Reusable Nappies

We recently made our first large baby purchase, buying a bedside cot from Aldi! Shortly after that, the opportunity arose to buy some second hand reusable nappies. In this article we’ll explain why we decided to go down the frugal reusable nappies route and the potential benefits it can bring.

Preparations

As we continue to prepare for the arrival of Baby Way, we’re thinking about what we will need to buy. Our intention is to continue to live as minimalist a life as possible.

As new parents, there is severe pressure from advertisers to buy all sorts of gadgets for your baby, playing on your vulnerability and willingness to provide the best start for them.

We’re convinced most of the conventional baby purchases are unnecessary and we’ll continue to question these decisions at every stage.

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How to Create Good Habits

In Creating Good Habits we discussed the importance of creating habits that last. We also gave examples of some of the areas in our lives where we’ve utilised good habits to change for the better. In this post, we want to take more of a practical look at HOW you create good habits. 

There are various tricks you can use to make a new habit much more likely to stick. But if you approach it in the wrong way, you’re setting yourself up for failure. 

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Monthly Spending – December 2019

Summary 

December was yet another expensive month for us. Our kitchen was the last room in our house left to overhaul, having moved in nearly 5 years ago. The update was much needed and we’re really happy with the result. It doesn’t make the spending any easier to stomach though! 

As we head into 2020 we’re looking to get back to normal and settle around our desired £2,000 per month spending level. See this post for more detail. 

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Baby Way

We’re Having a Baby!

You’ve met Mr Way. You’ve met Miss Way. Say hello to Baby Way! Well, not just yet….

If the incredibly expensive Africa trip followed by a new car weren’t expensive enough, we’re now expecting our first child!

We recently found out that Miss Way is pregnant, with the baby due in July 2020.

Obviously, we’re absolutely delighted with this news. But at the same time, there are some severe doubts about whether we’re doing the right thing.

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How to Buy a Car – The Frugal Way!

Intro – Miss Way 

I had been avoiding the fact that my car was on its last legs for far too long.  It had done a respectable 165,000 miles!  

A couple of weeks ago I accepted it was no longer safe to drive and the repair costs far outweighed the value of the vehicle (£1,000 on repairs for a car only worth £200!) – I needed to buy a new one – and quick!  

I begrudgingly rely on my car for my work. Due to the peripatetic nature of my job, it unfortunately isn’t always possible to cycle to all my work destinations. Over the last month I’ve used the train where possible, but it can be an expensive alternative. Ideally, we would love to be entirely car free, but this is not an option right now. 

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Monthly Spending – November 2019

Summary 

Not a good month for the savings rate!! In fact we’ve spent much more than we earnt this month.  

This was almost entirely caused by having to buy a new car – see the Transport section below for more detail.  

Ignoring the car for a second, we spent £2,040 which is very close to our target of £2,000 per month.  

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A Day in Nairobi, Kenya

Africa Series – Part 5

The Journey Begins! 

We started our month-long adventure in Nairobi, having completed the 2-leg flight from the UK, via Dubai.  

First impressions weren’t great as we stood in the immigration queue for 90 minutes. It was a warm, stuffy place and the queue was a battle! Other passengers didn’t seem to have the same ‘personal space’ values as we do!  

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