Budgeting for a Self-Care Routine

Becoming a parent is a huge step. Your responsibilities include taking care of yourself, your needs and your desires. Then suddenly, there is always someone who needs you just as much and whose needs must be taken care of quickly and often. The change is shocking!

In my experience, I went from caring for myself whenever I liked to having to schedule every second I needed with another person. It was a tug-of-war that I often lost, and before I knew it, I did not recognize myself anymore. I had to invest in myself regularly to achieve a sense of normalcy that would make me feel whole again.

Motherhood expenses do not always refer to costs related to money. Time, effort, and happiness are all free but still have a cost. Here are some cost-free things I did to help me regain my self-esteem:

• Going on long walks alone

• Having a special shower/bath time routine

• Spending time with friends and family

• Revisiting my favorite hobbies - reading, painting, drawing, crossword puzzles, rewatching my favorite shows

• Cooking a special meal for myself

Getting a moment alone to take care of yourself can be challenging without help. My best advice is to lean on a support system, whether friends or family, a church group, close coworkers, or neighbors.

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In addition to investing in cost-free things, I also spend on a self-care routine. Here are all the items I spend monthly on:

1. Lunch and Dinners with Bestie or alone................... $150

2. Massages.................................................................... $75

3. Hair............................................................................... $75

4. Manicures/pedicures.................................................. $80

5. Gym Membership.........................................................$60

6. Therapy.........................................................................$120

Total...............................................................$560

Everyone's budget is different. Each category of my self-care routine is vital to my well-being. However, sometimes, I cannot do everything on my list. In those cases, I dedicate more time to taking long walks or reading to give myself time to recuperate in replace of that self-care activity. I also continue to set aside money each month even if I don't get a chance to do the self-care act. Doing this helps me keep up the routine of managing my finances to continue fitting these little luxuries into my budget.

How do you take care of yourself? Which habits keep you stress-free as a parent? Let me know your best tips!

Baby Shower Budgeting Tips

Having our first child has been a fantastic experience. Working hard to create the life for our son that he deserves began from the womb. I wanted a grand baby shower—a celebration filled with unforgettable memories and love. Initially, that meant spending what felt like a lot of money that would not add to the happiness of the event. We quickly realized we needed to scale back from lofty ideas of an ornate baby shower and focus on quality of time and togetherness.

We agreed on a budget of $1,500. At the time, that seemed hefty, but costs added up rather quickly.

I wanted to ensure that my vision of our first baby shower included many elements. The most important aspects included being outdoors while providing ample open space for guests, activities for kids' entertainment, and enough food to feed the 70+ guest list. As a plant mom, I chose a natural, earthy theme. It seemed fitting that the celebration for the life growing inside me would be green, lush, and bright. We decided on a park for the venue.

To keep costs low, I borrowed decor for centrepieces; I purchased items at Dollar Tree and from peer-to-peer selling sites like OfferUp. The final cost of the soiree was $1417.27. Here is a breakdown of each category:

• Venue........................................$500

• Food and alcohol.....................$327.41

• Decor and essentials...............$390.47

• Myself........................................$199.39

There are several ways to lower your expenses if you quickly approach your budget.

1. Swap out "luxury" ideas. We saved $500 by tying balloons around the main photo area and on the pavilion poles instead of investing in a giant balloon arch from an event company.

2. See what you can borrow. I borrowed centerpieces, glass carafes, and food prep items instead of purchasing them, saving me $200.

3. Evaluate how many activities you need. I wanted a bounce house and face painting at our baby shower. Truthfully, this would have placed us a couple hundred dollars over our initial budget, and the use of these would only go to a small group of individuals - the kids. Instead, we opted to get games and toys they could play with and take home.

4. Dollar stores are your friend. I grabbed table covers, coloring books, crayons, kites, bubble sets, stickers, and small items such as tape and string.

5. Keep the food budget tight. We opted to BBQ at the park rather than have catered food because we could keep the budget intact with burgers and hotdogs. Remember that your baby shower is not an event in which you must feed people a seven-course meal.

6. Ask for assistance. People want to help support you! Accepting help is extremely difficult for me. I had to be open to giving people an opportunity to support me during this time. Acts of kindness are many people's love language! Giving them space to show you how they care is a beautiful skill. People donated lots of food, giving our menu some much-needed diversity!

7. Go alcohol-free: The cost of alcohol racks up quickly. A baby shower may be an event you can skip over having drinks available for everyone. Or you can keep it light like we did and have a few bottles of white wine. Remember, it's not your responsibility to satisfy everyone's palate.

Here is where I did not skimp on the budget—whatever things cost, that was that! I got my hair and nails done and bought a dress that fit me comfortably. I purchased new jewellery and makeup, and I felt cute afterwards. I did these things for the event, so I count them as part of the budget, although they last well after the party. Invest in yourself and how you look and feel on the special day. That is value beyond measure.

Attending baby showers can sometimes be overwhelming. However, try to relax and enjoy yourself. Capture plenty of photos and arrive looking your finest. I promise these moments will be some of the most valuable memories!

If you need ideas for purchases, here are links to some of the items I bought from Amazon:

1. Clear Plates set 

2. Balloons

3. Party Favors

4. Keep Sakes

5. Baby in Bloom sign

6. Twinkly lights set

Share your best tips on how you save on big events like Baby Showers!

Budgeting and Traveling with an Infant

Budgeting and Traveling with an Infant

One of the most nerve-wracking experiences for a new parent is waiting to board a flight with their little one for the first time. We flew with our 7-month-old during the busy holiday season, and my anxiety was high as we approached the airport.

In South Florida, the humidity can overwhelm you. Visiting Georgia in the winter meant it was time to shop for baby clothes. No more wet heat!

We shopped at major retail stores to make finding items we liked easy. Baby Gap, Old Navy, and Burlington were our top choices. We purchased hats, jackets, two-piece sweatsuits, gloves, and furry shoes. We spent $246.84 on new baby clothes for a 6 - 12 month old.

I was ecstatic about all the items we picked up, some discounted and some purchased at full price. I imagined all the cute outfit combinations and the baby hats to match. I thought of places where we would take photos as a family and how adorable our baby would look bundled up. Sadly, the weather warmed up shortly after arriving in Georgia, and the heavy items we purchased to layer were useless.

He ended up wearing about 1/3 of the items we bought.

In situations like this, I would return the unused items. Florida is too hot for heavy clothing. But in haste, I removed all the labels and washed all the clothing because I was sure our trip would go as planned.

Overall, for flights, checking bags, sightseeing, and eating out, we spent $1030.75 for a 5-day trip. Here is a money breakdown:

$415.60 - Flights

$109.83 - Sightseeing

$ 78.91 - Eating out

$246.84 - Baby clothes

$91.93 - Uber

$87.64 - Target

I genuinely wish we chose clothing wisely! Knowing what I know now, here are my best tips to help prepare for travelling with a baby for a cost-efficient trip:

• Check the weather before your trip and compare it by reviewing historical weather trends. You can better plan your outfits if the upcoming weather predictions are lower or higher than the historical data.

• Create a budget you are comfortable with. You may overspend or underspend in some categories, but write down an overall number on which you are firm.

• Drop that budget into realistic categories. If you know you want to spend more time going to restaurants, sightseeing, or having experiences, the tradeoff is to spend very little on background items like new clothes, shoes, and beauty items if you can help it.

• Plan to see sights. If you are traveling with others or meeting up with friends or family, come up with an itinerary in advance and share with them your intent to go to specific places and have meaningful experiences. When you are on different pages, overspending heightens. Your money should go towards things or places you are excited about!

• Use public transit, and stay with friends or family when possible. Staying with family helped us and saved us hundreds in hotel and car rental fees.

Don't overthink it. You know yourself and your family's needs better than anyone. Bring items you know will soothe your baby. Adjust the feeding schedule so your baby can eat on the plane or have their favorite pacifier to help them adjust to the air pressure. If you are feeling anxious, your baby might feel uneasy. There is no need to buy them new clothing or toys for a trip. Go through what you have that can work and adjust for gaps in your child's needs.

Have helpful tips on how to travel with children? Let me know your travel hacks!