Comments on: Five Frugality Tips Learned From Having Two Children In Diapers http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/ Financial talk for the rest of us Sat, 16 Feb 2013 01:14:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: siobain http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-940479 siobain Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:28:37 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-940479 ive found so much baby stuff for my two year old on ecofreek.com!!

]]> By: Tracy http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-84509 Tracy Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:10:57 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-84509 We have 7- from college to 9 months. I am hoping when my little girl realizes she is three today (Happy Birthday, Cherish.) she will be more motivated to get out of diapers-
That said- I have passed on lots of things and had newer, fun things passed on to me- unless you are really in a poor section of town, there is so much baby stuff in the suburbs and cities, that buying most stuff is really not needed- put the word out! We get bags of clothes on our step about once a month, I buy mostly underwear, socks, shoes, and uniforms, all the rest is mostly given to us. I also put the word out we reuse toys for Christmas, and toys are given to us- this year I bought a 2 year old 50 in TV from work for $100, my brother gave us a few bags of beanies that look new and stuffed toys, we aare going to buy one gift per child- we’ll wrap it up for cheap! Be creative! Kids are cheaper than you think-
Tracy

]]> By: BenC http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-78533 BenC Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:37:10 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-78533 good lord, I’m going through the same thing. Except I have twins and they just came home last week. I’m so tired, so very tired….
I whole-heartedly agree on the prepared meals part. After fussing and feeding two kids at the same time, I really don’t want to cook and neither does my wife. It’s a miracle we haven’t dropped dead yet. soooo tired…

]]> By: Jen http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77935 Jen Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:13:32 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77935 Amen! I’m about to be in the same boat as you. I have a boy who will be 2 in November and I’m expecting my second child in March. I’m so thankful for the quality things we invested in for our son.

Also, I agree with what others have said about parents, it does depend on the parent. For us, my parents are wonderful and want to be involved. My in-laws say they want to be involved but never follow through. That said, help like that doesn’t always come from a parent. It could be another close relative or a best friend. My father in law may not want to put forth any effort, but my sisters in law have always helped us out. I guess my point is that if there is family ready to help…accept it! :)

]]> By: Debbie M http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77924 Debbie M Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:05:24 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77924 About saving things until you’re physically unable to have more kids: a lot can change in not very much time. My parents thought they were done, then my mom talked my dad into one more, eight years after their second kid. The following things changed in what they needed for the first two kids compared to the last kid:
1) Mom switched to breast feeding. So any bottles, etc. that she would have saved would have been wasted. Preferences may change in other ways as well.
2) Mom used one of those newfangled baby-carrying things exclusively (hey, this was 34 years ago), so any strollers and whatnot she might have saved would have remained unused.
3) Mom found a pattern for a little kid outfit that was really convenient to use, so she sewed a bunch of those. Also, we had moved from Chicago (cold, windy) to Houston (hot, humid), so most of those cold-weather things would have been wasted.
4) Car seats became required. Car seat rules have changed again many times since then.
5) We were traveling a lot the first few months, during which time my sister lived in a hotel drawer, pulled out and set on the floor. Any big non-traveling things would have been unhelpful.

Also, storing things for long periods, you might find that they get destroyed by moths, heat, or who knows what.

I say that when you think you’re done, pass on all your things to a good home so they can get some use while they’re still valuable. It’s not just electronics that lose their usefulness in time. And if you end up with another kid you can probably acquire what you need more efficiently the second time.

]]> By: plonkee http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77910 plonkee Wed, 26 Sep 2007 18:52:29 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77910 I just wanted to agree with Jen. The helpfulness of your parents depends a lot on them and your relationship with them. Not everyone is lucky enough to have supportive parents and in-laws and if you don’t, they probably won’t change just because you have a couple of kids.

]]> By: Shannon http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77886 Shannon Wed, 26 Sep 2007 18:16:12 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77886 Re: last comment – We strongly want just one child, but are not ready to make permanent decision (ie tubal ligation), so we went the IUD (Paragard, non-hormonal) route. Best decision I ever made. Paragard is over 99% effective, and lasts for 10 years.

]]> By: !wanda http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77861 !wanda Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:37:59 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77861 Just a thought… I’m starting to think that one should plan to have one less child than one actually wants. If you look at the failure rates of various birth control methods, they seem pretty good until you realize that those figures are per year. Therefore, even a 99% success rate means that over a 20 year reproductive lifespan, there is a 1-0.99^20=18% chance of an accidental pregnancy. (I know someone whose 4th child is 11 years younger than their 3rd- what do you think happened there?) So, even if you think you’re done with having children, I would say that unless you’re willing to have an abortion, you should keep the baby stuff around until you’re physically unable to have more.

]]> By: Jen http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77856 Jen Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:29:37 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77856 I agree with most of this with a few qualifiers:

1. Most daycares do not accept cloth diapers because of storage considerations. Some places are not allowed to store cloth diapers because of health considerations. Is this fair, no, but that’s the way it is. So that’s not an option for a lot of people.

2. Parents may be more helpful, but they may not. It really depends on the parent. Mine turned out to be less helpful, and my in-laws weren’t much better. Remember, people aren’t going to drastically change, and if your problems are minor, that may not be a big deal, but if they’re bigger than that, it might be a big deal. I actually consider it a blessing that we do not live within a days drive from either side of the family. Also, if you’re going to try to patch up a relationship, do it long before the kid comes along. You won’t have the time or energy after kids come along.

]]> By: Diane http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77828 Diane Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:48:40 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77828 Ooops my bad! I see now that you wrote an article on it!

]]> By: Diane http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77827 Diane Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:47:34 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/26/five-frugality-tips-learned-from-having-two-children-in-diapers/#comment-77827 Trent have you investigated cloth diapering? It saves a bunch of money if you go with regular prefolds and not the new fitted ones.

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