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Maya
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Joined: 16 September 2003
Location: Sydney
Points: 23297
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Posted: 27 April 2007 at 8:54pm |
Hmmm, my only money saving tip would be not to plan shopping trips to the Pumpkin Patch outlet store with other OHbaby! mums
Seriously tho, I have bought stuff at Patch sales or outlet stores and sold them for more than I paid for them on TM even after the kids have been wearing them.
For older kids I reckon it's worth spending a little extra on quality stuff, the Kmart/Warehouse/T and T stuff was fine when they were tiny and outgrew things quickly, but the Patch/JK stuff is definitely better quality and stands up to washing without the colors fading or the fabric going out of shape. Maya gets two seasons out of her Patch/JK stuff - one as good clothes and another as preschool clothes.
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Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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fattartsrock
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Joined: 01 January 1900
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Posted: 27 April 2007 at 8:55pm |
*emma remember me when selling gremlin has beens*
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The Honest Un PC Parent of 2, usually stuck in the naughty corner! :P
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peanut butter
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Joined: 20 February 2007
Points: 8044
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Posted: 27 April 2007 at 10:08pm |
I found this thread really good. Maybe it would be good to sticky(?) it as I'm sure lots of new mums to be would find it good and help reduce the stress of dropping to one income.
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kebakat
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: Palmy North
Points: 10980
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Posted: 28 April 2007 at 7:50am |
Yeah it is very helpful, I'm always going back looking for it because preggy brain forgets what is said lol
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yummymummy
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: Auckland
Points: 2161
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Posted: 28 April 2007 at 9:31am |
Pumpkin Patch outlet store - where is that Emma? I LOOOOVE Pumpkin Patch stuff
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KiwiWonder
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Joined: 14 April 2007
Location: Auckland
Points: 261
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Posted: 07 May 2007 at 12:05pm |
I only know Auckland, but there's one in Dressmart, and another at Westgate ;-) I went to the Westgate one on the weekend and had a major spend...
I have to second op shopping as well... I bought Z's entire winter wardrobe (minus a couple 'accidents' at PP) for $30 all up at SaveMart Recycled Clothing... the stuff there is usually fairly reliable, and sometimes they have some really choice stuff - I picked up a couple PP shirts for $3 each and they're in fantastic condition.
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Paws
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: Auckland
Points: 5860
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Posted: 07 May 2007 at 12:26pm |
I always forget about Savemart but yeah you can get some really good stuff....sometimes you have to dig a little but it can be worth it!!
Good idea M!
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lizzle
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: New Zealand
Points: 8346
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Posted: 07 May 2007 at 1:57pm |
Okay ,went shopping for the fortnight - with some dubious thoughts BUT only cost us $287 - considering we were spending $200 a week, thats GREAT for two weeks, but will have to get this weeks veges, but definitely worth it to try!!!
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Babe
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Joined: 21 May 2007
Location: New Zealand
Points: 2936
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Posted: 21 May 2007 at 6:05pm |
We have been on one income my entire pregnancy because I've been so sick so we've had looots of practice saving money
We've almost halved our electricity bill by switching stuff off at the wall when we're not using it - kettle, dishwasher, computer, lights etc. The tv and video is the only stuff that stays on. We also switched all the lightbulbs we use regularly to the eco-saver ones. About $50 per month in savings straight away.
We can't have a vege garden but we use the local garden market places and get a huge box of veges and fruit for about $20 v the same amount at supermarket for $40-odd.
We only give ourselves a certain amount to spend on food each week and take it in cash - no eftpos. Buying a few extra things on special every week is also great - washing powder, tinned food, etc. Comprehensive shopping lists are brilliant - put a menu together then shop from that rather than off the bat. You end up with stuff you can actually make into meals instead of a ton of odds and ends
Gosh I could go on forever - theres so much stuff to spend money on and it gets to be a habit but most of it is just excess really. Anyway if I can think of anything else not already here I'll post it. Hope some of this helps someone
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floss
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Joined: 25 March 2007
Points: 702
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Posted: 23 May 2007 at 11:42am |
This is such a great list, we do the menu for the week thing then only buy what we need to make it, it saves so much money and the few times that I have been to lazy to do this then we certinaly notice the differance in price.
Also with the pumpkin patch outlet shop you can also but that online in there website there is a button that says outlet shop, for all of us who don't live near a store.
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Andie
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: New Zealand
Points: 3614
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Posted: 25 May 2007 at 3:20pm |
my hint is about saving power and time... ('scuse me if I'm repeating myself - I can't remember if I've already put it on here!!). I like to cook twice the amount we eat for tea, freeze the other meal, and then there's a dinner already made sitting there for a busy day. Less in power to re-heat as it is to cook a fresh meal. But it's the time thing that does it for me.
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Andie
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littlejo
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: New Zealand
Points: 222
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Posted: 14 June 2007 at 2:16pm |
Just with those energy saver bulbs, they are best used in lights that you leave on for a long time (eg hall lights, probably not bedrooms). If you are turning them on and off a lot, it's better to use regular bulbs. Can you tell my DH is a sparky??
Personally, the things I do are:
*cook more than we need & freeze extras for lunches/dinners
*write a shopping list and stick to it (well, I try!)
*shop around for things you need
*try and avoid buying anything on impulse
*wait for sales
*sell old stuff (I have a big pile still to go though - stopped listing stuff a few weeks before Anton was born in case I couldn't send it out on time, and not started up again!)
DH isn't very good at taking lunch, but doing a bit of baking can help. I find making a few batches of different muffins etc can work - they can be frozen and different ones given each day so he doesn't get bored.
Homemade biccies can be a lot cheaper than bought ones, although we prefer homemade so tend to eat them quicker!
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Jo
Jo
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Vixsta
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Joined: 02 September 2003
Location: New Zealand
Points: 139
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Posted: 06 August 2007 at 1:38pm |
The other day at the vidio shop the lady gave us a ballon which cost us nothing and Ruby-May just thinks it is magic (untill it pops hehe)but i seem to find she would much rather i made funny faces and noices than play with her toys and well a ballon who would have thought also reuse things like your baby food jars or cotten bud containers or plastic bottles and put in macironi or rice or soup mix or coloured water with glitter or beads and if you can or know somone who can sew or knit get them to make you things another thing shes seems to think is greaat is the junk mail if she gets her hands on it its hard to get it back but she plays with it for ages fasinated with the sound the only thing is you have to watch her with that so she dosnt get papper peices in her mouth the shiny stuff seems better than news print as its a bit harder, also eg: huggies baby club you can print of ABCs and Numbers etc and use them as flash cards
Happy hunting
(the best things in life are free !!!)
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cuppatea
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Joined: 05 February 2007
Points: 7798
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Posted: 24 October 2007 at 2:34pm |
Some electricity saving tips for you.
Turn you TV off completley from the button on the front of the TV, it uses the same amount of power on standby as when its on as it is keeping its insides warm.
Use energy saving bulbs, if you have a look around there are tons of different shape ones to suit your light fittings.
Don't use your cooker unless you have to, if you can buy a smaller appliance to do the job then buy one. i.e it is cheaper to buy and use a toaster than to use the grill on your cooker. George forman type grills are way cheaper to run as well.
Switch your kettle off when it gets to about 95 degrees (we have one that you can chose to heat to anything between 30-100 degrees), that last 5 degrees uses up most of the power and also don't boil it unless really necessary and only use as much water as you want don't boil a whole jug.
At work they use to boil the jug so it was still a bit warm at smoko, stupid waste of money, kettles are mega expensive to boil!!!!
Try to never use a tumble dryer they are riduculously expensive (we have one so am guilty of sometimes using it). If you have night rate only ever put it on then.
Avoid using any fan heaters, bar heaters or column heaters, they are stupidly expensive to run, you would be better off putting in decent insulation, double glazing and getting a heat transfer system.
Heat pumps are great, you can't beat them for efficiency, also can dry clothes in front of them instead of using tumble dryer on those cold wet days.
If you have night rate you need to be using about 40% of your power at night to be saving money. We run dishwasher, washing machine and two hot water cylinder at night only (and sometimes the tumble dryer ).
If on night rate you pay more during the day than if you don't have cheaper at night, so if you are not making use of it phone them up and get your meter changed will cost about $40.
Hope that helps, have got loads of good tips from all the other posts.
I second what some off the ladies have said about breastfeeding, we had not budgeting for formula as I assumed I would be breastfeeding for first 12 months at least and man did we notice it when we had to start finding $30 a week for formula.
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cuppatea
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Joined: 05 February 2007
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Posted: 24 October 2007 at 2:47pm |
Also if you are planning on buying any new appliances always check the energy efficiency rating. The more energy efficient generally the more expensive but will pay for itself pretty quickly.
Front loader washing machines are light years ahead of top loaders, they use less power, less detergent, less water and they heat their own water.
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peanut butter
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Joined: 20 February 2007
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Posted: 24 October 2007 at 3:45pm |
cuppatea, how do you know all this
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cuppatea
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Posted: 24 October 2007 at 3:53pm |
Me and DH are both electricians
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peanut butter
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Posted: 24 October 2007 at 3:59pm |
Cool!!!! Never met a female sparky before
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misty
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Joined: 25 August 2007
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Posted: 13 November 2007 at 4:34pm |
OK, my two cents..
* Instead of wipes and buying expensive wraps for swaddling we went to Geoff's Emporium and got some soft cotton jersey fabric for $3 a metre and just hacked it up into the right shapes for wipes and swaddling. We wash the wipes and when they start getting too stained we chuck them out - still costs heaps less than Huggies.
* My baby will only sleep to white noise so we downloaded some from the Internet for nothing and burned it onto a CD. http://www.lurklurk.org/downloads/whitenoise.mp3
Cheers for this thread - it's great
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DJ
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Joined: 11 March 2007
Location: Wellington
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Posted: 04 December 2007 at 3:09pm |
We've managed to get both our families to agree not to do Xmas presents (except for the kids). This is the best money/ time saving thing ever - and it avoids having to store crap you don't want that you get as presents!!
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