how baby bunching can save you money

I read a story on BabyCenter this about how to "slash your family spending." Loved it. But it made me laugh because I realized that being a Baby Buncher is an immediate what to save money.

• Look for hidden waste--Ok, we admit this might be one area where being Baby Bunching doesn't save money. There was a lot of hidden waste of driving to keep kids contained in the car--even if we weren't going anywhere. Cut my gym membership? No way. I need that to keep me sane.And for crying out loud, don't cancel your Direct TV or Netflix subscriptions - you need those to keep you busy on "date night" when you can't find a sitter brave enough to watch your crew.
• Watch those credit cards--In the early days of Baby Bunching, my credit card only was used for online purchases. I hardly ever shopped because kids were always with me. And even online shopping was curtailed because I was too tired in the after hours to do any shopping.  The bottom line is that less time to shop = less money spent!
• Plan low-cost family vacations--Vacations? If you're taking lavish vacations with two kids under two, we hope you're bringing along a nanny or an extra family member.
• Go co-op crazy--This is by far one of the BEST ideas out there. A dinner meal co-op means you only have to cook a few days a week. And a babysitting co-op is a must. We'll talk more about this in a future post. 
• Avoid restaurants--Ha! Please promise me I can avoid restaurants unless they contain a playground. This one's easy.
• Find cheaper entertainment-- Factoring in dinner, movie, and the cost of a sitter, an ordinary date night can easily fun upwards of $100.  Plus, it's often more of a hassle to get your bunch ready for a sitter than it is just to put them down earrly and have date night at home.  After they're in bed, get takeout and crack open a bottle of wine and enjoy a movie at home through Netflix or pay-per-view. You local library probably rents DVD's for free. What about girl's night out?  Meet at someone's house after the kids are in bed and have half the group bring a bottle of wine and the rest bring appetizers or desserts.  Or rather than hitting the town, host a Bunko or card game at someone's house for free!
• Become a smart shopper--Buying in bulk or even buying online. I swear by the virtues of Amazon when it comes to savings on diapers.  Same with buying groceries online. Who has time to load up the crew, drag them to the store, and browse?  I think ultimately you save if you buy online because you resist the impulse buys. Plus it cuts down on costs associated with bribing your kids to stay still/quiet while you're shopping. 
• Keep a tight rein on your budget--Cara has several close friends that swear by the "envelope system".  Both she and I prefer the "self imposed credit card limit" system, which means that we set monthly spending limits, put everything on our credit cards to track expenditures, and when we get close to the monthly limit we STOP SPENDING.  Period. If you can manage this, it's the simpliest form of "budgeting" and the bonus is it takes very little time.
• Put in the time--It's a tradeoff - saving money takes time. You don't have much time, but if you can find some it can pay off. Cara says that her system of coupon cutting and weekly menu planning around store sales saves her anywhere from $40 to $50 a week. That doesn't count the money saved on eating out because there is a menu planned for every night and ingredients sitting in the pantry, so she isn't tempted to eat out or order takeout. I, however, think that time converts into money so I don't do as much comparison shopping around as Cara because for me that's wasted time. Cooking from scratch takes time, but once you get a repetoire of easy-to-prepare family favorites, it goes a lot more smoothly. I try to buy pre-cut things and then go from there. It's still cheaper than eating out, but cuts my preparation time by quite a bit.  Double your recipes on the freezable stuff and stock your freezer for hectic nights where you normally would've been tempted to drive through. 

Comments

[JessPond]

Maybe we just have good kids, and granted, we have only two, but we take lots of vacations and eat out a lot and it works just fine! As long as there's one adult for each kid, I think we're golden! :)

Sure, we HAVE had to leave a restaraunt....and I was once embarassed pretty badly at a plantation home tour, but nothing bad enough to stop us! And our kids are (now, obviously not all summer when we were vacationing the most) 10 and 17 months! We still eat out, though...anything from Arby's to fancy schmancy restaraunts...but we bring lots of distractions, that for sure! :)

I think that it all depends on your kids...though it also depends on YOUR tolerance level.

As for cost cutting...I find myself shopping around more and more online. We live in a pretty rural area, but since the internet, it's easy to find deals! And it costs more to go someplace in gas than it does to ship it!

[Casey]

We shop online for basically everything except groceries. I search for coupon codes (just google the name of the website and coupon code) and usually get free shipping plus save a certain percentage.

We NEVER got to a restaurant anymore since my toddler is prone to meltdowns and I don't want to risk it. Eating out is supposed to be enjoyable and it's not when we bring the kids so we'll stay home for the next few years until it is.

Nice post!

[Jenny P.]

Don't forget all the money you saved not having to buy new baby gear the second time around.

I do miss searching the clearance racks for bargains and comparison shopping between stores. Oh, and being able to try on more than two items. But once the cart/stroller stops moving, the toddler-timer begins to count down.

Online shopping with in-store pick-up is the best of all possible worlds. No shipping costs, often faster than delivery, and going to the store turns into a ten-minute errand instead of several hours.

[San Francisco Financial Planner]

Saving money as a parent of young children is hard. Where can I cut without depriving my child but also without making me crazy? A few money saving tips: swap babysitting with a neighbor or a friend who also has children, join a mom’s club --- they sponsor lots of free and low-cost activities plus you meet a lot of people. Consider a used pump or other supplies on eBay.

Also, You need to be very clear on your expenses that you have now and project how they might change so you have a plan. You will know what you can spend. Knowing what expenses will be like in several months when your child's needs have changed will help you spend more wisely in the here and now.

[Kate]

We're cloth diapering to save money! And we make our own baby food. All the diapers can be reused, and they only cost about $200 new. Considering the average cost of diapers is $2000 per baby, $200 for 2 or more babies is pretty awesome! Not to mention how much that saves the environment! :)

We also garden in the summer to have fresh, cheap food for our kids...we buy everything used (especially clothes), and we reuse everything. You can save a LOT of money if you do that!