*Monthly contributor post from Jenn at The Purposeful Mom

Our fourth baby arrived about 3 1/2 months ago and at first things were crazy, like they usually are with a newborn in the house! Another blessing is always welcome in our home but this particular stage sometimes presents a challenge when it comes to staying within our budget.

It’s easy to overspend since you don’t have time to look up ads, use coupons or  make a grocery list and detailed menu plan. And really, who wants to be doing that anyway? You’ve got a sweet new baby to stare at and snuggle! 🙂

I want to share with you a few things that I’ve learned along the way that hopefully will help you stay within your budget when you’re busy with a newborn.

• Be prepared. I’m not wanting to sound like a Boy Scout, but this is honestly the best way to stay on track with your spending once the baby comes, especially in the area of groceries. Some things you can do ahead of time are to stock your freezer with frozen bagged vegetables and fruits, make simple freezer meals and grab lots of diapers and wipes (using coupons of course!). Better yet, you could try cloth diapering!
• Make a menu plan before baby comes. If you have a list of four or five meals suitable for the freezer, you could make two of each and tuck them away. My friend Sarah at My Joy-Filled Life has a great list of recipes she uses to prepare for the freezer (with seven children, she has a lot of experience!). Then plan a menu based around those meals and a few crock pot meals (try crock pot taco soup and slow cooker cola chicken – super easy!) that spans over three or four weeks time.  You can find more on freezer cooking here.
• Keep lunches very simple, preferably with foods that don’t need to be cooked but can keep well in the pantry or fridge for up to a month (think lunch meat sandwiches, pb&j, tortillas and shredded cheese for quesadillas, dried fruit, etc). Apples and oranges are in season and keep well for up to a month in the fridge!
• Stay off any websites where shopping is involved. I know that as a mom of a newborn, I have a tendency to want to check deal sites or browse Amazon when I’m nursing the baby during the night. But a few weeks ago, I really became convicted about the time I was spending on the internet during feeding times and the fact that oftentimes I was just doing mindless searching for things we didn’t really need. By controlling your time on the world wide web, you can curb a lot of unnecessary spending!
• Pay any bills ahead of time or set up automatic bill pay if possible. Unfortunately, I know the benefit of this from experience! The last thing you’re going to be thinking about as you’re changing diapers and trying to keep control of the rest of the household is paying the Kohl’s bill {ahem}.
• Don’t feel like your baby needs to have everything. Often there is pressure to buy every doo-dad (as my grandpa would say) on the market for your little one, but you can stay within your budget when you resist the pressure to do this, both before and after baby comes. All my fourth child had when we came home from the hospital was diapers, some clothes, swaddling blankets and a bassinet to sleep in, and she was happy. No wipes warmers, mobiles or other special equipment. When you find that you really do need something additional along the way, you could always borrow or buy second-hand.
• Give yourself grace. If you’ve already overspent, purpose yourself to get back on track but don’t beat yourself up too much! Life with a new little one is very busy and sometimes convenience is worth the cost. Try to use those few moments that you do have to make that simple menu plan or pay the bills that you can pay right now.

How do you stay within budget during busy times of life?

  Jenn is a daughter of the King, happily married to her college sweetheart and mom to four wonderfully spunky children. She spends her time taking care of her home and family, coaching a speech team, blogging and dreaming up more ideas than there are hours in the day. She shares her thoughts on staying debt free, raising children of character and living a life of intentional faith one day at a time at The Purposeful Mom.

 

Jenn is also the author of God’s Word in My Heart: A Scripture Learning Guide with Memory Verses.