Baby on a budget!

Now I am from frugal stock, but I have taken my fruggality to new highs (or new lows) whichever way you want to look at it.

Starting out setting up for a baby can be a vey expensive business, or not - it depends on you and those around you. Having just emmigrated with the bare basics, buying a fixer upper house, two cars and having a baby whilst transitioning employment meant we were not going to be the parents with the perfectly co-ordinated nursery nor was our baby going to be in clothes so new they had the labels still on.

We were lucky enough to have family, friends and neighbours with children - all of whom were pleased to clear out there closets and back up their trucks to our door with beautiful, gently used clothes and accessories.

Looking in the local paper we were able to get a very nice solid wood dresser for $20 (approx £12) which we sanded and painted white and turned into a dresser/changetable. We had a bassinet as a loaner and anything we didn't have we scoured online ads and charity / pre-owned stores.

One day whilst driving along - I swiftly pulled into a side road, my husband was out of the car and opening the back door ready to check our son in a flash, before I even had time to point out an item I had yet been able to procure - a laundry hamper, it has one foot shorter than the others, but other than that is perfectly useful and also handily painted white!

Costs (not corners) can be cut everywhere in a baby budget - food when old enough can be home made and I will cover that at a later date, cloth (re-useable) diapers/ nappies can save a fortune - yes even with laundry costs. Anyone against using diapers always cites the cost of laundry as a reason not to go cloth. But anyone with a baby knows you are already put the machine on once a day when you have a baby!

We used soft face cloths in small squares with a squirty water bottle on the change table, for all but the worst diaper changes and we have a tub of wipes ready for those.

There will be more budget tips throughout relevant posts. Watch this space