[babydevil1989]

we literally kept EVERYTHING from DS - so we have pushchair, car seat, crib (new mattress) everything.

this time were using cloth nappies (iv spent about £100 for birth to potty), hoping to breastfeed this time too.

we dont spend much on food as i meal plan and cook from scratch so spend £80 a fortnight for 2 adults, 3.5 year old and a cat. that includes toiletries and cleaning stuff.

taking snacks and drinks when you go out is cheaper then buying them when out.

we spent £180 on annual passes to our local farm park (which now need renewing must remember!) and although it sounds expensive you can go anytime you like, everyday if you want so when we are short on cash and DS is bored we just pop down there and its 'free' x

 

[Olivette]

Some great tips already mentioned so I'll definitely just be echoing what others have said.

Baby

• We will be cloth nappying. I'd previously picked up a few 'free for postage' deals. Someone was looking to give away a huge set of cloth nappies due to the elastic being shot in them. I paid no more than £5-10 pound for a huge set and all that needs doing to them is replacing the elastic (i'm quite crafty so will be doing that myself). With everything we already have I've allowed £43 for the remaining cloth nappy bits. This includeds a bucket and mesh (already have one mesh), wet bags, muslins and terries (for the early days). We also plan to use cloth wipes (picked up 32 too bamboo wipes on a facebook sellers page in nearly new condition for £12).
• We plan to breastfeed so no recurring costs there.
• All of the clothes for the baby have been/will be bought 2nd hand. We plan to continue this after the baby is born too. I have allowed £50 in our budget for any remaining clothes pieces we need, and will probably buy a few blankets from that money too as we don't have m/any yet.
• We plan to cosleep so are not buying a cot, although MIL has purchased us a 2nd hand moses basket (she's going to buy a new mattress).
• We don't plan on buying a pram/pushchair as we are going to babywear. If we do decide to buy a pram later down the line we will go for a 2nd hand one.

Mum

• I've not spent anything so far on maternity clothes. I have a few key pieces from previouse MCs, and plan to buy 2nd hand clothes from the local charity shops and alter them to fit as my bump gets bigger.
• I've started pregnancy yoga at home after watching youtube videos instead of going to classes which are expensive here.

Household

• We do not have a TV subscription (cable) or a home phone. Our internet is seperate, and we'll be switching suppliers when our contract ends soon to save money each month.
• My phone contract runs out in 4 months (before baby is born) and I will be transferring to a pay as you go supplier after discovering I don't actually really use my phone that much. I will be able to downgrade from £18.50 a month to £7.50 and keep my current phone.
• We only send £40 a week on food for two adults and a dog. This includes toiletries and cleaning products. We've already cut this down and do our best to buy things when they are in season and cheaper. We too are planning too add basic extra items to our shops each week to build up a store. For example extra toilet roll, toothpaste, food cupboard items with a long shelf life.
• We buy most of our own clothes 2nd hand/pre loved. This is more of a personal choice for myself rather than because we can't afford a clothing budget.
• This isn't relavant for everyone but I don't currently work due to health problems so we won't have the cost of childcare to consider. We'll do our best to source local low cost activities and take lunch with us.

Much the same as alot of people have already commented really! We are putting £60 a month into savings which will cover nearly everything we need prebaby.

Ox

 

[ClaireJ23]

You can get loads of clothes and toys for next to nothing at the NCTnearly new sales. Plus, don't be too proud to accept hand me downs or use ebay.