Ways to save money for baby - ideas

[welshlass]

1

 

[LoobyLou75]

If you buy anything online, go through Quidco. An excellent way to save money and get cashback

I must say I invested in Wii Fit a few weeks ago so now I can save on my gym membership and cancel it.

 

[welshlass]

Oh yeah I have a cash bank site thingy as well. Has made me about £100 in a year. They are v v good !

 

[Hobnob]

Hi all, I'm trying to put together some ideas for saving money before TTC and during and while PG to save some money for baby stuff and to cover income while on mat leave. These are some of my ideas so far ! some are bit obvious but might help others - any other ideas are most welcome !!! its not like being a student when you could save by living on beans and pasta as eating well is important at mo !

Use MSN/facebook etc to contact people and save on mobile bills

Invite friends round for meals rather than going out

start using boots cards and tesco card and sainsburys card all the time to save up points (as opposed to leaving them in drawer at home !)

Sell old clothes, dvd, cd etc etc on e-bay or car boot

Cancel gym membership and start walking/running and biking for exercise

Cancel unwatched sky channels ( althou hubby will have something to say if cancel sports !)

shop around for utility charges, insurance etc

swap mags and books with girls at work rather than buying them

er thats about it for now !

Oooh good thread! We'll you've given me some ideas here too.

 

[polo_princess]

Definatley make the most of store cards, clubcard, nectar etc etc, i did that throughout my pregnancy and towards the end i used the points/vouchers i saved to buy extra stuff

Also i threw my spare change each day into a jar and used that at the end of the 9 months too

If you like books why not save some pennies and use the local library?

 

[cocokitten]

hmmm..

shop more at primark and cheaper places

really look at your phone contract and see if your paying too much for what you use, or could save by upgrading your tarrif thingymajig

buy cheaper make up brands (once you try them and find what brands suit you ive found most to be as good as top brands)

go to restaurants for happy hours

orange wednesdays at odeon,bargain!

take food to work

mine are crap but all i could think of!

 

[LoobyLou75]

Also i threw my spare change each day into a jar and used that at the end of the 9 months too

Oooh, we have half a jar full....never thought of that!

 

[Pinkgirl]

oooo great ideas
I put change away and also have a specific bank account that i try and put a bit of money in when i can

 

[bunnyg82]

one more idea... at work we have just set up a dvd swap thing - saving us rental money. Basically we all submit a list of all of our dvd's and just borrow from each other. I set up a spreadsheet so we can keep track of who has borrowed what, etc. There's only 4 of us doing it, but between the four it's quite an extensive selection! x

 

[Dimbo]

We have several ideas going at the moment. I set up a building society account which is an online account and I actually have no idea how to get the money out. I have set up a standing order every payday for just £5. My plan is, if I am feeling flush one month, I'll send another payment via internet banking of just say £5 or £10. Then, when I need it, I'll find out how to take the money out. I really don't miss the £5 a month standing order.

This is something I mean to do all the time, but I have spent far too much in the last two months to actually do it. Every time you log onto internet banking, move over the odd pence (say if you had £75.55, then move the .55) from you regular accounts into your savings accounts. Say you logged on every day, and moved on average 50p, by the end of the month you'd have £15 saved without noticing it.

Also, we're currently looking into a high interest savings account. The ones we have looked at so far go something like this: Save £250 a month into this account, don't touch it for a year, and then you're up for something like £100 worth of interest after those 12 months. You can do one of these each, and they do them from about £50 I think, so it doesn't have to be a high amount, just an amount you know you will be able to save every month for a year. *There is sometimes a charge if you need to withdraw within the year, so be sure it's not likely you will need to take it out again*

A penny jar! We always have one on the go for whatever the next big occasion is. And we usually 'theme it with pictures of what we are saving for, to help up part with our cash. Currently we have one covered in pics of Disney, but after we have been it will change to pretty pictures of teddies and stuff

A tesco credit card works well. Buy anything and you get points on it, buy at tesco and you get double points. Cash in the points for vouchers, or to pay for things like the eurostar (you can save about 75% of the price by using clubcard points)

And finally, get an allotment! We got ours in December. It has been hard graft, but we have saved on gym fees, and on food bills. Well, we will on food bills, things are only just getting ready to be eaten. An example is the good old fashioned courgette. We bought a pack of 7 seeds of £1.99 and all 7 seeds germinated. I ended up giving 4 away to friends. They recommend a normal family of 4 would need 2 plants to get through the season. We have 3. So for the price of a packet of 3 supermarket courgettes, I bought a packet of seeds that has the potential to feed 4 families.

Note to self: Really need to learn to write less!

 

[Cinnamon]

Wow dimbo you really have some ideas!!!! I also have a piggy bank and remove my little coins from my purse every now and then. xxxxxxx

 

[welshlass]

excellent dimbo ! we had an allotment a few years ago but it was huge and too much work with the hours we worked but I'm starting to get a few herb pots going now and going to dig a little veggie patch

 

[carla15x]

Start walking every where rather than taking the car (if you have one = ])
Saves petrol && your getting exercise from that cancelled gym membership!

x

 

[lozzy21]

Cook foods from scratch, like making a pasta sauce from some onion,garlic tomoatos and herbs rather than buying a jar of dolmio. Do a big batch and freeze some for anoter day.
Also to switch to supermarkts own brands, they are cheeper and will save you a fair bit on your shopping bill.

 

[mandaa1220]

Everytime you go to buy something that you really don't need, think of what you are saving for. I always feel too guilty to buy the stupid things when I do that. The money really adds up.

 

[lulu61388]

if possible - have a percentage of your/oh's pay checks direct deposited into a savings account that is not tied to your checking account. i have a small percentage put away and its amazing how quickly it adds up. once we decide to have a LO that savings account will be turned into a college fund.