My £20k MSE Baby Adventure

twinklybev

Long post........

Once upon a time there was a woman who wanted so much to spend time at home when her new Baby that she embarked on a very big adventure. It was an exciting & sometimes scary journey….to save as much money as possible.

OK, so my Baby brain is in full gear right now but you get the gist. That was me 6 months ago, totally in love with my newborn Daughter, not forgetting Hubbie of course. BUT wondering how the heck can I get to see my little ‘un grow up day-to-day & be a full-time Mum. Then I discovered MSE website!!!! 6 months later, I never dreamed I’d be looking to the happiest future ever as a full-time Mum having taken a career break from my management job for 5 years.

Anyway, whilst pregnant, I thought my only realistic money achievement would be to perhaps do a bit of shopping around whilst time on my hands as no mad nights out when preggie hey lol! At the most I thought I’d save a couple of hundred quid on nursery items.

One of my key motivators was my best friend who advised me to think long & hard about not going back to work. She’d gone back to work when her baby was 4 ½months & told me she was stressed out to death & not saving a great deal of money. After they’d paid out £650+ for nursery & petrol, unpaid days off when babes was ill, nights out to recover from week in work, guilty shopping trips to splash out on baby etc etc, she felt unhappy yet trapped on the “money madness treadmill” as she called it.

Prior to having my Daughter, I had a well-paid management job. Far from being rich, my Husband & I enjoyed good lifestyle in materialistic terms. We were careful with money but if I’m honest, I never really haggled over the small change & only really looked round loads on the big buys, e.g. cars, hols, leather sofa, pc, etc. As I was working over 60 hours a week at the time, I literally was too exhausted to face a long shopping trip on a Saturday morning. I was particularly averse to on-line shopping having spent copious amounts of time on a computer at work. I guess in my heart-of-hearts, I’d thought of things like buying second hand on eBay & at Booties were more hassle than their worth. How wrong I was!

I’ll be honest with you, like many other habits, spending less money has not always been easy. Like many other habits, I sometimes felt like giving up and still have those “sod-it-I-wanna-spend-money-now-on-anything” twinges now from time-to-time.

Besides my Husband’s support, I couldn’t have done this without all you fab money savers who’ve provided invaluable tips, advice & support in a non-judgmental & on many occasions, fun way. Thank you especially Martin & Team for changing mine & Husband’s life, and most importantly from my ‘ickle’ Daughter’s who’s now 6 months old & Blooming Marvellous!

Total Anticipated MSE Savings over 5 Years at Home my Daughter = £19,900

· FOOD - Buying in Lidl/Aldi/Netto – Yes, for us it means a once a month trip out of town 25 miles round but we combine it with a country walk stop-off en route. An acquaintance recently referred to these shops as “binny & wouldn’t be seen dead in them in case anyone saw me.” More fool her! Saving over 5 years £4,800 besides my Lidl is out of town only joking LOL!.
· MORTGAGE - Re-mortgaging house to another lender - £2,900 saving over 5 years after fees & hoping to reclaim £225 deeds fee.
· EXERCISE, SAVE THE PLANET WHATEVER! - Cancel gym membership & cut car costs – Yes I knew this but MSE gave me a kick up the bum I needed to do it. £4,500 over 5 years.
· EARNING CASH ON–LINE YOU KNOW WHERE! Selling on eBay – over £900 over 6 months, who me a hoarder never thought I was tho’! Forecast £4,000 over 5 years.
· CAR BOOTY SCARY BUT FUN! - Saved around £500 on Baby Clothes, Toys & Bedding, Have lots of fun now, met some lovely people, learnt to haggle (a bit I’m still scared!!) & that second hand can be fab!
· BILLS - Switching energy & insurance bills - £1500 per year
· CHRISTMAS - Buying Christmas pressies on eBay, in Sales – bit of forward planning needed for me here but last Christmas saved £300 on usual budget per person. £1,500 over 5 years.

Big Hugs to You All xxx As my Nan says, the best way to save money is to keep it in your purse! Cheers Nan!

jo_b_2

Well done twinklybev! :T

Glad that you are making the most of maternity leave and this site!

arthur_dent_2

That is one heck of a saving. There is nothing better than being able to bring up your own children. You will pull your hair out, shout and get many a headache, but you also have the cute moments the days when they decide to behove trips out and achievements etc. It is worth the poverty.

BusyLizzie_3

Wow, what a very inspring post twinkybev! Well done for managing such excellent MSE. I think I'm very much in the same position as you, except that I have 3 babies and no Lidl near me (yet)!

Keep up the great work.

full-time-mum

Well done you - you'll never regret the decision to stay at home. You might have a few wobbly moments when baby goes to school and you realise you can't just jump back in where you left off but you can never replace those early days. The rest is only money and work, a family is a vocation.

emilyt

What a wonderful thread.
You have done so well.
Glad you have been able to stay at home with your DD. You won't regret it and will be there to witness all those little mile stones in her life.
I worked around my 2 DD's. Had to do some work but was always there to take them to school and pick them up from school. They still like the idea of me always being here even though they are 18 and 20.

BRUISERFIELD_2

Hi, I was so glad to read your posting I am in exactly the same position, I went back to work because I had to 4 months after my son was born. Lost lots of sleepless nights about it. However I am now planning my exit route as my son is 10 months old and only have 3 months to go, to save a certain amount of money I have set myself before I can leave work to be a full time mum. People say to me what will you do with yourself why are you giving up work etc but the way I look at it I only have one chance with my son but I can always get another job. I wish you well and supprt the fact that as long as you are not broke to the point of not enjoying being at home then go for it.

Cavell

Hi, glad to read your piece as I am in a similar position. I gave up my management job (after declaring I never would for children) and ended up with 3. I do not regret giving up for a minute, even though I agonised about doing so for ages.

I have saved plenty of money by clever shopping, changing insurances, utility providers, using ebay etc etc. Taking into account that I now hardly use any petrol or have any childminding fees, I feel I am much better off.

The children love it the way it is and that is the most important thing to me.

I felt with the petrol money, car running and child minding etc plus tax, I would have been working until Wednesday before any of the pay came my way. I am fortunate to be in this position and am well aware of that. I thought it was going to be near impossible to afford to give up work before I did so. I since have found this to be way off the mark. It is well worth every minute!

maggiebee48

Well done, you!!! More mums like you would be nice for the future of the planet. You won't regret it. I brought up 4 just like you are.
Just one thing to add to all those in the same boat-don't forget your local Freecycle forum for finding those expensive baby items which hardly get used-for FREE! Remember https://www.freecycle.org to find your local site. It's massive in Birmingham and plenty of choice.
Good on yer! Mags

Isabelle

Hi Twinklybev

Fantastic story, thanks for sharing, brought a tear to my eye remembering when I stayed at home with mine (for 10 years!). Now all nearly too old to still need their Mum at home, so I'm working full-time!
Enjoy your daughter, they grow up SO quickly (I know everybody says it, but it's true!)
To echo the last post, Freecycle is a great way to not only clear your own clutter but also to get hold of baby/toddler things that you only need for a relatively short period. When you're done with them, you can always stick them back on Freecycle!
Take care

Isabelle (Mum to 4)

SuperWife

Well done Twinklybev. You will never regret spending this time with your baby. Enjoy and keep on saving!:T