Settling in

We moved into our new apartment on Saturday, and let me tell you, pregnancy made moving a lot harder than it’s ever been. We hired movers to help us unload the truck, and our families came to help us unpack and arrange furniture, so I wasn’t doing any heavy lifting, of course. Just the small amount of lifting and moving that I did was enough to give me a killer backache Sunday and Monday, though.

Between moving preparations and ultrasounds, we’ve been going pretty nonstop for over a week. Now that most of our apartment is unpacked, we’re enjoying a few days of much deserved relaxation.

So far we love the town and our new apartment. There’s a huge library and a cute downtown district with more stores and restaurants than we expected. I think we’ll be very happy here.

Unfortunately, we won’t have Internet access at home until Friday. The library offers free wi-fi and depending how I’m feeling, I may pop in a few times this week to update my blog and check email. Otherwise, I’ll be taking it easy and getting settled for the rest of the week.

It’s a …

BOY! :)

Most importantly, our ultrasound showed that everything is developing normally, and he’s nice and healthy.

In other news, we are still waiting for confirmation that we’ll be able to move into our new place on Saturday. With any luck, we’ll be moving this weekend, which means I’ll be offline for at least a few days, but possibly a little longer. If we’re not moving Saturday, I’m crossing my fingers that we’ll be moved in by Monday at the latest.

If we’re looking at more than a few days without Internet connection, I’ll set up a temporary office at the nearest free wi-fi hotspot so I can continue to update until we have Internet connected in our apartment, but please be patient for a few days at least while we get settled.

Have a great weekend, and send us good moving vibes if you can. It’s been a stressful moving process already, and it’s nowhere near over yet.

Photo by nova_hokie

Take a guess

We’re on our way now for our ultrasound, and hopefully we’ll find out if we’re having a boy or a girl. I figured I’d give you all a chance to take a guess just for fun!

Here are some stats:

  • I’ve been nauseated pretty much non-stop since about 6 weeks, but that probably doesn’t mean anything because my mom and two of my three sisters battled prolonged morning sickness with all of their pregnancies, both boys and girls.
  • Heartburn started early — I think around 10 weeks? It’s pretty severe, and it seems like pretty much anything I eat causes it.
  • I started showing early at about 12 weeks, and I’m carrying low so far.
  • My hair and skin are a mess. Frizzy hair, dry skin. But this also may have more to do with my nausea/fatigue than it does the baby. I just don’t have the energy to primp like I used to.
  • My cravings have been all over the place, but due to the nausea, they’ve been very limited. The biggest thing has been fruit (peaches especially) and anything with cheese.
  • In the beginning, I was sure it was a boy. But as we get closer to the ultrasound date, I’m less sure. After all, there’s a 50/50 chance!

So I guess I didn’t give you much information, but it’s really all guessing at this point anyway, right. My official guess is that it’s a boy. Even though I’m less sure than I was in the beginning, I still just have a feeling. Tony thinks it’s a girl, but I think he’s just being contentious because I’ve been so adamant that it’s a boy. :)

Either way, wish us luck for a healthy baby who’s not so shy that we can’t tell.

More expensive isn’t necessarily better

I’ll be 19 weeks pregnant tomorrow. That’s halfway to full term. I’ll also be finding out the sex of the baby if he or she cooperates (fingers crossed). We could be moving to our new place as soon as this Saturday. Which means I’m out of excuses. It’s time to start shopping for baby stuff.

Yes, we have friends and family who will likely want to gift us with various baby items that we’ll need. But the last thing I want to do is exploit anyone’s generosity. Furthermore, our families just aren’t very big, and money is tight for everyone right now. Ultimately, the responsibility to provide for this baby is ours, and we’re trying to do it as frugally as possible.

Over the weekend, I started researching cribs and car seats and various other musts for the baby. I found some pretty incredible deals on cribs at Wal-Mart. This one was particularly compelling, and I really liked this one, too. (No one is paying me to stay that, either.)

I checked out the specifications. Both of these cribs meet safety standards dictated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for cribs. They do not feature drop sides as many of those models have been recalled due to the safety concerns. There’s no reason to believe that these cribs are any less safe than the fancy ones that retail for $500-$600. So why do I feel guilty for considering a basic crib for my baby?

I know that this baby isn’t going to care if the crib has a fancy finish or if it scratches easily. I certainly don’t care about those things. I just want to make sure that the baby has a safe place to sleep, and I want to choose a crib that complies with all of the current safety standards. These cribs do at a fraction of the price of fancier models. And honestly, when it comes to recalls and possible problems, expense doesn’t seem to be an issue. Even the most expensive cribs can be recalled.

Over and over I’ve read about how having a baby doesn’t have to be expensive. And I don’t believe that it does. But as parents, especially first-time parents, we face an overwhelming amount of pressure to spend a lot of money for the baby, and we feel guilt for attempting to cut costs. But why? After all, I don’t believe the baby will be happier in an overpriced crib if it means we have less money to provide other necessities, like a place to live or health insurance.

I’ve realized that shopping for the baby is going to be a intricate balancing act. For things like cribs and car seats, safety is my top priority. If I can’t find a car seat with high safety ratings at a low price, then I’ll have to spend the extra money. But safety is my only concern. If I can find an off-brand item that’s just as safe for a lower price, I’m not going to feel guilty about it.

The consumer culture constantly pushes us to believe that more expensive is better. Sometimes that’s true, but not always. We have to be smart consumers, and we have to learn to balance price with quality. I’m not going to spend twice as much for some unnecessary bells and whistles if I can find a product that will do the same job for half the price.

Of course, as a new mom, that’s easier said than done.

Photo by caseysworld

Preparing to move again

We spent Thursday and Friday scouting out apartments in the Fort Wayne area. After a lot of frustration and stress, we found a place! It’s in a small town outside Fort Wayne. Two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, washer/dryer hookups, and a reasonable pet policy. And the rent is almost half what we budgeted!

Our application is pending, and I’m crossing my fingers that everything goes smoothly. We should know for sure by Wednesday, and we could be moving as early as this Saturday.

I’m excited to finally get settled, but I’m also dreading the move. Most of our stuff remains in boxes in Tony’s parents’ garage, but things we need for daily life like clothing are sort of scattered everywhere. So getting everything together to move in the next few days is a pretty overwhelming task. Plus it’s never fun to unload a moving van in the middle of summer.

But I’m hoping to be settled into our new place by this time next week! Cross your fingers for us.

Apartment hunting simplified

There is nothing I hate more than the instability of moving, and I especially hate the long, arduous process of finding a new place to live.

I’m not usually a procrastinator when it comes to this sort of thing. But we’d just moved, spent two weeks in Europe, and I was struggling with morning sickness and pregnancy-induced laziness, so I decided the apartment search could wait until after July 4th. It is now July 7. We’re moving in 3 weeks. Yikes.

Sadly, I’ve run out of procrastination time. So tomorrow we’re heading up to Fort Wayne to scope out some apartments. We’ll hopefully have a lease signed and a move date set before we come home.

This isn’t the first time I’ve used my abbreviated method for apartment hunting. We drove to North Carolina and chose our apartment in two days last time we moved, and it ended up working for us for three years. Hopefully we’ll be that lucky this time. Here’s how I’ll be spending my day today and tomorrow:

Scope out apartments online before visiting.

If you’re moving to a new city, this step is crucial. But even if you’re making a local move, you can save yourself a lot of time by eliminating apartments or rental homes that won’t work for you. There are many online services that allow you to search apartments by price, amenities, and other features. My favorite is Rent.com, because they offer a $100 bonus if you tell your landlord that you found the apartment on the site. (We moved into a place in August, and received our bonus in November.)

Make an itinerary based on locations.

If you’re traveling to a new city to look at apartments, take the time to map out the places you want to see. Visit them in an order that makes sense to save yourself time and gas mileage. There’s no sense criss-crossing the town three or four times to visit multiple apartments.

Ask to see the actual unit.

In some states, landlords won’t show you an actual unit until the previous tenant has moved out and you’re ready to move in. If this is the case, don’t sign a lease until you’ve seen the unit. It’s easy to dress up a model, but you need to see where you’ll be living to make sure any problems will be fixed before you move in. If you can’t see the unit until the tenant moves out, but you have a really good feeling about the place, see if you can put down a deposit to hold it until the tenant moves out and you can inspect the unit.

Negotiate before you’re ready to decide.

The time to strike a deal with the landlord is during the apartment hunting process before you’ve made up your mind. Leasing agents are anxious to fill empty units, and they’re often willing to make a deal to entice you to choose them, especially if you’re a reliable renter with good credit history and income. We’ve negotiated new appliances, new carpeting, reduced rent for the first month, reduced security deposits, and reduced pet fees just by asking during the tour. Don’t wait until you’re sitting in the office ready to sign the lease. Ask for these things when you’re “just looking,” and you’ll be more likely to get them.

Bring a notebook and a camera.

If you’re looking at several places, bring a notebook and a camera to help you keep things straight. Take notes about the price, amenities, pros and cons of each apartment, and snap a few pictures to help jog your memory when you’re making the decision.

Don’t be hasty.

Make sure you check out every apartment on your list before you make a decision. Leasing agents are salespeople, and they’re good at convincing possible tenants to SIGN NOW. Don’t make a decision until you’ve seen and compared all of your options.

Take time to decide.

Once you’ve seen all of your options, go somewhere quiet to compare and contrast. When we visited North Carolina, Tony and I narrowed our options down to a few favorites, then we sat down for lunch at a diner with all of our notes and thoughts. We talked about price, location, and other pros and cons before choosing the place that would best suit our needs. Looking over our notes after taking time to process all of our options made the decision a lot easier.

Be ready to seal the deal.

If you’re traveling out of town, be sure you have enough money in the bank to pay for an application fee, security deposit, and first month’s rent. Also make sure you have all the information you may need to apply, including references, pay stubs for income verification, and valid identification.

Include all special deals in the lease.

When you’re ready to sign the lease, make sure the leasing agent includes special offers that were discussed during the negotiation process. If they promised you reduced first month’s rent or a lower pet fee, make sure the lease says so. The same goes for promised renovations and other perks. If it’s not in the lease, they’re not legally obligated to provide it no matter what was said, so don’t sign until it’s all in writing.

Photo by thetruthabout

Challenge yourself with a No Spend Month

For the past couple of years one of my favorite bloggers, Rachel at Small Notebook, has challenged herself to a month of very limited spending and written about her results. Last year, I was inspired to try a challenge of my own — a summer of cash budgeting.

It may seem like a month or two of limited spending won’t make much of a dent in your overall budget, but we were amazing at how much we could actually save in just 30 days without extra spending. More importantly, though, the psychological effects of just 30 days of limited spending can last for months or longer. Teaching yourself how little you really need to be happy can permanently alter your attitude about spending. As Rachel wrote today:

I thought once the month was over we would be desperate to go out for coffee or to go out to eat, but it wasn’t the way you would think. An entire month is long enough to change your perspective about spending money and what you get from it.  You can change your habits. You suddenly realize the value of a dollar when you have to stretch every single one and make it count.

Our experience was similar. Instead of running out and spending money at the end of last summer, we were much more careful about money as we headed into the fall months. We’d learned just how little we really need to be happy, and we learned how much more valuable it is to keep money in the bank. We also learned that challenging ourselves to spend as little as possible didn’t have to be an exercise in deprivation — it could be kind of a fun game.

Rachel at Small Notebook has decided to skip the challenge this month, but I urge you to head over to her blog and read about her past experiences with No Spend Month. Hopefully you’ll find the same inspiration I did to make some positive changes to your spending habits this summer.

17 weeks and nothing to say

I know it’s been quiet here. Quieter than normal. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m really struggling to find the motivation to do much of anything, even something as simple as writing a blog post. This is one of many things that I hope will pass — and soon.

Unfortunately, not much has changed since my last pregnancy post, so I’ll spare you the complaining. I’m still tired, still sick, still popping Tums like candy for the constant heartburn, still waiting to feel better. I’m starting to think I might never feel healthy again.

We’ve scheduled an ultrasound, though, and we’ll find out whether we’re having a boy or a girl on July 15. I’m looking forward to that date for a couple reasons: I could really use the good baby vibes that come with finding out the sex. After that, I’ll be able to start some of the fun parts of pregnancy, like shopping for lots of tiny baby things and setting up the nursery. It’ll also mark my 19th week of pregnancy, which means I’ll officially be halfway to full term.

And now, because Kacie will kill me if I don’t post one soon, here’s my first official bump picture.

Frugal survival mode: How we’re preparing for the lean times

It’s been almost two months since my husband graduated and I quit my job to move closer to family. So far, it’s been pretty easy for us thanks to the generosity of Tony’s family. We’re staying with them while we search for a place to live in our new city. We’re spending very little beyond necessary bills like health insurance and car insurance.

Next month we’ll move again, and our monthly expenses will swell to include rent, utilities, and soon after that, baby. My husband will be working, but our income will shrink to about 1/3 of what it was when we were living in North Carolina. So we’re planning now for how we can minimize our expenses, maximize our earning power, and survive the next year of low income.

Downsizing.

We’ve set a budget for rent that’s about $200 lower than what we paid in North Carolina. Unfortunately, our low budget combined with a number of stipulations for our next apartment has made the search pretty tricky. We have a dog, so pets must be welcome. Because we plan to cloth diaper, we’ll need a place with a washer and dryer in unit (or washer/dryer hookups since we own a set). I’d also like to have a small second bedroom for a nursery. We may have to go a little over our budget to find the right place, but housing is one area that I’m willing to spend a little more on. After all, the more comfortable we are at home, the less likely we’ll be to want to spend outside the home.

Earning while we can.

We’ll have about five months from the time we move until baby comes. Our plan is to earn and save as much as we possibly can in that time. I’ll be substitute teaching and earning as much money as possible from freelance work. Tony is looking for a second part-time job, which he’ll likely keep after baby arrives. We’ll have less time and energy once the baby gets here, so we’re doing all we can to earn money while we can.

Cutting non-essential budget items.

It’s amazing how much money you can cut from the budget by cutting out all non-essentials. We learned this lesson when we first moved to North Carolina three years ago. Non-essentials include most entertainment, eating out, cable television, junk food, soda and any extras that get thrown into the cart at Target or the grocery store. If you cut spending down to the bare essentials, you’ll likely be surprised at how much your budget shrinks.

Couponing and drug storing.

Now that I’m going to be a work-at-home mom, I’m giving couponing and drug storing another chance to save money. I’ve had little luck with these methods in the past due to my busy schedule and lack of motivation, but I’ll have more time to figure things out in the five months before I have the baby, and I think I can build a pretty good stockpile in that time.

Saving and investing are on hold for now.

Before we moved, we were saving almost 50% of our income. For the next year, we’ll be lucky if we can make ends meet, so saving and investing will have to go on the back burner until we can increase our income. My hope is that we’ll be able to start saving again with the next year, but for now, we need to focus on downsizing and surviving on a limited income.

Photo by spiderpop