I rant and rave about planning ahead, and I really do think that the reason most parents get stuck with massive holiday debt, intermittent debt every time major child purchases come, and money stress thinking about getting stuck like that is a lack of practical planning. Not a lack of planning, but PRACTICAL planning.
Even parents who have a savings account for dentist visits and medical emergencies get a little stuck when their child grows into a new bed or needs their next stage of toys and educational stuff. The same often goes with clothes and continuing expenses. All fo this comes to a head during holidays, especially birthdays and dreaded winter holidays.
Then I thought, maybe these parents don't plan for a reason! My best guess is that it's either very tedious to them or they lack space to buy ahead. So let me talk you guys through this process. It doesn't have to be time consuming or tedious, and after awhile, you might make a hobby of it.
Start early! Start planning ahead when they are born. The easiest way is by collecting clothing ahead of time for the first year or two they will need it. Put away the notion of not getting something because your child won't need it yet. Get it early and it's there when you need it. I'm not suggesting you collect 5 years ahead, but collecting for the next two isn't so bad.
Lose the term "buying". You aren't "buying" ahead, but "collecting". When you think of buying, it requires that you spend money and pushes you into that debt trap. Collecting implies many ways of getting what you need. Here are a few ways you can get these items without breaking the bank and tips for easy collecting.
1. Swap and Bartering Groups! Look for yahoo groups that focus on bartering items and services. You'll get rid of items you don't need and pick up things you do. Colorado has a group called Santa Swap for that exact purpose. If there aren't any around you, use the "barter" section on Craigslist.org or get together a group of local moms and start your own group.
2. Freecycle. Almost anywhere you are is a freecycle group. www.freecycle.org will help you find yours. People give away things they don't need and you pick them up from that person. Its aim is to keep our landfills free of useful items. The craigslist free section will also give you access to free items. Both these resources need to be checked often because things go quickly.
3. Choose your items to last. Avoid plastic furniture for young children. It's built to be disposable and keep you buying. Instead, watch your swap/free groups, yard sales, and thrift stores for real wood items that grow with your children. Who says the dresser in their nursery can't be the dresser they use in high school?
4. Embrace hand me downs! If you do this right, with the exception of some clothing, you should only be collecting for your oldest child or oldest couple children if you have a large family. This is another reason for choosing durable items. A toddler bed can be passed from one toddler to another. The same with cribs, dressers, lamps, diaper bags, toys, blankets, decor, books... getting the idea?
5. Clothes are another subject. Hand me down clothes are GREAT. Just be smart about them. If you have children of different genders (some boys/some girls), there's some clothing that cant be handed down or will have to skip a child. With clothing, collect ahead for your oldest boy and oldest girl, allowing for a wide range of clothing types. Not all clothing survives to be handed down, but you'll be buying much less if you save what can be saved.
6. Storage. Box clothing up by size if it isnt being directly handed down. Diaper boxes are great for this. Create a spot in your nursery closet or wherever you can for storing things. Things to store: clothes, disassembled furniture you are waiting for the next child to grow into, toys for holiday/birthday gifts as well as to keep up with general aging. Rule of thumb for clothes and toys: don't save anything they will not use in the next two years of development.
7. Use lists. List what you are watching for and watch for it until it comes. Don't get things not on your list or things that won't be used. For clothing, make numbers. List how many of each piece of clothing you want for each size and adjust it as needed. This will keep you from collecting 60 pieces of size 2T clothing and only 10 pieces of size 3T. Don't over-collect once you have plenty of something.
8. Young children don't know the difference between a new toy and a clean used one. If you have $50 saved for each child for whatever winter holiday you celebrate, you have two choices. You can get them a couple nice, new, toys from the store, OR you can get them any number of unique toys used. Thrift stores and craigslist will have a lot for sale throughout the year. Watch for things that are priced very well. Know what ages your children will be at certain holidays so you collect things that are just right when the holiday comes around. This means that you can buy ahead! When you spread holiday purchases over months and months instead of getting it all at once, you won't have the debt or money problems. Buying used also allows you to buy expensive educational toys or just expensive fun toys that you might not otherwise have afforded. Clean the toys up with gentle cleaner and get them as new looking as you can, then put them in your collection storage area. Box them up and wrap them in time for holidays.
9. Make your collection work for you. Number of children, gender of children, disabilities the children have, and many other factors will effect how you do this. Make your collection work for the space you have and the financial situation you're in. Be patient and remember that anything you have ahead of time (often for free or VERY cheap) is money that is set free to make sure your children live a good and full life. If I cut my holiday budget in half and get all their furniture and big expenses of the year for free, my children will have more varied and nutritious food and will have more enriching experiences like time at the zoo, train rides, etc. The money you save can be put into a savings account or spent on things that benefit your whole family.
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