Natalie
and I laugh that we have adopted somewhat of a pioneer-ish life-style over the
last few months, but we have been having a lot of fun with it, and saving a lot
of money. When we were invited to contribute to "The Provident PhD,"
we started thinking about things that we have been doing to help save money as
a couple still trying to get through college with a new baby. Following are several practices that have
helped us save.
The first
way we have been saving money is that we do not buy a ton of expensive
furniture. Let go of the need to
impress and be okay with letting things be a bit tacky. It doesn’t have to match itself or the
caliber of your parents house. When
people offered us old furniture, we took it even if it didn’t match (and it
definitely didn’t). Our kitchen table is
from the DI. Our end table is a cheap basic
one from IKEA. The only thing that is
very consistent about our apartment is that nothing matches, and guess what,
we’re still happy! And what about the
latest flat screen? Get this, we don’t
have a TV. There is so much more time in
a day when you don’t have to stay up on a series. We don’t buy movies. We rent them for free from the library or
even our parents houses and watch them on our laptop. This has worked out just fine for us.
I know
when you first hear this it may come as a shock that people still do this, but
something that has helped us save a ton is switching over to cloth diapers for
our little boy. We have heard several different estimates for how much a couple
could end up spending on disposable diapers for one child, and most of them
have been upwards of $1,000-$2,000. We talked to a friend recently who is a
cloth diaper fanatic, and she recommended several different stores and websites
to us that have been very helpful, like the Quilted Bear and Cotton Babies.com.
Over the last few weeks, we have ordered
all the reusable diapers we will need for our little boy for less than $200,
and these will probably last for many more children. Even when you add in the
cost for detergent and laundry expenses for three years, you’re still getting a
huge cost reduction by going cloth.
Another
thing that has helped us save on costs is that we had our little boy
through a midwife practice, instead of through a hospital. We loved our
experience! The midwives offered a
comfortable atmosphere with a lot of personal care, at a substantially lower cost. In addition, we were able to have a lot more
control over what was going on without having to abide by hospital protocol. The midwives at the birthing center provided
us with answers to all of our questions along the way and the books and
resources we needed to get the knowledge that would prepare us for the
experience. This allowed us to have the
birth experience we wanted and feel peaceful and ready. This may sound like an old-fashioned way to
have a baby, but the midwives are well-trained to handle whatever may come
their way and, along with a handful of other perks, there are some definite
cost benefits.
Walk, run, or ride your
bike. Old school, I know, but
things like gas, car repairs and the money you spend buying bigger sizes of
jeans every couple of years can add up.
The health benefits can be a big deal in-and-of themselves. Your exercise can be your life, instead of
needing to get a monthly renewal on your membership to Golds Gym. Gotta love the sun-shine vitamin D of
experiencing the outdoors too!
A couple
other tips we’d add are to shop at the DI
(Deseret Industries or equivalent used clothes store) and/or Craigs List. Buying things used can save a lot of
money. This applies to cars too. Further, buy
generic brands instead of name-brands on food. Buy in
bulk when the price is low. Eat less meat. Meat is expensive and there are many health benefits
to limiting your intake of meat as an added bonus. Use soap
refills instead of buying a new bottle every time. Turn
off your lights when you aren’t using them to save on electric bills (and
replacement light bulbs). Buy cheap
plastic dish-ware. It doesn’t break! Freeze your bread so it doesn’t go bad. Use coupons.
Be careful about impulse buying.
Sometimes it’s good to wait a day and see if it still seems like a good
idea the next day.
Another
thing that will help you a ton is to stay
out of debt. Loans cost a lot more
money to pay back than it costs if you can pay the money up-front. Be willing to save up for things, if
possible, before resorting to loans. It’s
easy to think that you will have more money later. I have found that most times, expenses rise
as life goes on, so even if you will have more money later, it won’t
necessarily mean that it will be easier to pay later. It may be harder. If you do have loans you are working to pay
back, pay extra each month and work to pay it off as quickly as possible. Interest builds quickly and you will save a
lot of that cost if you can pay if off early.
Some of
these ideas may sound like we have gone crazy, but we are happy, healthy, and
loving life. Happy saving!
Natalie, Jeff,
and Baby Brian Larsen
