Money Saving Ideas

One we do is we have our own vege garden. It is great not having to buy veges in the summer time and being able to go and just pick what you need for dinner (thinking lettuce here). Seeds don't cost all that much and it is fun (well I have had fun) watching everything grow.

I cook meals from scratch mostly (ie avoid Dolmio's etc on a general night-to-night basis), and do my absolute best to avoid mid-week grocery shopping. At one point I decided I was going to buy one block of cheese per 2 weeks (or was it 4??) and if we ran out in the meantime, we'd have to make do. If you have a big freezer you can make meals two at a time and that reduces the need for take-outs when you don't feel like cooking.

Ummm... wash in cold water, pack lunch, don't use the heated towel rail (takes too long anyway), the kids mostly wear tidy second-hand clothes from friends who have stopped their families just before us, that's all I can think of for now but there's probably heaps I do just as a habit.

Definitely go cloth - it has saved us heaps! and the amount we go through a day they've probably already paid for themselves

yep - Trade Me is the best for baby clothes!
Up until they are crawling nothing ever happens to the clothes other than getting drooled on and PP is always great quality (and looks good too) and after your bubs has outgrown them you can put them back on Trade Me and try to make your money back
It's also good for the big ticket items like change stations etc not much damage can be done to those

Could I be so cheeky to say that breastfeeding is free too? You do save heaps, I notice it now I am not, and have to use toddler formula as Jj sensitive to cows milk. Can i also note here that I had no milk supply, I am one of those women that cannot physically breastfeed natuarally. If you are one of the very very small percent of women who cannot mediaclly produce milk, they will give you milk producing medication, and it rocks. I am fully expecting to have to use them again this time around, but cannot fathom spending over $30 a week on two lots of formula! I have lots and lots of milk producing tips, so if it is a problem, shout out!
Oh, and a side note, no offence intended to bottle feeders, or if you are intending to bottle feed! it's all good!

I think my only one is kid's don't need alot of toy's it is really easy to make stuff just as exciting specially for baby like andie said use a cloth rack as a gym if you have time and can sew or know someone that can get some scrap matrial and make floor mat's you can even make them with different texture's etc. We have lernt this Alan does not have alot of toy's, but some of his best's one's have been milk bottle and peg's. When shopping at a supermarket stock up and only go once a week or every 2 week's is good you tend to spend less. O hnad if you are wanting to save open a account under babies name then make it so you can't access the money wothout going into the bank. Kid's account's don't usually have any fee's or need a deposit to open.
Oh yeah ditto on the BF thing I really noticed it when I stopped with Mikey.

Edited by Mummy22

Going cloth for sure!! Thank goodness that is something we don't have to pay for! I even wish I was still breastfeeding so I didn't have to pay for formula (and I kinda miss the closeness!).

If you're going to go cloth why not go the whole hog...when you get your period back go cloth there too. I use mama pads and they rock! Or you can use a mooncup if you're not a pad girl. I love not having to buy pads and tampons every month not to mention liners (I use cloth there as well)...it saves me a small fortune!

A vege garden is another great idea...we're going to start one this year. I'm starting with herbs and working my way up. I also want to do tomatoes and lettuces and anything else I can stick in a pot.

We do a meal plan each fornight and we cook from scratch and we no longer get takeaways. B takes his lunches to work and no longer buys them. Again saves us a fortune. Our shopping bill is $200 a fornight including Maddie's formula. Very rarely do we go over. I also bake our own biscuits. May seem small but again saves a lot of money, especially if you like your sweet treats.

We tend to stick with the home brands range or signature range or whatever is on special. Ecostore is our only extravagence but even then that works out cheaper than other products.

I think that's all I can think of, other than to add....trade me is your friend (but only if you do your research and don't go over your limit or spend the same on an item as you'd spend in the stores!).

We got a 3 tiered clthes hanger when we had Ayja, it's wonderful and fits about 2 loads of washing on it.. we used that alot.

Flannels definately - get a few dozen and they are great. we don't use wipes.

Wait till Tnt has one of it's sales and go grabs some plastic backed bibs. When i was preg with Ayja i got about 2 doxen blastic backed bibs for 50 cents each, was great. (also realised bibs without plastic backing were pretty, but a waste of time.. )

Have baby in with you if winter baby. that way you only have your room to heat instead of heating bubs room and yours (or going cold!)

Stock up on your beauty products now.. so you don't have to buy them .. i mean make-up, body stuff, it all adds up.

I do lots of meals that make up heaps, and either freeze half for another night, or divide it into two containers and we take it to work for lunches.

Stop buying lunch!, I know, sounds boring, makes you feel like a kid at school taking packed lunch (all the reasons mike hates it) but whoa, if you tally up sometimes what you spend in a day/a week on bought stuff.. maybe a few coffees, late arvo snacks, lunch, morning tea.. even for one person.. we figured for mike was at least $40 a week or more! (and that was only going to a bakery which is nice and cheap)

toy librarys etc are good.

i buys at sales too. End of season i go and buy the girls wardrobe int he size up for the next year, and when that rolls around just get a couple of new season things to spruce up last seasons stuff. If you can get in when the first start.. sometimes you can grab things for mega cheap.
I don't buy pumpkin patch or JK. Yes they are gorgeous, yes good quality. But my kids are at daycare alot.. so plain shorts na d tee or skivvys and bottleg tights are fine.. and other stuff, gets worn on weekends around home - so is Tnt, which has nice stuff, cheap on sale, and does the trick. (they do have a couple of realllly good pp outfits for special stuff)

There's lots, just think of the stuff you wouldn't have bought when you first went out flatting.. ie as you progress on in life and get more money it's funny the things you come to 'need' Look at what the budget will be once you go down to 1 wage, and try to stick to that in the meantime while you still have 2 wages, putting away the extra money.

Get rid of extra stuff on Trade-me that you don't use anymore. lol.. (easier when you know you're not having any more kids)

You can also try grocery shopping early in the day. You're fresh and the bakery smells haven't got going yet, so you'll impulse buy a lot less.

I second the online shopping....saves us $50-$60 on our grocery bill! We went into the shop this fornight and totally stuffed up our shop and have had to "top up" so it's back to online for us!

The other thing you can do is get rid of a car. We're lucky that it's only about a 20-25 min walk to the shops, library etc from where we are. Brendan is starting to ride to work again next week now that his bike is fixed. All up that means his car is getting the heave ho and we'll only keep mine. It will save you a fortune in petrol, maintance, WOF, registration etc if you can go down to one car. (not to mention all that walking has the bonus of getting you fit!)

And wth mowing the lawns you also get some exercise. I love doing our lawns just for the little bit of exercise I get.

There are some cans of food that we have that can't be anything but Watties. So to allow us to have them we only buy them on sale (and stock up a bit on them when on sale). And we go generic in other things.

Have a look at your mobile spending as well. You may find that you spend a alot on txting then look at changing companies. I did this and my monthly bill went from $80 to $30. I did have to buy a new phone but after 6 months it had been paid for with the amount I ws saving on the new plan.

Use the discounts the shopping places are giving away when you do your shopping. We save $8 a month, it doesn't sound like much but add it up and its $96 a year.