Putting away those pennies
Well it's official the Australian economy has been condemned to enter a recession... having experienced the last recession with a redundancy - I know the best thing we can all do right now is save. Start and put the pennies away for that rainy day.
But does this mean you need to put off having children? No it doesn't with a little creativity you can raise a family and save. So in an effort to help those with young families save for that rainy day, I have decided to pick a few of the money saving tips I have featured in an e-book.. I encourage you to add, your own money saving tips and perhaps we can all help each other to save a little.
Baby exchange
Baby Exchange, is a great site where you can exchange your baby goods. It has been designed so you don't need to find a particular person with whom to directly exchange. You simply list your items in the appropriate category, and once your items have been chosen, you may choose the items you would like in return. Just pick from whichever category you wish. For example, you may exchange clothes for toys, books for accessories, and so forth. If you don't have anything to exchange, then you may buy your way into the exchange process by paying for items.
Hiring
Hiring what you need for baby instead of making the capital investment. Hire for Baby is Australia's largest baby equipment hire service, and is certainly worth a look or two. They've been in business now for 18 years and have grown into a network of 50 franchises in that time. Have a look on , and compare the cost of hiring to the cost of purchasing.
Rechargeable Batteries
A lot of baby toys require batteries, buy rechargeable batteries - the initial investment might be high but long term it will pay off.
Discounted, sales, floorstock and seconds
Save on buying baby furniture, accessories and equipment by last years model. You'll find that most stores discount the previous year's models. You'll need to do your research to be able to identify the new and outdated models, but a few phone enquiries should do the trick.
Offer to purchase floor stock. I saved $100 on the purchase of a cot by offering to buy the floor stock and coincidentally last year's model. In fact, you'll be surprised, if you just make a reasonable offer on what you want, how often the retailer will sell for less. After all, a sale with some profit is better than no sale at all. It pays to bargain.
You can also save good money by purchasing furniture for the nursery in its raw state, unpainted, and flat packed. There are many pine shops scattered across Australia. Either visit one close to you or surf the Internet to find one that sells and freights flat pack nursery furniture. Painting and decorating your baby's furniture brings an immense feeling of parental pride.
Refurbish
There are many cute little knick and knacks at the craft section of Bunning's hardware store. These are a fantastic and cost effective way to dress up a tired or worn piece of furniture. You will be surprised to find what an improvement fancy drawer handles can have on a plain item of furniture.
Some opportunity shops also sell baby furniture for a great price. Just add a little TLC, and they are made as good as new.
Pre-loved furniture
Second-hand furniture is often covered in sticky stickers. To save damaging the furniture, rub a little eucalyptus oil on the sticker and it should come off without any trace of residue. Do not be tempted to use a scourer on a metal surface; you will certainly scratch the metal. Likewise, be careful using products such as WD40 or nail polish remover with acetone as these can melt some plastics. If the sticker is not adhered to plastic, you could prepare removal by warming the sticker with a hair dryer first.
Handmade cloth nappies
To save even further you can make your own fitted nappies, there are patterns freely available on the web, the following are just a few sites we found: If you google the words 'free nappy pattern' you will come across a lot more.
http://www.zany-zebra.com/free-cloth-diaper-patterns.shtml
http://www.ozclothnappies.org/links.html
http://nappiescovered.com.au/store/WsAncillary.asp?ID=14
You can save by opting to use cloth nappies at home and disposables when out and about. Instead of throwing out old stained cloth nappies, you can revive them by dying them a darker colour to cover the stains - and they are ready to go again.
Homemade wipes
Don't buy expensive commercial wipes, make your own. You will save a fortune! There is a great article on the Internet explaining exactly how you can make your own wipes.
http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Make-Your-Ow...ution&id=118618
Or there are some video tutorials on You Tube;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t9nHSxMWKk&feature=related or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7fIqEvJGj8
Baby clubs
Some nappy manufacturers like Huggies and Baby Love have their own clubs � it is a good idea to enrol in such clubs as they have regular giveaways discounts or benefits to their new members and or those already apart of the club.
Infant nappies
Don't stock up too much on 'infant nappies' before bubs is born. It is difficult to predict how long your baby may fit this size. You will be very surprised how quickly your baby grows in their first three months. However once bub moves out of infant disposables, start and stock up on nappies when they are on special. The next size up provides a decent size range, you can safely afford to stock up on these nappies. I have been seen leaving a supermarket with 5 bags of Snugglers 64 (13 - 18kg) nappies when they go down to $13 from 24.95.
Sanitisers - Bicarb & Vinegar
Don't by expensive sanitisrs. Fill a nappy bucket half way; add a quarter of a cup of bicarbonate of soda. Stir to dissolve the bicarbonate soda. Add five drops of tea tree oil and or lavender oil (both have natural antibacterial and anti fungal agents). Soak nappies in this overnight and wash normally. Or add to the bucket half a cup of baking soda and white vinegar. Note: Always make sure the nappy bucket lid is firmly in place, and always out of reach of children.
Nappy rash creams
Nappy rash creams can cost a fortune and they soon add up if used on a regularly basis. Some natural and cost effective solutions include;
- Egg white on nappy rash provides a barrier and seems to clear the rash up.
- Use corn flour shake generously over bubs bum.
- Aloe Vera, straight from the plant makes for an excellent nappy rash treatment
Nursery decorations
Decorate your child's nursery with unique picture frames. Go to your closest $2 shop and buy some painted picture frames or to Bunnings where you can buy wooden frames that you can paint or stain yourself. Use cards you may already have and or buy greeting cards from the same $2 shop and fill the frames with these.
You can make your own nursery accessories. You don't need to spend $100 on a quit cover, make your own. You can easily make your own cot sheets as well. By making your own accessories you can customise them to fit your requirements. Bassinet and cot sheets can cost up to $39.95 for a fitted and flat sheet this is very expensive. You can get enough fabric from Spotlight or Lincraft to make your own set for well under $10.00.
Alternatively if you don' have a sewing machine, buy single flat sheets and fold these to size, when bubs progresses into a normal bed you won't have to buy a new set of sheets. A double saving!
Handmade slings
Looking for a cheap alternative to carrying your newborn? Why not make your own sling. Patterns can be found at;
http://www.mykarmababy.com/pages/BabySlingPattern.php
ttp://www.ida.net/users/stace/sling.html
http://www.makeforbaby.com/Baby_Carrier
Sonia Williams a mother of two, qualified accountant, author and founder of the free online magazine Show Mummy the Money, designed to help mums, save, make and protect their money.
This information is correct at time of writing. It is general advice only and has not been tailored to your personal circumstances. Please seek personal financial advice prior to acting on this information.
Do you have more tips? Post them on Sonia's blog here.
