I remember before I had Dexter, people were always telling Lee and i how expensive children are. From the formula milk and keeping them in nappies to clothing them and paying for their toys and any classes they might take when they get a little older etc etc. Now, if you're a lady who is currently pregnant, or even a man who is soon to become a father, let me tell you that statistics about how much children cost are total rubbish if you make a few careful, sensible decisions!
The following pieces of advice are a mixture of things i currently do, things i have been advised to do and things i know I should do but often forget to do! (We can't all be perfect, can we!)
One- Sign up to everything!!!
I can't stress enough how helpful this has been to us! From the moment you find out you are pregnant, companies seem to be falling all over you to try out their products and thrust money off vouchers in your clammy, slightly swollen hands. The most well known example of this is the well trusted bounty pack, which, if you're not familiar, is a great little bag of miniature goodies and vouchers, plus a handy magazine which gives some great advice for a bumbling first time Mum! (No prizes for guessing who I'm referring to! *rolls eyes and blushes*) Another very similar, but just as lovely, bag of goodies was the Emma's Diary pack. In the same way as Bounty, you can collect three packs which take you from early pregnancy to birth and then motherhood. They're like little friends who are there for you through all of the nasty pregancy related illness, fat ankles and calves, but they also offer you money off Lenor fabric softener! Cracking! Now, with Emma's Diary, when you sign up online you also gain access to a charming little website full of competitions, advice, and Emma's diary! Yes, there is someone called Emma who wrote a diary throughout her pregnancy, and it's awesome! I used to love reading her entry which corresponded with the stage of pregancy I was entering at the time. Sometimes, a little relateable information from another mum actually feels very comforting, even if it's from a mum you are never going to meet in person! Another great thing to do is sign up to mailing lists for every baby related brand you can think of! I'm talking Cow & Gate, Aptamil, Heinz, Huggies, Pampers, Johnsons, Ella's Kitchen, Hipp Organic, Farleys and SMA to name but a few! Becoming a parent is pure trial and error when it comes to choosing products you enjoy using with your baby. These companies are well aware of this, so they have a limited window to vie for your attention and make their products the ones that you choose! They do this by sending out money off vouchers, product brochures explaining the benefits of their products and free gifts...and you've got to be in it to win it! So get your name on as many parent related mailing lists as possible and watch the free samples roll in!
This also applies to parenting clubs! Many supermarkets now run their own online parenting clubs and instore baby events, which are brilliant when it comes to finding a bargain! Let's not forget the infamous Boots parenting club which is by far my favourite, and the Mothercare parenting club who, although their intentions were good, gave me a book of vouchers when I was 14 weeks pregnant which expired within a month. Facepalm there, Mothercare! (I'm a poet and I didn't know it!)
Two-Points make prizes!
Collect points like your life depends on it!! Seriously, it's one of the easiest ways to save yourself a pretty penny when you have to tighten your maternity pay funded purse strings. Boots is my go to shop for points collection as it's a simple yet effective system which benefits both the business and consumer. If you aren't a proud owner of a boots advantage card, I would strongly recommend you sign up for one asap! You can do this online, or using the order forms next to the tills in your local boots store. Last year, just by buying my hair dye, makeup and gifts throughout the year for friends and family, i racked up enough points to purchase baby rice, plastic baby feeding set, a large bottle of calpol, a bottle of gripe water, a medicine dummy and a tube of bonjela teething gel and get the items delivered to my door, all without spending any extra money at all! Totally worth it!
Three-coupons are your friend!
Don't be embarrassed to use coupons at every given opportunity! Coupons are amazing, and I don't just mean the baby variety. Most supermarkets issue their own magazine which promotes new products and they almost always include coupons for anything from margarine to frozen peas! Please don't buy for the sake of it though as, although having 50p off a bag of Brussels sprouts is all too appealing, it's all a waste of time if you normally heave at the sight of them. An item being cheaper does not make them suddenly taste wonderful, so bear that in mind!
Another good place i found for coupons is the boots magazines/ catalogues. They issue a great one every so often which is aimed specifically at parents and the vouchers in the back are awesome! I have used coupons for anything from baby clothes to teethers which are easily picked up by anyone from any boots store for free!
Four-Ebay,Ebay,Ebay!!
This may be the most controversial point in this post, but I wrote this blog to be honest and that's exactly what I'll do! Now some people believe that when you have a baby, every single item of their clothing should be bought brand new as it's just more hygienic. I, however, beg to differ! You see, if you have a baby, or have little cousins/ nieces/ nephews /brothers or sisters, you'll know how quickly babies grow out of clothes. Let's put it this way. A mom goes out to Next, who sell beautiful clothes by the way, and spends £10 on a nice top for her baby to wear for a special occasion. The baby wears the top on that one occasion, everyone coos over baby and says how wonderful he looks and mommy gushes with pride. However, the next time mom goes to put that same top on baby, it's a bit too snug. Now, after a lovely wash and a nice bit of fabric softener later, the top is like new and listed on ebay for a fraction of the price. I'm not at all ashamed to say that a large percentage of Dexters clothes are bought off Ebay as either new with tags or have been worn a handful of times before by another baby. I love the fact that I can pick up beautiful like new Ted Baker shirts, Converse tracksuits and No Added Sugar t-shirts, all for a very small fraction of what they would have cost in the shops. It's a win win for me as Dexter looks super cute and Lee and I have more money in our pockets to take Dexter out to nice places and make lovely memories with him, which is always more important. It's no use being the best dressed kid in the world who has to sit in the house because your parents have spent all of their money on clothes! Yes, of course Dexter has a lot of brand spanking new clothes too, but it really does pay to get lovely quality clothes for a much cheaper price.
The bottom picture is Dexter sporting a rather lovely Firetrap sleepsuit, which was new with tags but purchased on Ebay for a much cheaper price than Firetrap were charging!
Five- Shop around!
This applies to everything, whether it be for groceries, clothes, shoes and even gifts. Take advantage of home delivery shopping deals in supermarkets. For example, sainsburys are currently giving out leaflets in their stores which give you £10 off your first five online grocery shops- that's £50 you've saved which goes such a long way for any family, let alone if you've recently gained another mouth to feed! I know it can be so easy to stick to one supermarket and never visit any others, but offers like this really are too good to pass up, and you may be pleasantly surprised by some of the new products you try! Online shopping really is the easiest way to compare prices on all sorts of items. If you are looking for a specific item, such as a certain toy for example, type the toys name on google and it'll bring up various stockists and the prices they charge. Before now I have saved at least £10 on several occasions throughout the years when I have been buying gifts for people, which has enabled me to buy them a little something extra...or something for myself! (Not gonna lie to you!!)
Also, don't be a snob when it comes to discount stores. Places like poundland will pleasantly surprise you, even when shopping for a gift bag for a present or even a few little novelty items. Primark is and always will be amazing when it comes to kitting out yourself, your home, your children and also buying gifts for others. Don't presume that because it's cheaper, they have no brands available to buy. Lee and I took Dexter to primark a few days ago and as well as picking up a few items of clothing, I bought myself a gorgeous Paul Frank vanity case which is stunning and worth way more than it's £5 price tag! There is literally something for everyone in there and I can't recommend it highly enough.
Six-Hit the sales!
Sales happen all year round , not just around Christmas time, and you can find some amazing bargains! My favourite sales are the next sales. I'm really not one of the camping outside at 3am crew, but i do like to shop the next sale online and pick up some gorgeous clothes for Dexter in the process. The thing is, you don't even have to buy things in your child's current size. Planning ahead and buying items which are maybe two sizes two big now will help you in the long run while they're growing so quickly. I have picked up some lovely items which are 12 months+, but will be suitable for him when he's grown a little. There's nothing like being prepared!!
So as you can see, there are so many ways to save a little money here and there and they all make life so much easier in the long run! You can save up for amazing things like holidays, or use the extra cash at the end of each month to treat yourself and your partner to a nice date night or some new clothes etc...
If you have any handy tips for saving a little bit of money here and there, I would love to hear them! I always enjoy listening to new ideas and points of view! Also, I would love to hear if you found any of these tips in any way helpful, it would make my year (yes, YEAR) if any of you actually saved yourselves a little dosh by taking on board anything that I have written :)
Until next time,
Laura Xx
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