A savvy mum has revealed how she’s saving hundreds per month by giving herself DIY haircuts and purchasing secondhand clothes for her kids.
When Taylor Pepe and her husband, Dan, 33, found out they were expecting their second child, they were overjoyed – but were also left worried about how they would cope financially.
The 30-year-old, who used to love eating out, getting a daily coffee, and splashing out on Amazon purchases, knew something needed to change.
In a bid to save up $1,000 (£780) for when she starts maternity leave, the commercial construction estimator has had to make sacrifices and cutbacks in all aspects of life – and claims she’s saving hundreds per month.
“I had noticed the number of days I was purchasing from Amazon was getting out of control,” Taylor told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
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“So I told myself that I was only allowed to hit the ‘purchase’ button twice a month.
“If I wanted something, I’d add it to my cart and see if I still needed it later.
“This put a stop to a lot of impulse purchases.
“Some months, this won’t be very realistic – but I’m going to try to do it as often as I see appropriate.”
Taylor says it isn’t the price-per-purchase that stunned her financial growth, but all items accumulated together.
For example, she used to spend around $20 three times a week on Amazon, which quickly amounted to $240 per month – and sometimes more.
She’s also saving the pennies with at-home beauty DIY – by learning how to cut her own hair with YouTube tutorials.
The mum, from Massachusetts, US, said: “I found a YouTube video from a hairstylist on how to cut your own hair.
“I went to a friend’s house, had her confirm I was not going to be botching my hair, and went for it.
“I was happy with the results, so I plan on doing that again instead of going to the salon.”
For her toddler, one, she’s begun thrifting their clothes and other items to help make savvy decisions.
Taylor said: “When you have kids who are constantly growing, it’s easy to make unnecessary purchases here and there.
“I have really enjoyed going to children’s thrift stores and finding her adorable outfits.
“I also got 20 outfits [for my newborn] for only $41.
“I’ve had a lot of luck buying used or getting free baby products on local Facebook groups too.
“I was able to get my daughter’s first birthday gift from a local children’s consignment fair – I bought a toy for only $30 when it retails for $120.
“My goal is to thrift any larger clothes I’ll need for myself to finish out my pregnancy, rather than going straight to buying retail.”
Taylor is also stocking up on items and investing in various savings accounts to prepare for her new arrival in March 2024.
She hopes this will help her spend enough quality time with her newborn, which she believes many parents no longer get to do due to the cost of living increase.
She added: “I don’t think many women spend enough time planning when it comes to having a baby.
“I think that all women deserve to take time off after they have a baby, but unfortunately in the US that comes at a cost for a lot of us.
“For me, that means receiving 60% of my income, before taxes, and health insurance premiums.
“So we have to spend some time planning for how we’re going to be able to make that work.
“We’re stocking up on items before I go on leave, so we don’t have to buy them when our income decreases.
“Also, saving and investing in a Health Savings Account to pay for medical bills tax-free.
“And saving up gift cards to stores like Target and Amazon to use during maternity leave.
“Using baby registry discounts – if you have an Amazon registry, you can continuously add items and get 15% off qualifying purchases for 90 days after your due date.
“And saving credit card cashback to put towards credit card balances while I’m out on leave.
Taylor writes about preparing for maternity leave on her blog
“I just want people to be aware that it’s not the splurge purchases that we need to be hyper-focused on, it’s the every day [small amounts] that you can’t even remember what you spent it on that adds up.”
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