Comments on: How we save money with a baby

By: cool dad

cool dad — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:57:00 +0000

Put yer nice dress on, Maw. We goin' to a tippin' place!!

Thank God for mystery shopping.

By: cool mum

cool mum — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:10:00 +0000

Lauren--I am so impressed that you cloth diaper! Wow. My excuse is that our cheapo washer would never be able to handle it, thus canceling out the savings. Probably not that good of an excuse though.

I too am a fan of beans, vegetables, and farmers markets! =)

Yep, plain old Americans. Don't tell anyone. Although, some Europeans we met on our recent trip said we weren't "ordinary Americans" when they heard about how we didn't check any baggage (see the Europe tag). That made us mighty proud.

Mystery...yes, that brings me to another way that we save money. We get to eat at the fanciest places in town for free because we are Super-Secret Mystery Shoppers! Yesterday we had omelettes and pancakes at an exclusive place around here called Perkins.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 04:54:00 +0000

i don’t know why this post excites me. figuring out ways to be cheap really shouldn’t but here i go…
1. i cloth diaper the boy. it’s not that bad, really. or if in a laundry rut, i save tremendously on diapers when not using them as much. my next plan for saving on diapers…early potty training.
2. thrift stores? hmmm?
3. i make my own cleaning supplies. also some of my own body cleaning stuff. usually these things involve lots of baking soda, vinegar, and essential oils to make things smell good. i just found recipes online.
4. man, i’m trying out the vegetarian thing lately, and the cheapness prospects are lookin real good. lots of vegetables, lot of beans, buy grains in bulk…cheapey weapey! oh gosh, why do i type things like that?
5. i buy my produce from a co-op where a bunch of people go in and buy them bulk from farmers. it’s fresh and cheaper.
6. i use skype to call people a lot.
7. i just don’t have friends anymore. that way, i don’t go out to dinner anymore, spend gas money seeing them, or ever have to buy presents. it’s great. not…totally kidding. everybody needs friends.
also, most importantly, so wait, you guys aren’t british? are you just plain americans, like me? this is something i’ve been wondering for awhile, besides what you guys look like…so mysterious!

By: cool dad

cool dad — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:29:00 +0000

Yes, both sets of parents have treated us very well. We thank God for them!

Tam, let us know how your restructuring goes!

By: Tam

Tam — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:04:00 +0000

YES!! Go out to eat with the in-laws! That’s what my man and I did today! Yay us!

Great tips here guys! We’re in the process of restructuring our budget. Which means restructuring our lives…THIS should be fun =o

By: cool dad

cool dad — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:09:00 +0000

Amy – I’m not brave enough to go for the rabbit ears yet. CM’s mom gets great movies from her local library. We don’t have one nearby unfortunately. We have a rewards card and it’s been working quite nicely for us!

Matt – Yes, most every place we eat, we have a coupon for. Coupons are holy, blessed things.

By: Justmatt

Justmatt — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:49:00 +0000

To add to Amy’s List:
- Always use 1/2 price or buy 1/get 1 at fav. local mexican dive

- Take in-laws to dinner with you so they will pick up the tab… KIDDING…kinda… no really I am : )

By: Amy Wright

Amy Wright — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:24:00 +0000

A few of our best tries:

1) No cable. We're in a metropolis where our rabbit ears can bring us all networks (including 3 NBCs, 2 Foxes and several en espanol.)

1.a) Netflix over Blockbuster, and better yet, library over Netflix, when we have our act together.

2) Only one cell phone. Not as cheap as you guys.

3) We use half a dryer sheet per load of laundry, plus we use store brand everything, and I cut coupons.

4) I paint my own nails. (This is nearly unheard-of in SoFla!)

5) Credit Cards with points - everything possible goes on the card, and the points pay for our extravagant Disney vacations. This only works if you pay off the card, of course.

I'm sure there are more...

By: cool dad

cool dad — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:26:00 +0000

Rachel – not that this particularly money-saving, but we love the Archer Farms Chocolate Cranberry trail mix at Target! I think it kept CM going during some rough patches of the pregnancy.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:17:00 +0000

Thanks for the clarification, guys.

Glad you like to mix it up with uber hip lingo. I hear it’s all the rage with the kids these days…or something.