Thanks for visiting Ultimate Money Blog! If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Even when we were trying to conceive I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers.  When we finally got pregnant I started doing research (basically asking a million questions to one of my BFFs) and decided to go the simple route and try prefolds and covers. Prefolds are the cloth diapers you probably think of- the old fashioned ones your grandmother probably used.  The covers are a lot easier to use now and have snaps or aplix (velcro) that secure the diaper on the baby and keep the baby’s clothes dry.  There were many benefits for using prefolds: 1. They are cheap compared to other diapers like pocket diapers and all-in-ones.  I couldn’t afford $20 per diaper that would get used once and have to get washed. $1.50, I can handle that.  If one gets ruined, no big deal.  If I ruin a $20 diaper, I would cry. 2. They are natural cotton fibers, which come clean easier and rarely have [...]

So far, I love being a mom.  I love taking care of my baby and doing as much housework as I can.  It’s been tough to get much done around the house because someone doesn’t like to be put down much.  She’s getting much better at it lately!  Here are some things I’ve observed since becoming a mama: -Sometimes convenience is key.  We’ve done a lot of things that we wouldn’t normally do convenience-wise since we’ve had the baby.  We’ve gotten take out a few times when Mr. Money wasn’t in the mood to cook.  I’m not stressing about it, because we have a brand new baby and it’s not been excessive.  Sometimes you just have to be flexible! -Some of my frugal ways are harder to execute with a little one.  Hanging laundry to dry and doing dishes by hand are just two examples I can think of right now.  It’s much easier for me to throw the clothes in the drier and run the dishwasher, so that’s what we’ve been doing!  I figure as long as we have [...]

I had my baby on January 22, 2012!  She was born at home and weighed 6 pounds even and was 19 inches long.  She came a lot earlier than I ever expected (I thought I would have her today!)  Life has been great lately, but more busy!  I can’t believe how much laundry a little person can help create.  We are so in love and couldn’t be happier.  I’m trying to think of a good nickname for her for the blog and the only thing I’ve come up with so far is Penny! I can see how our money is going to change as a result of the baby- I think our electric bill will be higher because of us both being home and keeping the house warmer for her and also because of the amount of laundry I’ve been doing.  I also know that my gas usage has gone down since I haven’t really left the house too much yet, and that probably won’t change too much.  I’m sure I’ll start going places, but it won’t be as much [...]