New Mom...New Baby...New Debt?Written by Susan Koiner
Ah, there is nothing like being an expectant mom. Along with your expanding waistline comes ever growing list of products for you and your new bundle of joy. Preparing for a new baby can be a costly experience, especially in areas of clothing and nursery furniture. The good news is that it does not have to be!Let’s talk about buying baby clothes...think RESALE! Every new mom gushes over adorable clothing available for babies, but they often come with a not so adorable price. Resale clothing costs a fraction of retail price. Buying resale clothing does not equal buying trash! Moms sell their baby’s clothing to resale stores for a variety of reasons. Babies outgrow clothes so quickly (normally before they show any wear) they simply cannot use them anymore. Many precious newborns receive more clothes than they can wear in a season (everyone loves to buy baby clothes for shower gifts–they are just too cute!) that cannot be returned and they end up in resale stores with tags still on! If you have time and know what you are looking for, you can find plenty of designer and brand name clothing for a steal! Buy now...save later! There is more beauty to changing of seasons than just landscape! As temperatures change, so do prices of baby clothing! Most stores slash price of their clothing up to 75% by end of season to make room for new clothes. Take advantage of this by buying a size or two larger than your baby’s current size for him/her to wear next year. The savings are amazing! Another large expense when you are preparing for a new baby is furniture for nursery. A good place to start when considering which pieces to buy is determining how much room you have to work with? Do you have a large room or do you need multipurpose furniture? A crib is a necessity and a given; however, you can pick and choose other nursery pieces. Combination pieces such as dresser/changing table combos are available at some stores and can save you from buying two pieces. Cribs with attached drawer space that convert to toddler beds are also available and will save you a lot of space. Thinking ahead when buying nursery furniture will save you both time and money in future. By buying a combination piece of furniture for your nursery, you eliminate having to sell furniture you no longer need, as well as spending time looking for and more money on new “big kid” furniture.
| | Breaking away from white wall paintWritten by Lisa French
Breaking away from white wall paint by: Lisa FrenchPaint is one of most affordable and easiest ways to change a room. But choosing right paint colors for your home can seem like an overwhelming task. Paint, accessories, fabric, furniture, and flooring should all blend, so take a good look at room you will be working on, preferably before you choose a paint color, and decide what will stay in room, and what you may want to move out of room. The first thing you should do when choosing interior colors for your home, is look around at colors that make you feel good, happy, and relaxed. These colors are probably already in your home. A few examples are colors you love to look at in your flower garden, colors in your jewelry, or pottery, or they can be found in colors of clothes in your closet. The second thing you should do is go to your local paint store and pick up a color wheel, and or sample cards, pick sample cards that really catch your eye, and don't be afraid to get as many as you want. Take these cards home and look at them at different times of day and night, to see how color will look when sun shines in on them, or at night when you have lamps turned on, or candles burning. Study this for several days. Be patient when deciding which color feels best to you.
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