by Mark Garro | Thrifty Tips
We all have a money back-story. You might not realize it, but what you thought about money as a child, is still affecting how you deal with money today and all of your tomorrows. Because choosing to save your money rather than spend it is very different than not feeling like you have enough to spend.
Change Your Money Story in 3 Easy Steps
Did you hear any of these statements growing up? —
- Money doesn’t grow on trees
- We can’t afford that
- Money can’t buy happiness
- They were born with a silver spoon in their mouth
- I’m not made of money
- We don’t have money to burn
A LOT of parents have said numerous versions of this to their children (and themselves) and have no idea how much it affects their relationship with money for the rest of their lives. Allow me to translate each statement to how your subconscious most likely hears it:
• Money doesn’t grow on trees (AKA – There is not enough money to go around, and it will all run out someday)
• We can’t afford that (We are broke and not able to purchase whatever it is you’re wanting or needing)
• Money can’t buy happiness (While true to a degree, this can be misinterpreted to mean – If you HAVE money, you can’t be happy)
• They were born with a silver spoon in their mouth (They are rich only because were born that way- and deeper read – Since we were NOT born rich, we can never be rich)
• I’m not made of money (More “I can’t afford it” mentality)
• We don’t have money to burn (We don’t deserve to spend money on our “wants,” rather only on our “needs”)
It’s easy to grow up thinking you can’t afford a small luxury like matching dishes or feeling like you can’t donate money to a local charity you love.
Here’s the good news – you can change your money story!
Step 1- Go back in time
Think back to when you were a child and recall what you heard about money as you grew up, from your parents, other adults, and even other kids.
Identify Your Money Story
Think about what you heard about money and how that affected your current feelings to do with money. For example, I remember hearing “We’re not lucky when it comes to money” and “I’m not made of money.” I grew up thinking I was destined to be “not rich” and more importantly, that I didn’t deserve to have money. I took it a step further all by myself and realized I felt having money meant you weren’t a hard worker and I was almost embarrassed by anything that might be construed as “rich” or “fancy.”
Step 3 – Flip It And Reverse It
Take what you know now, your back-story, and flip it around (or reverse it- or both!) I took my shame of anything looking “rich,” and I owned it. I changed the meaning.
I always wanted someone to clean my house, but I had convinced myself I “couldn’t afford it” and admittedly it disgusted me to think of myself as “one of those people” (AKA- frivolous and lazy). And so, I changed the definition of what someone who gets house cleaning means.
The NEW definition of house cleaning recipient-> Someone who values their time and chooses to spend money to have help cleaning their home so they can have more time with family or whatever else they choose.
Shauna Sanders is a life coach for busy professionals who feel like something is missing from their lives. Together you’ll zero in on the reasons why and make a powerful plan of action so you can finally create and sustain the fulfilling life you want. Connect with her on Facebook or visit her website ShaunaSanders.com!
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by Mark Garro | Work from Home, Career & Education, Make Money
Being a busy stay-at-home-mom is a rewarding job, but the pay is garbage!
So what do you do when you want to remain at home with your children, but…
the money is tight…
the budget is s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d to the limit…
couponing is getting you nowhere fast…
and you just don’t have enough to go around…?
You start a business.
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by Mark Garro | Make Money
eBay is the most searched platform for buyers looking to buy items be it new, old or vintage. It’s easier to shop on, you get what you want delivered to your door step and you don’t have to dress up, go out to multiple stores to find what you are looking for. You must be wondering why I’m giving you all this information? That’s because, you too can make money with eBay by selling to other consumers if you really try.
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by Mark Garro | Thrifty Tips, Parenting
If you’re not properly prepared to save money on diapers, they can cost you upwards of $2,000 in the first two years of your child’s life. If you make the (slightly crazy) decision to have two babies close together – like mine, who are 16 months and 2 days apart – you’re looking at even more!
Now I know cloth diapering is by far the cheaper route to take when it comes to diapering a child, but we did what we had to in order to abide by daycare rules and time constraints. I definitely plan to cloth diaper our next child (as I am now a stay at home mom) so if you’ve got tips on that, be sure to comment below!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a commission should you click through and purchase. This in no way impacts my opinions below.
Save Money on Diapers
How many diapers will I need for my baby?
My son was (and still is) around the 55th percentile and here’s his dirty diaper breakdown:
- Newborn – honestly could’ve done without these. He was 7lbs, 3 oz and 20.5 inches long but the newborn diapers are so itty bitty. We used up the pack that was provided by the hospital but after that we were in size 1.
- Size 1 – 716
- Size 2 – 300
- Size 3 – 1,440
- Size 4 – 463
- Size 5 – 1,980 (and counting…)
Despite having gone through over 5,000 diapers, I’ve only spent $380 on diapers for my two year old.
Host a Diaper Party
Baby showers are old hat. Throw a co-ed diaper party instead! I would definitely still recommend completing a registry to at least earn some free swag or a percentage off what you need/want for baby, but believe me you’ll appreciate having a mountain of diapers much more than a monogrammed sterling silver rattle.
See on Amazon
Stockpile Diapers
After your diaper party, assess your stash. Obviously the diapers needed per child will vary widely, but chances are high you’ll need mostly size 3, 4, and 5 and very few newborn/size 1. I will also note that with my first born I was a bit more neurotic about changing him every two-three hours, no matter if he needed it or not, so we went through more of the smaller sizes than we did with Baby #2.
If you received ten boxes of size 1s, take this time pre-baby and return them. If you don’t know which store they came from, you can often look online to see if a certain store (such as Target) has the same kind of diaper as that which you’re looking to return. Many stores will exchange diapers with little-to-no hassle.
Once you’ve assessed your stash, you’ll have a better idea as to how many diapers to buy whenever you spot a good deal. When you do find a seemingly great price, make sure you think price per diaper and not price per package. You may notice certain brands cost different, depending on the type…which brings me to my next point:
Do Diaper Brands Matter
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never noticed a difference in Pampers Swaddlers versus Baby Dry versus whatever other ones they have. For me, it comes down to the price per diaper. Because my children have a tendency to soak through the generic brands, I do invest in Pampers for the night time. During the day, though, especially when the daycare changes them every two hours, generic works great. I’m a fan of the Target brand diapers, especially since they usually offer gift card deals with your purchase, free shipping, and 5% off if you use your RedCard! Believe it or not, I’ll also grab diapers from my favorite grocery store — Aldi!
Buy Diapers Online
As you may already know, I’m all about having stuff delivered straight to my house! With two kids in diapers, one being a wild toddler and the other a breastfed infant, I’m not a fan of running errands when I don’t absolutely have to. While places like CVS may sometimes have great deals on diapers that you can stack coupons on, the pennies I could save aren’t worth the time and stress that comes from shopping with two babies in tow. I do about 75% of my purchasing via Amazon and I love it.
Amazon Family does offer a 20% discount when you subscribe to their diaper service, but I’d stay away until you’re in 4s/5s and know you won’t be changing sizes any time soon. While it’s not necessarily hard to return things to Amazon, it’s not exactly fun either! If you do subscribe, you also need to make sure you’ve got it in your budget each month so that the auto-deduction doesn’t provide you with any unwelcome surprises. Speaking of being careful…
Diaper carefully!
The ridges along the leg holes of the diaper are there for a reason. Make sure that those ridges are splayed out and not tucked back into the diaper or you’ll soon not only have a wet diaper, but a wet baby, and your plan to save time doing laundry is shot. Also, with little boys, make sure you’re careful when you’re changing (use a wipe to cover him so you don’t get sprayed) and also when you’re putting the clean diaper on (point down or again you’re at risk for a wet baby!)
Diaper Freebies
Finally, make sure you’re signing up with the diaper companies (Pampers, Huggies, Honest Company, Luvs, 7th Generation…) They’ll likely send you samples and coupons. As I mentioned before, we’re a Pampers family when we’re not using generic, so we also participate in the Pampers Rewards Program. Not only can you earn rewards for buying diapers, but they often have special offers, like free Shutterfly merchandise!
You can’t be prepared for the changes that parenthood brings to your life, but you can at least prepare your budget and ensure you don’t spend more than you have to.
One final tip – if you have an Aldi near you, go there to buy your wipes!! I love how thick and durable they are and I’ve yet to find anywhere cheaper (even when buying in bulk!)
What’s YOUR best tip to save money with a new baby?
by Mark Garro | Reviews, Make Money, Your Money
Looking for a review of InboxDollars? You’ve come to the right place! Today over my lunch hour I made $50! And now I’d like to show you how to do the same.
Disclosure: Any link to InboxDollars within this article is a referral link, which means I may be compensated for your sign-up, but this does not in any way impact my thoughts or feelings towards InboxDollars.
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