Directions:

• Unwrap your peppermint lifesavers and set aside.
• Precut your ribbon and set aside. (You can use your craft store coupons to save money on ribbon.)  The ribbon should be about four inches long. 
• Melt the chocolate.  Put a little dab of melted chocolate in the center of some of the peppermints.  You should do this on the back side of the peppermint so that the words Life Savers does not show up on top of the pacifier. 
• Place a mini jelly bean on top of melted chocolate in center.  Set down on flat service to dry and harden. 
• While the pacifier tops are drying, attach the ribbon to the other peppermints (pacifier handles).
• Using melted chocolate, attach pacifier bottoms to pacifier tops.  Let them dry/harden.

These can be arranged on a table as a decoration, set out as refreshments, or placed into favor boxes for your guests.

image (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

This is a pretty sweet deal, because Sweet Grass products are healthy products for home and body. They carry a multitude of items like Hand Cut Soaps, Bath Oils, Natural Cleaning Products, Laundry Detergent, baby products and more. Most of the ingredients used by Sweet Grass Farm are natural and mild, although they also use some fragrances over plain old essential oils or natural scents. Read a Sweet Grass Farm product review. They also have the prettiest packaging ever. Great stuff.

To snag some natural home and body goods at a reduced price, use the code FAN09 at checkout for 20% discount off the order total before shipping.

[images via Sweet Grass Farm]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Baby items you can safely borrow:

• Baby clothing
• Blankets, burp cloths, and other baby textiles.
• Cloth diapers. If washed and dried these are perfectly safe and clean, even used.
• Baby toys, books, and other baby play items.
• Strollers.
• Slings and carriers.
• Baby furniture; cribs, changing table, etc.

When you borrow a baby item make sure: With any of the above items first check the item over. For example, a stroller should still roll smoothly and have no missing parts. Furniture should be splinter free and in perfect working order unless you’re willing to fix it. You should also check and make sure nothing has been recalled before accepting it.

Maybe you can also safely borrow:

Baby bottles and nipples: If they’re BPA free and not too grungy or cracked.

A breast pump, which some people are against when it comes to single user pumps but you can buy new tubing for some single user pumps which makes the pump perfectly safe. Pumps purchased from hospitals, from lactation consultants, and from professional grade pump companies use “closed pump systems” which means your milk never comes into contact with any of the pump machinery so borrowing is perfectly fine. Discuss this with your health care provider, but I’ll just toss out there that the likelihood of you catching something from a breast pump that’s been washed is seriously slim.

Borrowing cuts your baby gear costs considerably so it’s nice to know that used baby gear can be safe. What baby items have you borrowed?

[image via stock.xchng]

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What costs do come up with all kids:

Food + health care + school (if you pay for private) + time (if you consider time is money).

How siblings don’t cost as much as people think:

Can you say, “hand-me-downs”? Hand me downs are free and because babies don’t tend to wear stuff out your gear is likely still in good shape. If you had cloth diaper the first time around, you’ll save even more.

Siblings can share a space. You don’t actually need rooms for everyone, and even if kids have their own space, you can have kids bunk together in winter and turn the heat off in one room. Personally, I did hate sharing a room growing up (in theory) but in reality, my sis and I had a ton of good times, and there’s no hard feelings now.

Free entertainment. I work at home. I have an only child. I am the ONLY person around to entertain my son which can, when he’s fussy, cost me time and money. I pay extra for things like activities with other kids too (when his friends are unavailable). Growing up with two siblings, I had built in entertainment all the time.

More tax breaks!

Kids always come with costs, there’s no way around it, but kids don’t have to be THAT expensive. It’s a matter of choice and smart decision making. Here are some more tips:

• Top 7 ways to save money while raising baby
• Budget Book Review: Expecting Money
• Secret way to save money on baby gear
• Save money on baby toys
• Don’t Buy Items Your Baby Won’t Need
• Should you wait for more money to have a baby

In what ways do you think siblings are cheaper than the first baby.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

It’s pretty simple. NEVER tell people the baby’s gender. Keep your baby’s gender under lock and key to save both time and money.

How it works:

Friends and family will buy you plenty of baby gear. This rocks because, well, you need baby gear. You’ll get clothes, toys, and all kinds of extra goodies. However, what I’ve noticed is that as soon as you tell people your baby’s gender, people loose their flipping minds when it comes to practical baby gifts.

The gear you want is practical. You need diapers, basic onesies, blankets, and books. These are the sort of items I got when I was pregnant – why? Because I didn’t tell anyone the gender.

What happens if you tell people the gender:

I’ve seen this happen to friends time and time again. They say, “Yay! It’s a girl” and what do they get as baby gifts? 16 pink and frilly dresses that, by the way, your baby will never wear, flowery hair accessories (hair – on a baby?!), and pretty little princess decor items. Nothing practical, nothing you actually need. In my best friend’s case, she made sure to write “NO fills and pink dresses!” on her baby shower invites – and she still got tons of pink dresses and frill.

On the flip side, my friends who have announced boy arrivals fair a bit better, but still get lots of silly stuff like baseball mitts, baseball hats, and lots of little car accessories.

The issue here, I’m guessing, is that people can’t resist gender related gifts. Don’t say the gender, and they get confused about what to do and thus go practical with the gift giving. While some gender-minded gifts can be fun, you don’t need them. When you get too many silly gifts you’ll need to go out and buy the actual stuff you need OR waste time returning stuff and dealing with people’s feelings.

Not stating gender is a much easier way to get the baby gear you need as gifts.

What do you think? Have you seen this happen – because I see it all the time.

[image via stockvault]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Toys are the most fun baby gift (maybe besides clothing) for folks to give, so plenty of people will give your baby toys. Wait until after your baby shower, AND after your baby arrives to even consider buying a toy. Some folks will likely give you toys when the baby arrives.

Also, babies are actually not that into toys. I’d wager that my son Cedar played with about 10% of his toys before he turned one-year. He got tons of toy gifts (he was the first born grandchild on either side) and it was just insane how wasteful it was. He like um, his rings, some blocks, a couple of board books, and his cheap as sin puppet. Seriously, babies want your attention and hands-on games (think peek-a-boo) more than actual toys.

Use what you’ve got. Above I noted that Cedar was not a toy fan. He did however LOVE playing with old boxes, the laundry basket, my clothes, pots and pan, and rolling around in the grass. Kids aren’t that picky and most stuff you have around the house is entertaining. Just make sure it’s safe.

IF you must gather toys though, you can still save money…

Buy at thrift stores and garage sales: Super cheap and most just need a little soap and water clean-up.

Swap with pals: I gave most of my son’s toys to my best friend when she had her baby, so she saved a bundle. She in turn gave many of those toys to another pal. If you have friends with kids swapping and donating toys all around is a great way to save.

Forget toy stores: Hit places like Target or other department-like stores because they’ll carry toys at better prices than an exclusive toy store (usually). Of course shop around for the very best deal.

How did you save money on baby toys (or how are you planning to save $ – if you’re expecting)?

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

PLAN AHEAD: While 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned, there are still many families who do plan their pregnancy, and this offers a nice chance to save. If you know you’re going to start a family soon, then start to set aside money each month specifically earmarked for maternity leave. If you’re having a surprise baby, you can still save a set amount per month for about nine months.

SUSPEND YOUR 401 (k) portion: Not forever, just for a few months. Your portion as cash in your maternity leave savings account can add up.

CONSIDER HOME EQUITY: If you need to, take out a home-equity line of credit. This isn’t the perfect solution for everyone, but if you need the money it’ll be there, yet you don’t have to use it.

SAVE VACATION DAYS: Because there are truly bad laws surrounding maternity leave in the U.S. most companies have no problem mashing all leave time (family leave, sick days, vacation) together in one package. Not cool. That said, the best thing to do in this situation is to start saving up vacation days and use them on leave.

WORK AT HOME: Not for the rest of your life, but if your job could be done from home (at least partially) you may want to talk to your boss/company, and see if you can jump back into work slowly with some work at home time. You can make money and still be home with your baby. NOTE – not for the faint of heart; balancing baby care and even PT work is tough.

FORGET BABY GEAR: There are plenty of baby items you won’t need. There are tons of people who will give you FREE gear at the shower. You really can have a baby and buy almost nothing – which is great because maternity leave, and thus time with your baby is far more important than gear. Make a list early on of wants vs. needs, and then wait until after the shower to shop.

RETHINK YOUR BUDGET: Frequent thrifty sites to gather saving tips, read books about budgeting, and rethink your spending habits. Some of us have nothing to cut – we budget tight anyhow. However, plenty of people buy many of extras. If this is you, decide if new shoes, your daily latte, and cable are more important than maternity leave and time with your newborn; if not, cut all extras.

How did you budget your maternity leave? OR is this a goal right now?

[image via stock.xchng]

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Baby items you can ditch to save money:

The crib: Cribs, bassinets, and other sleeping items (sheets, mobiles, music boxes, etc) can all be eliminated by co-sleeping. My son co-slept and went straight from my bed to a futon on the floor (not some waste of cash toddler-sized bed). If you’re worried about co-sleeping consider this – people co-sleep trouble free in most of the world. It’s only in the U.S. and Europe that co-sleeping is frowned upon.

Formula and bottles: Breastfeeding is a huge money saver. Formula can cost $4 a pop, good BPA-free non-toxic bottles will cost you as well. Bottle feeding may also increase other costs like doctor bills (research shows that breastfed babies are usually sick less often).

Jarred baby food and other meal-time accessories:  You can make homemade baby food for a fraction of the cost of jarred; plus it’ll taste better. You can ditch bibs and feed your baby sans clothing when at home. You can also skip fancy baby dishes. Some of these dishes are cute, fun, and handy, but other than baby spoons, most are unnecessary.

Don’t cave in on unnecessary or excessive baby items: People buy so much junk for their tots that it’s unbelievable. You don’t need a wipe warmer, a walker, shoes (until way later), a million outfits, or excessive toys. What babies need most are stress-free parents who can spend time with them. Parents with less baby costs can pull off this stress-free life better and the less you buy, the longer you may be able to extend your maternity/paternity leave.

How are you saving money on your little bundle?

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

In many more words, here’s the problem with baby life insurance…

According to Smart Money and Consumer Reports life insurance for a newborn makes little to no financial sense unless your little one happens to be the sole bread winner in the family. Obviously this is rare unless your tot is big time Hollywood, so skip that insurance.

In the Smart Money piece, an actuary with the consumer advocacy group Consumer Federation of America, notes that baby life insurance is not only unnecessary but that, “It’s never a good idea.“

Why you don’t need baby life insurance:

The main reason you don’t need baby insurance is because your money is more useful when spent in other ways. Better things to spend your cash on includes issues like a 401k, college funds, retirement funds, or even basics like groceries or savings.

Your insurance and your partner’s insurance is far more important than baby insurance. Life insurance only does one thing, it protects and provides for those left behind when someone dies. As noted above, unless your child is making bank for the family somehow, you don’t need the protection if your child dies.

Some parents think, “I should get that insurance, in case my child can’t get any later” however, it’s extremely rare that a young adult would be turned down for life insurance.

It is tempting…

When my son Cedar was about six years old he told me this; “For my own personal security and smart peas of mind (yes he did say peas) I should have life insurance…. and bonus, it will double by the time I’m 21! CAN we get some?!” Um… if the insurance companies can sell something as non-flashy, non-toy-like, and boring to a six year old, then places like Gerber Life are doing a kick butt job advertising this stuff, but honestly you really don’t need to waste your money on it.

[image via stock.xchng]

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Baby Cheapskate is a blog run by mama Angie. This mama locates all sorts of nice deals to help out other parents. You’ll see all sorts of posts designed to save you money like…

• Top 10 Most Useless Baby Items
• Free Huggies Diaper and Lotion Sample
• Printable Coupons: Seventh Generation Baby Products
• Two FREE Years of Parents Magazine
• And more.

Visit Baby Cheapskate and start saving a bundle on your little bundle today.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy