Affording Our Baby.

You may be thinking to yourself, "Doesn't Ashley work at a Catholic school? And isn't her husband working on his PhD? Then how the heck can they afford to have a baby??"

And you would be right. Between the two of us, we make less than many college-educated people make with ONE income, let alone two. And, yet, we just had a baby. Which many people will tell you is a little money-sucker. I'm sure you've heard the numbers - "in your baby's first year, you can easily spend $9,000-11,000!" 

But I wanted to share how we're making this whole having-a-baby thing way cheaper. In addition to all the other ways we try to save money (note: That post is old. I have no longer 'cut the caffeine habit,' happily.), we've done lots of other things that work for us and our baby.

First, we've (mostly) banned disposables. Like everything else in our life - we avoid things that you throw away after using just once, as they tend to be far more expensive in the long run. Which means we use cloth diapers and flannel wipes. (We do have some disposables for when we're out and about, when he weighed less than 8 lbs, and when all our cloth diapers are dirty.) They are super easy (seriously!), good for the environment, good for our wallets, and waaaay more comfortable on Gabe's little tush. Specifics? We have ten diapers for now - seven one-size and three small. We use mostly Fuzzibunz and a few Gro Baby diapers that were super cheap on BabySteals.com. I made the wipes myself from flannel fabric I had, but will be making more out of the billions of flannel receiving blankets that we have.

A couple of flannel wipes.

A few people have asked me to write a post about cloth diapers, so that's all I'm going to say for now. But, yay! Cloth diapers!

The cutest cloth diapered booty around. (Adorable husband not for sale.)

Second, we told everyone we knew that 1) we would love second-hand gifts (our baby shower invites even said this) and 2) we would love any baby things they were no longer using.

When people buy you second-hand gifts, they are cheaper, so they can get you more things. Woo! (The breast pump my Grandma got me secondhand - sterilized, don't worry - was a quarter of the price is it new.) Plus! Second-hand is better for the environment, and babies don't tend to wear out most things since they are tiny and not too mobile. Some of our diapers were gifts my aunts got from Craigslist and are in great shape, they hardly looked used. *Gasp!* Used diapers!

Taking a bath in his second-hand bath tub. 

Things we got second-hand from others include: cloth diapers, a crib (well, it was actually new since it had been recalled and Mike's brother got a voucher for a new one), a baby swing, a Pack n Play, lots of clothes, infant car seat carrier system (less that 3 years old and was never in a car accident), baby gates, a breast pump, a baby tub, a glider, and a diaper pail. Plus, plenty of disposable diapers that my cousin (who is five weeks older than Gabe. Yes, he is my cousin.) grew out of.

Gabriel in his infant seat.

Third, we simplified and bought second-hand ourselves.

In the process of creating our registry, I came across some great advice from Amalah about not getting too much before the baby comes and not putting too much on the registry. I got what I really wanted (like cloth diapers, a sound machine, and swaddles) by not putting tons of things on my registry. Baby registries are just like wedding registries in the sense that the stores want you to think you desperately need and CANNOT SURVIVE without tons of crap that, oh hey! how convenient! you can buy at their store. Unlike a wedding registry, though, you don't really know what will work best or what you'll end up needing for your baby - so it's best to wait to buy lots of things until after the baby comes.

Then you'll probably get gift cards, which is great because 1) you get to leave the house and spend money that isn't yours and 2) you get what you really need after the baby comes (ooooor, you buy snacks for the hospital like we did with a Target gift card that my sister bought us.)

And, after the baby comes, you realize, hey! we really should get some more of those swaddle blankets! Or maybe we should get a bouncy seat because this kid adores being bounced. And because you didn't buy tons of things before the baby came, you can afford it! Bonus points if you buy second-hand, like we did with his bouncy seat (which was less than half the price it is new from Once Upon a Child).

 

Scrawny baby chicken legs not for sale.

We also kept things simple by not really having a 'nursery theme'  (aside from a painting we did ourselves, a cute lamp, a crib canopy, and a few frames we filled with photos we printed off the internet, we spent nothing on his room) and opted not to register for things that are completely unnecessary but totally adorable, like a 12-piece bedding set. Again, Amalah did a great piece on the pressure to have a cutesy nursery (my favorite line: "My guess? DOLLAH BILLZ. Also: pregnant women like MATCHY!!1!").

(Also, we're tacky and returned some gifts we didn't need in order to have money to spend at Babies R Us on the things off our registry that we didn't get but really needed - bottles and a Moby wrap. You don't have to do this. But you can and I won't judge you.)

Fourth, I breastfeed.

Okay, so I'm not really nursing him in this picture, but it sort of looks like it. Let's pretend.

Simple enough - but we're going to save hundreds of dollars by not feeding him formula. That stuff is expensive, yo! Breastfeeding was definitely challenging and far more difficult than I expected it to be  for the first few weeks- but my biggest motivation to stick with it and not give up is that it is FREE. (Uh...I mean, that it's good for my baby. That, too.)

And that's how we can afford Gabriel. (Of course, the actual giving birth in a hospital is an expense, too! One which I just saw the bill for, and whooo boy. I didn't have an epidural and left after one night and it was still way, way expensive. Good thing our insurance will cover 80%.)

If you have lots of spare money and want all the trappings of baby-world, more power to you! I am definitely not judging people who decide their baby needs everything new, a fancy nursery, and a new car to hold their $1,000 car seats - I just wanted to share how we're doing it. And if you want to have a baby, but think it isn't the right time, maybe you'll be encouraged that your baby doesn't need $11,000 worth of contraptions to survive. I promise he'll be okay.

Captain Planet Says, "Let's All Recycle!"

Long ago, before anyone read this blog - I talked about why I don't buy most plastic. Namely - it can't be recycled. At the time, I was living in a city that could only recycle PETE #1 and 2 plastic bottle. Pretty specific. And it meant my beloved Maple Cream Top yogurt was no longer allowed in my shopping cart.

Happily, our new city - Cleveland Heights - is an awesome about recycling! We can recycle ANY plastic, #1-5 and 7 - even plastic bags! We recycle paperboard like cereal boxes, too! And they even have curbside electronics recycling! Okay, okay. Chill out, Captain Planet.

Although reducing is certainly better than recycling, it's exciting to be able to indulge in my favorite plastic-wrapped treats now and then without feeling terribly guilty. Plus, we won't have to drive all our paper recycling somewhere else. One more reason to love my new place.

To find out about recycling in your city - just Google: "your city name" + "recycling." Finding out the actual rules for yourself ensures that your hard work to save recyclables won't go to waste. Otherwise, doom awaits. Or, you know, bad stuff: "Please note that materials that are not properly prepared for recycling or are mixed with non-recyclable material may be taken as refuse." (from here.)

Removing lids, rinsing out containers, knowing what you can and can't recycle, removing labels - all this might ensure that your pickle jar and mouthwash container fulfill their destiny.

Happy recycling!

PS: Several of you have emailed me wondering where my post about Gap went. I created a little blog (called, naturally - My Little Reviews) to chronicle all the adventures to come with being a Gap Brand Enthusiast - plus lots more reviews. My Worth It Wednesdays might just pop up over there. :)

PPS: Would you judge me if I created it just so I could create another header?

PPPS: Because that's totally not why I did it.

PPPPS: Mostly, anyway.

Saving Money. So Hot Right Now.

I’ve been voraciously devouring two fantastic books: Craft Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business by Meg Mateo Ilasco and The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube by Michelle Goodman. I am alternating between the books at whim, but I just can’t get enough of them. They are seriously amazing. Part of me worries that I’m getting my hopes up too much – they make it seem quite possible to do what you love for a living. I’m admittedly a wee bit nervous to allow myself dream up grandiose ideas – what if they don’t come to be? What if I am disappointed? And worse, what if I fail?

Anyhow, we’ll talk about my career aspirations another time. I noticed that both books, particularly The Anti 9-to-5 Guide, place a lot of emphasis on downsizing your lifestyle in order to do what you want. To not be limited by your Starbucks habit, shoe addiction, or huge cell phone bill, but be free to pursue your deepest desires and aspirations.

Let’s say you despise your job, so you invest heavily in retail therapy. But then you're trapped in your job in order to maintain your standard of living (like those pretty designer handbags and those yummy lattes). Would you be happier with a job that you dread and lots of expensive things or a career that you adore and living simply?

Many of the authors’ suggestions on how to downsize your lifestyle or spend less are things we already do, so I thought I’d share some ways that Mike and I are frugal and ask you to share your ideas as well!

• No cable. We had free cable last year, but when it came time to choose spending $40+ a month on TV? Nope.
• Library instead Netflix or buying books and CDs.
• One car for the two of us. (I walk to work.)
• Biking to the grocery in the summer. Mmm, summer.
• Aside from washing dishes, I do all our cleaning with baking soda and vinegar.
• Buying in bulk – rice, oats, almonds, etc.
• Dried beans instead of canned beans. So super cheap it’s amazing!
• I cut the coffee habit a few months ago – which means my coffee runs have drastically reduced.
• Planning meals – less waste, more eating healthy, and less chance we’ll decide to just order a pizza instead!
• Reusing everything you could ever imagine. I reuse packaging and brown paper bags for my Etsy and Amazon packages, I rinse out Ziploc bags, I reuse aluminum foil, our “Tupperware” is reused yogurt containers, and we have almost no disposable paper products in our house.
• Love hand-me-downs, thrift stores, consignment shops, and ridiculously cheap clothing stores.
• Never spring for manicures, pedicures, salon hair cuts or coloring (Best Cuts is my friend. As is hair dye-in-a-box!).
• No pre-cut, pre-washed veggies or fruit. I'd rather do it myself and save a lot of money.
• Try to make do with what I have. (My husband is laughing at me right now. I kind of like Target. And Joann Fabric.)

Here’s to spending less money and living more.

[ETA: I think it's important to point out that I don't advocate cutting costs at the expense of human rights, the environment, or so on - I choose to spend my money more intentionally - instead of buying a whole lot of junk I don't need from Wal-Mart, I buy it from Target one nice, quality item that is fair-trade, made locally, or something like that. :) I'd never want to promote saving money above all else. It's about spending it more wisely. Right?]

{Don’t forget to share your frugal tips. Be proud of your penny-pinching prowess!}

Paper Towels are for WIMPS

Wanna know something quirky about me?

I make a point not to use paper towels in public (or work) restrooms.*

I just shake my hands little and wipe them on my pants. Why not? They're clean. I also enforce an "Only One!" rule with my kids at work when they're using paper towels. That goes for napkins at dinner, too.

Otherwise, I point and them and ridicule them, "Do you hate trees or something??".

Okay, only joking. or not.

If you pay attention to how much paper you waste - you make a baby step. That's what I tell my kids, anyway.
________
Side notes
1: I'm curious: responding to comments on your blog - how do you do it?? Do you ignore them? Do you email them? Do you reply back underneath their comments? Each individual comment? Help! I rarely go back and visit blogs to see if the author responded, but I've done it a couple of times myself. I have a lot of questions - do you have answers!?

2: I think I heard a ghost in the elementary school girls' bathroom today. It was creepy. I know I'm supposed to be an adult and be all, "That was NOTHING, guys. No big deal. Do do do do." But when you hear a door close and you ask if any one's in there and you hear a small "Yes" but don't see anyone, you have reason to be scared. Right!?

*In particularly nasty restrooms, I totally use a paper towel just so I don't have to touch the door. *Shudder*

All I Can Really Think About is How The Office was a Rerun

Another cop out of an entry. Ugh. I hate to do this, but I worked over 11 hours today. Soooo, here goes::

We don't recycle paper until we use nearly every square inch of it. That means, printing on two sides, using scratch paper to make my beloved lists. (Lists give me a sense of peace and order. It's nice.)

Aaaand that's my lame-o post. My day was fantastic, if you're interested. That's rare a) at my job and b) after working for nearly 12 hours.

Over or Under is No Longer a Debate: More Toilet Talk

A bit TMI, perhaps...but I just gotta tell you about our toilet paper habits.













As a part of our get-rid-of-paper-products kick, and inspired by Crunchy's challenge, I took the plunge and decided to try using cloth wipes instead of recycled TP. (Don't say I didn't I warn you it was TMI!)

Now, before you get totally grossed out, let me explain that 1) I just tried it with #1 at first; 2) If you've used cloth diapers, it's really not a big leap; and 3) It's perfectly possible to do this for even the most squeamish among us.

With virtually every drastic change I've made, I've completely balked at the idea at first, then slowly but surely accepted the idea (usually falling in love with it after a few weeks). I've been using cloth TP for about two months now. Here are some of the benefits:

• It's waaay cheaper to cut up an old t-shirt than to spring for the comfy (or recycled) stuff
• The comfort factor -- imagine a soft flannel cloth or t-shirt instead of scratchy paper...you cannot even imagine!
  
• Reducing waste and paper usage -- there's no packaging, there's no waste (minus a small amount of detergent and water to wash the cloths)
  
• Less chemicals -- making toilet paper is a chemical, water, and energy intensive process, so cloth saves on all of that!

Here's how I do it:

- Cut up old t-shirts into squares about 4" by 4"
- Put stack of cloths on back of toilet and use as needed :)
- Use a mesh lingerie bag to put the used cloths in
- Throw the bag in the laundry when I do a load
- Ta-da! It's super easy, makes you feel good, saves some money, and is good for the planet (kinda our theme 'round here)

Give it a try!

PS: Is anyone else looking forward to Thanksgiving and a few days off as much as I am!?

Digital Digital Get Down

...Just what we need.*

Isn't our new-to-us laptop sooooo pretty?! Hint: say yes.

It’s simple but its impact is deceptively large. By changing all of our bank and credit card statements to be electronic only, we’re able to alleviate the onslaught of disappointingly impersonal mail we get. Plus, we reduce our paper waste (okay, paper recycling). It’s not fancy or adventurous, but paying your bills online makes life simpler, uses less paper, and saves money (no stamp!). Isn’t it strange how trying to live more sustainability is also often more frugal? And people are trying to make us think we all need carbon offsets and expensive hybrids to make a difference. Pshaw…little and cheap is our way.

* Yes, a shameless reference to an awful song by a defunct boy band.

OPERATION: Actually Post!

We joined NaBloPoMo so we will FORCE ourselves to post daily for the entire month. Let's see how this goes!

Each day we'll discuss a different tip or idea for reducing your consumption, being more environmentally conscious, or just plain being green. As much as I hate to label it -- It's a green tip a day. (For some reason, using green as an adjective in that way really gives me the heeby jeebies. *shudder*)


Today: Never buy paper towels ever again.


I actually started to realize how unnecessary paper towels are last year when I lived with four other girls. Out of cheapness, we stopped buying paper towels and started using wash clothes, cloth towels, and rags to clean up our messes. We had plenty cloth alternatives, so it never became a problem. Just throw in a few towels with every load of laundry and you'll save money! Easy peasy.

Work, on the other hand, is a different story. I work at an after-school center with lots of kids. That means, lots of paper towels when they spill something. Which, of course, happens all the time. I have lots of guilt over this, and try to assuage myself, because the paper towels are recycled which makes a world of difference. Right?