9 Painless Tips for Big Savings
Expanding Family, Shrinking Budget
by Teri Cettina
You've probably heard the financial horror stories about becoming a parent. Everywhere you look, some expert is telling you it’s going to cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars to raise your little bundle to adulthood. And if one or both parents plan to cut back on work to spend time with baby, your financial stress-o-meter might be rising even higher.
If so, take a deep breath and read on. We've gathered some easily achievable ideas from the experts (namely other smart parents) for stretching your post-baby budget without feeling deprived.
Eat Frozen Instead of Eating Out
Many soon-to-be and new parents don’t have the energy to whip up even a simple dinner, so they end up spending big bucks on restaurant or takeout food. However, if it’s just an easy meal you’re after, buying frozen entrees at the grocery store instead of eating out can dish up big savings. If you replace even one takeout pizza ($20) each week with a grocery store take-and-bake pizza ($6), that’s — ca-ching! — $56 extra dollars a month or $728 a year.
Better yet, freeze homemade food. If friends throw you a baby shower, suggest that they each bring an entrée you can freeze until after baby is born. If you have the energy, make double portions whenever you cook during your last couple of months of pregnancy. Eat one portion and freeze the second one.
Laurie Brown of Omaho, Neb., did just that when both of her two children were on the way. "I bought a bunch of freezer containers that would each hold a meal. By the time my child was born, I had about three weeks worth of dinners in the freezer," she says. "It was real comfort food!"
Save Money on Movies
Let’s face it: as new parents, you’re going to be spending more time at home rather than hitting the latest big-screen flicks. Instead of spending money on rentals, borrow movies from your library for free. Most libraries carry both VHS and DVD movies now -- even some very recent releases -- and you often can keep them for several weeks.
If you must rent, and you usually check out more than five movies per month, consider a mail-order rental source like NetFlix (www.netflix.com), which allows you to rent unlimited DVD movies for a flat $21.99 per month with no late fees. Better yet, the DVDs are mailed directly to your home. You get to spend more time with baby and less time at the movie drop-off box one minute before the movie-return deadline.
Become Your Own Barista
After analyzing what she was spending on her daily café latte (approximately $8, including a pastry), Heidi Whyte of Coeur D' Alene, Idaho, brought her coffehouse addiction to a screeching halt. Instead, the home-based working mom splurged on a nice coffeemaker and bean grinder. She now buys whole-bean coffee, as well as cream and her favorite raw sugar.
Whyte's average home-based coffee expense (including the new coffeemaker and grinder): $560, compared to the $2,920 she estimates she would have spent at her local coffeehouse. "That kind of money can really add up," says Whyte. "Think college tuition, retirement, first car for your child, a horse with riding lessons — maybe even a great vacation!"
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