Old Hag Seeks Less Stress

Drawingaline · 6 September 2019 at 7:29PM

Yey on the extra extra money!

I only did the nct course with number 3, as we had moved areas and either of us worked for six months (we sold a property so had money but no income) so we qualified for the discount, was amazing considering how expensive they can be.

savingholmes · 6 September 2019 at 10:15PM

On babies.... Buy as little as possible. You don't need anything like what people claim you do. My top buy was a travel nappy changing mat which including a box or pouch for wipes. We used a second hand swinging crib or bassinet for the first few weeks. As others have said when baby 1 had the snuffles at one point he slept in the car seat. I wish I had used second hand prams as they were a rip off. I did get a brand new cot bed and mattress but only because MIL paid. I've lent this to various people since and when I had DD bought a new mattress. You need some bedding but again very little. You need some clothes but lots of people give it away or sell for around £10 a bin bag. Also try freecycle and downright cheeky asking....

There are often furniture re-use charities that have more baby stuff than they know what to do with so try them... Again toys and books for babies are widely available at charity shops and school fairs - with a good wash they will soon be like new.

Good luck on your journey. Congrats on your pregnancy. Great news about the PIP as Beanie said - you can use it to clear some of your debts and get peace of mind.

Sancti · 6 September 2019 at 10:39PM

beanielou wrote: »

Good news on the PIP.
You could pay off the two Littlewoods & still have money left for Ikea & bits & bobs

Yeah I was thinking this is the smartest thing! Littlewoods needs paying without hesitation, because the interest is so unbelievably high if not paid in time. I just went through the first buy that I'm paying off "Cash Price £379.99 Buy Now Pay Later 52 Weeks And Then 104 Wks 54.9% - Interest £518.34"

Yikes!!!

Definitely can't risk that. Would make the total price £898.33! Blows my mind that I ever risked that happening, I do feel a bit ashamed to be honest. I FINALLY got approved to swap my bank account to a current account (been stuck on a foundation account for the last 8 years due to poor credit) so I guess all these little bits and pieces do make a difference. I did request a block on overdrafts though, so that part will function the same as my foundation account - If offered even a tiny overdraft I will 100% use it so I just don't need the risk. Checked today and my credit score is now 838... It started at 250-something back in 2014! Also opened a little savings account as my only savings account was an ISA, which isn't really appropriate considering my savings will be regularly used in the next 6 months or so.

Ideally I'd like to swap my credit card for one with a better interest rate (mine is around 35%) but I'm probably a good couple of years off of that. My credit card was meant to be a credit builder, but I ended up throwing so many stupid purchases onto it that it completely defeated the purpose and I sank within a year

This is a long term goal though, hoping for 2021 as I will potentially need it for baby/house purchases considering Batbag is unlikely to help with anything.

Sancti · 6 September 2019 at 10:58PM

savingholmes wrote: »

On babies.... Buy as little as possible. You don't need anything like what people claim you do. My top buy was a travel nappy changing mat which including a box or pouch for wipes. We used a second hand swinging crib or bassinet for the first few weeks. As others have said when baby 1 had the snuffles at one point he slept in the car seat. I wish I had used second hand prams as they were a rip off. I did get a brand new cot bed and mattress but only because MIL paid. I've lent this to various people since and when I had DD bought a new mattress. You need some bedding but again very little. You need some clothes but lots of people give it away or sell for around £10 a bin bag. Also try freecycle and downright cheeky asking....

There are often furniture re-use charities that have more baby stuff than they know what to do with so try them... Again toys and books for babies are widely available at charity shops and school fairs - with a good wash they will soon be like new.

Good luck on your journey. Congrats on your pregnancy. Great news about the PIP as Beanie said - you can use it to clear some of your debts and get peace of mind.

Thank you for the congrats and the luck! And yes I'm thrilled about PIP, the extra £20/week is an extra £80-£100 a month moving forward which really does make so much difference, and it's unaffected by me working so it's a real foundation.

I have had so many items vetoed for baby! I think it's really easy with your first to get completely overwhelmed by all the adverts and "mum-guilt" and you end up feeling like you need everything. I've been so focused on debt these last 5 months that I've bought very little, but I am being quite cut throat now I'm starting to deal with it. That's really handy to know about the travel mat, I saw one on eBay for £8 I think? That rolls up tiny, but I was worried it would be too thin, I don't really have any clue what I'm doing. My parents have been amazing, they bought my buggy for me - I have Joint Hypermobility Syndrome, but it's really extreme so have regular hand dislocations (amongst others). They don't really bother me anymore, but it does mean I have very low hand strength. We went around Mothercare and literally folded up every single buggy until we found one I could undo the latch on myself :rotfl: But it does mean that's a huge purchase I don't have to buy myself. A family friend has given me a moses basket and a car seat, so "big" purchase wise I only really need bedroom furniture and a crib for baby. I wouldn't think a crib and a moses basket were necessary from birth, as I also have a gifted "next2me" type affair for next to the bed, but I have a home visit on Nov 4th with the community midwife, health visitor and a mental health support worker to check the house is "ready" and it's one of their stipulations. It's a formality but annoying it's so early, I assume it's to check I am not planning on hanging the baby from the ceiling every night (saving that for the weekends). It does mean that buying second hand is relatively limited though, I'm on a short time scale so can't really wait around for the items I need to pop up, hence the IKEA run! I also don't drive so physically getting the items is a pain too as everyone near me who drives works full time, although I am grabbing what I can.

The baby parts are expensive, but another big expense is really just the house in general. Last year I was working so much, I went abroad 5 times which totalled over 3 months away. I moved here in a hurry last May, and I bought all my furniture/white goods second hand and as cheaply as possible. Now I'm 18 months down the line, the whole "buy cheap, buy twice" thing is biting me in the !!!!. I was using a childs chest of drawers for my clothes, for example, which is not only falling apart but definitely not going to fit an adult and a baby's clothes in! Cooker is slowly dying (no longer have a grill), fridge has started to freeze things lol. Lots of random things like that, it makes the potential spend terrifying but I'm just trying to chip away at things and not look at the big picture just yet!

Drawingaline · 7 September 2019 at 9:29AM

Really? The midwife state you need both a moses basket and cot? A crib is an I between size, I only used one with number 4 as he had to be in with us or a lot longer due to lack of space. All my others had a moses basket then a cot. In fact number two went into a travel cot at 5weeks which we would move from our room to the front room (were in a two bed flat and our other child was only 15 months wen he was born and not a great sleeper) did this until he was around 8months!

What would happen if you just had the moses basket and a side cot? Surely that covers it all?

Drawingaline · 7 September 2019 at 9:30AM

For clothing storage, look at the ikea kallax range. With large boxs in they are fab for holding a lot of folded clothes anyou can buy drawers for them, which are small but OK for underwear etc. Also an OK height for a changin

in_need_of_direction · 7 September 2019 at 9:33AM

I’m sure you’ve probably already sorted this but make sure you have an ikea family card. It’s free and you may get some appropriate discounts.

Drawingaline · 7 September 2019 at 9:34AM

Table. I bought a changing mat, and using the sticky velcro you can buy used that to ensure it didnt slide about on top. You can buy legs to add to the bottom of the kallax to raise the height slightly too.

I was the same as you with a light pushchair. After number 2 I developed a chronic back issue and struggled so much with the double buggy. So we looked for two light weight strollers to use when my husband was with me. Found the lightest one possible with one long handle (two seperate handles twisted my back) that could be lifted with one finger. Loved that buggy, was amazing. mothercare don't make them anymore though.

Sancti · 7 September 2019 at 10:13PM

Drawingaline wrote: »

Really? The midwife state you need both a moses basket and cot? A crib is an I between size, I only used one with number 4 as he had to be in with us or a lot longer due to lack of space. All my others had a moses basket then a cot. In fact number two went into a travel cot at 5weeks which we would move from our room to the front room (were in a two bed flat and our other child was only 15 months wen he was born and not a great sleeper) did this until he was around 8months!

What would happen if you just had the moses basket and a side cot? Surely that covers it all?

I told her that I had a side cot and moses basket for now, and she said "Oh no, we need to see a proper sleeping area for the baby". I personally think she's being a bit pedantic but it's also not really my place to comment, just to comply! So a crib it is, although I'm looking at a cot bed so it can move with us and baby can use it for a good few years. They seem to be £150-£200 for a Mothercare one, which isn't as bad as I was anticipating.

I actually don't have space for a kallax unit or a changing table, baby will have to live with a chest of drawers and maybe a small unit by the cot. I live in a 1 bed house, so we're crammed into my little bedroom until next summer! I'm just planning on a cheapy changing mat upstairs, and one downstairs, and maybe a travel one for my changing bag. I am kind of "making do" for now in several respects!

Sancti · 7 September 2019 at 10:17PM

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

I’m sure you’ve probably already sorted this but make sure you have an ikea family card. It’s free and you may get some appropriate discounts.

I actually had not thought of this at all :eek:, thank you!! Not had the funds to do an IKEA shop in years!

Old Hag Seeks Less Stress

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