8 months to save before baby arrives

A question about : 8 months to save before baby arrives

Hi,

I am a newbie to this forum but not necessarily to saving and trying to be good with money.

But, my husband and I have just found out we are expecting our first child, due mid November so I have around 8 months, or at least 8 pay packets left to get a little bumper fund as it were for when I am off of work.

I currently save Ј250 per month into an ISA of which I currently have Ј600 in total (Wedding last year emptied it completely!)

So looking to you lovely people for some good tips to help me bump up that amount as much as I can over the next few months so that I have a nice little amount for those rainy days.

My husband thankfully earns enough for the bills and mortgage etc so my amount will be solely for me and baby for treats or emergencies.

At the current rate I should have Ј2k for the arrival, but it would be great to get that up as much as poss, so any advice and tips will be very much appreciated.

Thanks!!

Best answers:

• Ј2000 is a LOT for a newborn.
  Best advice from me would be don't buy new; you sure as heck don't need Ј2,000 for a newborn, save as much as you can for the reduction in pay when you go on maternity leave (can be quite a shock, even if you're prepared for it!). Second hand is so much cheaper, and for the first 6 months, all baby will do is poop and throw up on it, so don't waste your hard earned on things that won't look good with green/brown staining.
  6 month old's don't really need toys as such, nor will you need half the things baby websites tell you that you will need.
  Baby baths...pointless - really really pointless waste of 20 quid upwards.
  Babygrows from Asda, Tesco, Sainsbo's or Primark are just as good as the ones from anywhere else, and wash a lot better than the Next ones I was bought.
  Don't buy clothes for a newborn - they will have more than enough given to them by well-wishers, and you never know how big your child will be. you can always pop out and get some once you're both home and ready to venture out, or send dad/grandparents/friends out for some. Oh and shoes - don't even go there, they won't stay on, you will fight a losing battle and lose one of them, and may go insane.
  Pre loved prams are a great saving, as are cheaper nappies (check out the other threads for recommendations for both disposable and reusable nappies), baby wipes (your child doesn't know its own name let alone brands!), nappy bags (45p from asda/tesco etc for 200) and anything you can get from a local for sale or swap page on Facebook for a fraction of the price.
  Just be realistic and think of what you actually NEED rather than want for the baby, they are pretty simple for the first couple of months.
• Thank you, I think that will be the main use of the savings, the reduction/loss in salary. I am planning not to go back to work until baby starts either nursery or school so the bumper fund will be to keep us going in that sense really.
  Thanks for the tip in going second hand etc though will definitely be scouting around on freecycle and ebay etc closer to the time.
• No dramas Its what we do here. If you pop over to the moneysaving Mums board I'm sure there's a post on there about getting the basics before baby is born, and the rest afterwards - babies can be fussy!
  Ј2,000 won't last you 4 and a half years (school age) even for cute things only; free cycle doesn't have much - Facebook is usually the best bet.
• If you don't mind hand me downs then a good tip is to get to know the mums at the local toddler groups. Apart from getting some great support from women who have been there and understand what you are about to go through they also have children who are rapidly out growing baby stuff. Things like cots, changing tables and all the accessories that come with babies take up a LOT of room and you will be surprised how many people just want rid of the stuff cluttering up there home. Some will ask a modest amount and some just want rid of it.
• If you get a second hand cot, make sure you get a new mattress (old mattresses are a SIDS risk).
  I disagree about not buying any clothes - yes, you get cute outfits, but you might not get practical things like vests. Supermarkets are good if you want new clothes: cute and cheap.
  I also disagree about baby baths - ours was a present, but it was only from Wilkes and from someone with not much spare cash. I much preferred it to the sink or bath.
  Aldi is great for baby stuff. I don't like Aldi as my regular supermarket, but the nappies are great and they have cheap baby stuff (inc lots of Tommee Tippee stuff).
• My little girl is 5 mths old and yep the maternity pay from the govt is really really tough. Unfortunately for us my husband was made redundant one month after we found out we were expecting so putting money aside for now when I'm just on SMP was not an option.
  However we're doing okay. I go to a lot of free baby groups and we really haven't bought many clothes as people bought us a lot before I had her and then family keep buying as she's growing up. I also got a lot of hand me downs from people at work which didn't bother me at all.
  We did have to buy a lot of 1st outfits though as people bought clothes for later on or like 8lb+ size clothes and she was only 6lb 8oz. Asdas own did the trick. We also use Asda little angel nappies.
  We got given a baby bath and it's been great. We feel more at ease using that than the sink. I tried the sink when she was tiny tiny and I didn't like it.
  We bought second hand furniture but like someone else said just get new a new mattress, that's what we did with both the moses basket and her cot bed.
  We have a few toys for our little girl. We got a play gym that she loves and we use it both in the sense of her being on her back and playing with the toys and sitting her in her bumbo with the arch of the play gym in front of her. She has a swing and then some activity toys she got at xmas. To be honest we haven't bought any toys since xmas.
  The swing and play gym were both gifts and her pram we went for mothercare own brand as in a travel system and it takes her up to being a toddler.
  To be honest her favourite toy at the moment is watching the dog. She was in her bumbo yesterday and was giggling every time the dog walked past her.
• presently 18wks pregnant and going to be using a lot of hand me down and getting thing from charity shops! We don't have the money to buy everything new and quite a few people have said they will be out of them before you know it! I totally agree about the matress for cots or mosses basket though.
• Thank you everyone, really helpful points made x
• Totally agree about the matress being new. Another thing to add in regards to always buy new is a car seat (and make sure it fits your car).
  Just about anything else doesn't matter if its 2nd hand or hand-me-downs.
  Trust us you will be showered with clothes and toys. Though the advice about earlier outfits can be true as people tend to buy things 'to grow into'
  Also great advice is to try and cut expenditure now. I'm sure you are already money savvy but check you are on the best deal for everything now. Possibly pick up a few items extra when food shopping each week to build a good store cupboard.
• I absolutely agree with the new mattress and car seat.
  However, I don't agree with the advice of don't buy clothes. We are currently 32 weeks pregnant and we have been given some outfits but they are ALL in bigger sizes and they are all proper outfits (no vests or sleepsuits etc). We had a lot of people telling us that they brought the bigger size as LO would be able to grow into them. We went onto eBay and brought bundles of second hand clothing. For example, we got over 100 various 0-3 month items (vests, sleepsuits, t-shirts etc) for Ј10.50. Even if we shopped in Asda and Primark there is no way we could have gotten all of that. It's all been in good barely worn condition as well.
  Same with the baby gym and swing. Both brought on eBay in brand new condition for under Ј5 each.
  I would recommend eBay for second hand goods, especially if you can collect. It does take some searching but there are definitely some bargains to be had and as you have 8 months to go you have time to be patient.
  Also another tip (and something I intend to do) is to start bulk cooking the month before to store in the freezer. This means that when LO is born you won't be tempted to get expensive take aways or ready meals when both you and your partner are tired and can't be bothered to cook.
  Hope this helps xxx
• Depends how far ahead you want to plan.....
  You've talked about going back to work. Have you factored in the childcare costs? I've just posted elsewhere about this...my annual childcare costs are over Ј8k. I wish so badly that I had saved more during my pregnancy - I did save a little, but I was only thinking about that time off, not beyond. I really really wish I'd have saved more during the pregnancy, while I could, to have made things a little easier further down the line.
• Congratulations & may everything go smoothly for you, husband & awaited-arrival!
  Save every penny you can.
  Sort storage - and use it as a reason to shift outgrown stuff quickly. It's why space intensive items - high chairs, cots, some toys - can be found in splendid nick at silly small money, almost for the collection thereof.
  May I suggest setting up a webmail address for "babymail" & sign up now for as many clubs, associations, and freebies as you can? Then using the vouchers sent only where they push total spend *down*. All the big supermarkets, all the big baby kit suppliers, just for starters (more on this site but I can't currently find the link), with the bonus that supermarkets also sell things you need yourself! (Caveat the baby kit clubs will send you whopping percentages off things You Do Not Need! Just a cheerful warning...)
  If you can afford membership & have space to store things (double big if!) I found Costco great as I could get nappies, wipes, a jug of water to heat a bottle & a hot meal under one roof. (Also mashed spud for weaning, but that's a while down the line!) They're wonderfully laid back about food spillages, so you can relax. (While you can fit into the fixed seating!)
  Join your local library for a wide range of reading - sign up youngling as soon as possible as they can borrow as widely but don't pay overdue fines.
  Travel gently, land lightly & enjoy the ride!