Monday, 18 February 2013

How to: Budget, Save and Make Money For Your New Family

"Kids are expensive!" or so my Dad constantly reminded us every time he had to write cheque for a school trip or handed over his card to the smiling cashier who'd just sold him the latest clothes we needed.

According to the news recently, it costs £218,000 to raise a child until he is 18. The sensible idea would be to plan to child and save before hand....hmmm. Whilst our baby is definitely wanted, it wasn't especially planned. Unless you count the 5 second conversation me and Baby Daddy had one night in bed:

Me:(looking at a friend's pic of her baby on Facebook): Do you want kids?
BD: (shrugging): Yeah, maybe... one day. Do you?
Me: (reading a text on my phone): Yeah, I think so. One day. 
BD: (not looking up from his laptop): Do you want one with me?
Me: Yeah.... do you?
BD: Course.

So as you can tell we had thoroughly planned our family expansion. Both me and Baby Dad work but, as I'm sure most parents to be are, we were worried about being able to afford everything our baby needs. For the first time in my life I decided to plan. To plan and to budget. Anyone who knows me will tell you this is not familiar territory for me so I needed to be as prepared as possible.

After a visit to the Money Advise Service website's brilliant section 'Budgeting for a family' and using their tool which helps calculate the cost of a newborn, I found our new baby would cost us around £3700 in his first year (https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/categories/budgeting-for-a-family) This is including new baby equipment and childcare costs.I decided to make a list of everything we needed and spread the cost over the months before he's born and do everything I could to cut this cost down as much as possible without skimping on the quality of the equipment and products.


All in all I've so far managed to save 2 thirds of what would have been the total cost of stocking up his nursery with equipment, clothes, nappies and (hopefully) everything he'll need for his first few months.
Here's how:

Check lists:

I got hold of as many lists as I could from baby books, catalogues, websites and recommendations from some well practised mummies and compiled one which detailed everything we as a family needed.

The 3 lists I had were:
  • Items needed for baby's arrival and first few months
  • Items needed for my hospital bag
  • Items needed for baby's hospital bag.
Good websites for check lists:




Spreadsheet:

Don't worry, I'm more than aware of how ridiculously anal I sound but I used the check lists to create a spreadsheet listing everything we needed, which brands I wanted, How much they cost, Where we can get them cheaper and finally how much we actually spent on the product....and by this I mean saved.

Yes its geeky but its also so satisfying seeing exactly how much I've saved...without losing out on getting the brands and products I wanted.



Auction, Listings and Comparison Sites:

To save money and get what we wanted on the spreadsheet I used the website mysupermarket.co.uk to compare prices across the high street shops. I then spent a little bit of time checking a few other sites:
  • eBay
  • Prevloved
  • Gumtree
  • Free Cycle
  • For sale and for swap group on Facebook.
I got some lovely barely used 'I Love My Bear' items from other mummy's on Preloved and Gumtree (nappy stacker, mobile, changing box and top and tail bowl) and my favourite bargain an almost brand new Mama's & Papa's changing table from eBay for £30, when the family who sold it had bought it for £280 on a couple of months earlier.


Vouchers:

I used to find even the notion of vouchers mortifying and would have rather paid double the price of something than to hand over a voucher to make it cheaper IN PUBLIC. Luckily, a very frugal friend of mine showed me the error of my ways. She taught me that the smug feeling of walking out with something cheaper than it should be (or even free!) completely over-rides any embarrassment factor or thoughts of being a bag lady type. At times you even walk out of a shop feeling like you've robbed them you've got that much for free... but there's no need to fear the security guard. 

Where to find vouchers:
  • Baby magazines
  • Catalogues such as ToysRus, Boots etc
  • Baby Clubs 
  • Bounty Packs (you can pick up your first one at hospital after your first scan)
  • Emma's Diary bags (sign up to the app and you can find vouchers for these goodie bags under the 'offers' section.
  • Product packaging

Freebies:

I cannot get enough of freebies. The nursery is full of freebies I've collected over the last few months such as Huggies nappies, baby creams, bibs, lovely pamper products for me by Palmers and Cussons Mum & Me and even enough samples of Fairy Non-Bio liquid and Vanish to last us through a fair few wash loads of baby clothes and muslin cloths. Most of the samples are full sized so I've saved a fortune on the little bits and bobs.

Where to find freebies:


Out and About:

You can also save money, get freebies and hunt down bargains out and about in your local area. 

My sister and I went to The Baby Show Manchester and got loads of free bottles, bibs, baby cosmetics and food sample whilst browsing the stalls and deciding what products and brands we wanted for our babies. I don't mind admitting we didn't buy anything.... I went home and found the products cheaper elsewhere!


There are also some brilliant Car Boot Sales out there which are for stall holders selling baby and kids stuff only. Our baby carrier, bottle warmer and electric breast pump recently came from a very popular and busy car boot. With so much choice and many items still unused in their boxes its worth dragging yourself out of bed on a Sunday morning for a bit of a haggle.


There are more charity shops on our village high street than you can cope with. They are however all modelling themselves on expensive vintage shops....their shelves stuffed with fur coats and well used suitcases but if the charity shops near you are more of the traditional persuasion you can pick up loads of brilliant pre loved baby clothes and toys. My lovely Gran found a few of my favourite childhood books which look pristine....Yes, I probably will enjoy reading 'Peace at Last' and 'Dear Zoo' to my baby much more than he'll probably enjoy listening to it!

Further Ways to Save:

Libraries:
Apart from my beloved Belly Book: Pregnancy Diary, I don't see the point in spending money on pregnancy or baby books. I'm a stranger to the library, having not been since I HAD to at uni so walking trough the doors of the local library was a bit of an adventure but I soon found the pregnancy section which was filled to the brim with books which covered every pregnancy subject possible: month by month guides, pregnancy exercises and home pampering for mummy's to be. Arms full, I took out loads of books from the library at the beginning of the pregnancy and jotted down everything I might need to know in a note pad I'm now calling my 'Mummy Manual'. Probably hundreds of pounds have been saved thanks to that treasure trove of books.

Apps:
I've also downloaded free pregnancy apps on my phone which take away the need to spend on books. They have been a constant daily teaching tool for this clueless mum and are a fantastic source of reassurance with the forums, articles and tools such as check lists and contraction counters. The best apps are:

  • Baby Centre
  • What to expect when you're expecting
  • ipregnant deluxe
Youtube:
Rather than spending money on DVDs and CDs for all your pregnancy needs, have a look through Youtube and you will find some amazing relaxation, meditation and exercise videos as well as instructional 'how to' type videos and weekly pregnancy updates. Whether you're desperate to get some sleep, in the mood for some pregnancy yoga or just wondering what your baby looks like this week, you will always find a video to help. Some of my favourites are:

Surveys and Focus Groups etc:
OK so this isn't a savings tip, more of a money making tip but if you spend the money on your baby check list you're technically saving! With all the time I now have waiting for the baby to arrive on maternity leave, I have been able to devote time to filling out surveys for money and vouchers.
The best survey sites I have found are:

www.onepoll.com - short surveys for smallish fees (eg 20p) but they pay you by BACS or PayPal once youve reached £40 of earnings. In one day you can usually recieve roun 10-20 surveys.

www.valuedopinions.co.uk - longer suerveys of around 20 mins for larger fees (eg £1) but they pay out quicker - you can redeem vouchers once you have hit £10. In 4 weeks I have collected £40 of Sainsburys vouchers.

Focus groups are also a good way to make a little extra cash. Sarosreasearch.com hosts focus groups which will pay you in either money or good freebies. For example, the last invite I had for them was for a focus group in the city which paid £50 for a 45 minute session.

Mystery Shopping is also a bit of fun and a good way to pay for meals or shopping you might have already been doing. Marketforce.com is a good site to sign up to as it requires you to have no special equipment. Recently, we have had a free pub lunch & an extra £10 fee for giving them a little bit of an insight into our experience. 

Finally, preparing the house for your baby's arrival gives you the perfect excuse to clear out unwanted items and make money for your troubles. Sell bags of unwanted clothes to a local shop that pays a set fee either per bag or per weight or use websites to sell your goods:
  • eBay
  • Mazuma
  • Music Magpie
  • Amazon
..............Happy Saving and Money making everyone! If you have any more ideas, let me know. I a sucker for saving these days :)


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