baby expenses
After doing some calculations after looking at various items we would need for a baby, I've come to the conclusion that we should have about $1000 in the savings account in order to be comfortably prepared for a newborn. Which includes crib, mattress, sheets, clothing, breast milk necessities, car seat (those are the money makers right there!) and carrier (an essential since a stroller is pretty much useless when I need to take the dogs out as well. I can not believe how much they charge for clothing, mattresses and sheets. These are small items people. For small people. Why on earth are we being charged the same amount of money as though we're buying a full blown queen mattress, adult clothing, full sheets and more money than you'd spend on a regular seat for a car. It's ridiculous. Some of the stuff you can get away with buying gently used, and thankfully there are quite a few stores where I live. But for car seats they usually recommend you buy brand new, same with mattresses. And I'm not sure if I'll even be able to breast feed, but the manual pump alone cost about $80. If I factor in formula and such, I'm sure we would need to raise our base savings by at least $500 or so. Formula is fucking expensive. As are diapers, which I think they use even more of when they're on formula.
So much money. Somehow though, it still doesn't deter me. But it does deter me from going overboard with the cutesy-matchy crib sets and the like. I know someone who spent $80 on a wallpaper border. A border. For the wall. Wtf? Fuck that. If I really want something nice on my walls I'll either pay $20 for those decal stickers (and not special baby stickers because I'm sure the price will double when they put 'baby' in front of anything) or about $10 or so on paint and just do it myself.
But it does have me thinking of ways of reusing furniture, or re purposing furniture. Like, why can't you just get a crib mattress and put it in a playpen? Then it can be used for longer and you don't have to waste money on a crib. And screw special changing tables, you can use your bed or buy a much cheaper firm foam and use it on any hard surface. And burp clothes? Who needs them, use preexisting hand towels or the like. Will have to do some further reading into mommy bloggers or forums that showcase recycling items to get the most bang for your buck. Because, I'm sorry, but despite how cute, I will never pay $100 for a pair of shoes for a little person who can't even walk yet! Money grabbers, the lot of them.
So much money. Somehow though, it still doesn't deter me. But it does deter me from going overboard with the cutesy-matchy crib sets and the like. I know someone who spent $80 on a wallpaper border. A border. For the wall. Wtf? Fuck that. If I really want something nice on my walls I'll either pay $20 for those decal stickers (and not special baby stickers because I'm sure the price will double when they put 'baby' in front of anything) or about $10 or so on paint and just do it myself.
But it does have me thinking of ways of reusing furniture, or re purposing furniture. Like, why can't you just get a crib mattress and put it in a playpen? Then it can be used for longer and you don't have to waste money on a crib. And screw special changing tables, you can use your bed or buy a much cheaper firm foam and use it on any hard surface. And burp clothes? Who needs them, use preexisting hand towels or the like. Will have to do some further reading into mommy bloggers or forums that showcase recycling items to get the most bang for your buck. Because, I'm sorry, but despite how cute, I will never pay $100 for a pair of shoes for a little person who can't even walk yet! Money grabbers, the lot of them.