A frugal life is an easy life!

When your new baby is about to arrive, the temptation is to buy lots of things and with the price of baby things going through the roof, it makes frugal sense not to go overboard!
Every company under the sun wants to sell you something, wants you to hand over your details for a small free gift, etc. Beware!

Here is my guide (a dad's view) of what you will/will not, need for a new baby:

• Baby grows/baby vests - I would stick to just six of each, 0-3 months size. Anymore than this is a waste, you'll end up giving them away in 3 months time. White and yellow are a safe bet, with maybe the odd babygrow in a colour once baby has arrived.
• Baby bottles - Just three of these with "newborn" teets. Mum breastfed here so many bottles were not needed, but even so, most baby milk products warn about not keeping many bottles pre made up in the fridge. Later on at 6 months old, the teets can be changed to accomodate the older baby and we just use two bottles now, to suppliment our baby's food.
• Muslin squares - Thin sheets of material that are ideal for wiping up sick, food spills and baby's face. I got a pack of ten of these, they are easily washed and dry fast, we are still using them now our sprog is aged over 9 months. A godsend, definately a must buy.
• Johnson's moisturising bath wash, baby lotion, talcum powder, baby shampoo, etc. - I picked up various sizes of these, whilst on offer at different shops. The idea was, to have a little cupboard full of baby stuff, to be used when baby arrived. Most of it, was a complete waste of time and money!
  Our health visitors and hospital staff advise against using lotions and creams etc, on newborn babies.
  Even now at 9 months old, we still only use a tiny drop of baby shampoo and a drop of moisturising bath wash once a day. The only other thing we use regularly is a bar of baby soap.
• Cotton wool - Sounds obvious, but you can never have enough. Next time you are at the supermarket, have a look at the bags of cotton wool that come in strips, not balls!
  Pick up as many as you like, they should be around 85p each and I got 12 packs in, they all got used up within a month. I still buy 6 packs at a time. A definate buy for new baby this. The advantage of strips over balls, is that no matter what the size of the nappy, the strips can be ripped to size, with balls you'll need to add some together.
• Vaseline - Each to their own, but for me I bought a big tub of vaseline and a big tub of sudocrem. We started using vaseline, then after a couple of weeks went out and forgot it. We had the sudocrem with us and used it whilst we were out. After just a day of using it, our sprog had nappy rash!
  We returned to vaseline and (touch wood) our sprog has not had any nappy rash at all since.
  One thing I would advise, which ever cream you use for baby's bum, rub it in well. It is a barrier cream and if rubbed in well, it will stop any rash from forming.

Other considerations:

• Toys - I would advise you go easy on buying these. A plain rattle for example, cost £8 at the early learning centre (now owned by mothercare) - you'll find that friends and family will buy toys as gifts. Save the toy buying for later.
• Cot accessories - Again, ease of wasting your hard earned cash on these, they are really not needed for the first 4-6 months. Musical mobiles are everywhere, we have only ever used one single elephant that ties to the cot side, that plonks a tune out when you pull its tail, and this was a gift.
• Cot bedding - One of the most expensive outgoings is a cot bedding set. With the end of cot "shield" for newborns, most important we found, was the cot sheets.
  Obviously, with any leaks, having only one cot sheet for baby meant a constant stream of washing and drying and putting back on. Get a couple of spares, cot blankets don't tend to get dirty too often, even in the event of a spill or leak from nappy.

I shall add to this post as my memory recalls what worked and what was a bad buy...

Logged on to Aviva's website for a simple car insurance quote... Here are the results.

Logged on to Aviva website, complete with "Two months free insurance" banners -  clicked on car insurance quote, filled in all my details.

• Problem number one - The website couldn't recognise my vehicle details, it is a small van though, so I rang the number provided.

After three options, I selected the "Get a van quote" option and spoke almost immediately, to a lady advisor.

• Problem number two - The lady did not listen to me, the customer.

I explained that the online quote system could not recognise my vehicle, to which she replied, "I will put you through to our website technical team!" - I told her I wanted a new quote and that she could just go through one with me over the phone, to which I was told, "But you have to go through the online system or you will be charged a 15% higher price!"

I was then put on hold whilst the lady went to check with her line manager that she could apply the 15% online discount for a quote over the phone.

After about 5 minutes, the phone started ringing and a man answered asking if he could help.

• Problem number three - The lady advisor in new quotes that I was talking to, didn't come back on the line after checking if the online discount could be applied with her line manager, lying to me and instead she transferred me to their in house technical support team.

The man explained that he was unable to do anything with quotes, as he was their in house technical support team for website problems and faults.
He then asked me for a quote number, I explained that I did not have one as the website couldn't recognise my vehicle details.
He then asked me again for a quote reference number and asked me why the lady had put me through to him!
I terminated the call with, "It doesn't matter then, obviously Aviva do not want my custom." I put the phone down.

AVIVA'S SCORES:

• Customer service - 0/10
  They transferred me around the departments as if I was totally unimportant, their advisor in their new quotes office lied to me, saying she would be right back after checking that online discount could be applied to a quote over the phone as the website was not working, she didn't, she instead transferred me to an in house technical support worker, regardless of wether that department could sort out new or old quotes, which they could not.
  Their in house technical support team couldn't understand why I was speaking to them, then he did not listen when I twice had to tell him the website would not give out a quote, before I terminated the call, he was actually asking me questions without providing any answers to my query.
• Effort - 0/10
  Aviva staff simply could not be bothered.
• Value for money - 0/10
  The only piece of information I got from taking my time out to call Aviva for a quote, was that those people who ring up and apply for car/van insurance, are charged 15% MORE for their insurance, than those people that apply via their website.
  The 2 months free insurance that the website advertises, was not mentioned a single time.

Whilst filling out the online quote, there was a checkbox option, to "opt out" of having Aviva's other companies send me, via email and post, other products that they deem I might want to buy - when I rang them up, the automated voice declared that Aviva would pass on my details to other companies that they owned, without being able to opt-out, which I suspect is against trading standards law?

Thanks to Aviva's lacklustre approach to having me as a customer, they have lost out on between £400 - £700 worth of business, had I got a quote and taken out insurance with them, they would also have had the wife's car insurance move to them, which would have been another £300 at least.
Oh well, it's Aviva's loss...

Direct line have more than DOUBLED the price of my car insurance.

Not one single advisor, underwriter or administration staff can give me a valid reason for doing it.
Was £29 per month, it will now be increased to £60 per calendar month - for the exact same vehicle!

All they will tell me is, "Yes it is correct" and that, "Every other insurance company is putting up their prices!"

Oh and when you see their lovely funny adverts on your television, offering "52 days FREE car insurance for NEW policy holders" - think on... they are telling you lies!

My renewal notice is more than double what I paid last year, I paid less when I started driving with them 14 years ago, but even at £60 per calendar month, it is still£30 a year CHEAPER than what they would charge me, if I was a new customer, this includes the "52 days free car insurance"

I would think long and hard before you give your custom to this company.
If they CUT PRICES and treated their customers fairly, instead of paying stephen fry and paul merton large fees for doing voice overs, then they would be ok.

As it stands, in all my time with them, (more than a decade) the price of my insurance has NEVER been reduced!

Companies are pre-empting the budget and taking the tax breaks that the government are giving us all.
The government needs to step in sort this mess out, any help that people get from the powers that be, is given to them in lower taxation but more than taken away by businesses with no interest whatsoever in their customers, who instead, are lining their own pockets.

Yesterday, the new government's budget gave our household an extra £245.
The week before, Direct line insurance more than DOUBLED my insurance payments each month.
The result leaves me being given £245 by the government and Direct line taking away an extra £360 each year - making my family WORSE OFF by £115

The injustice here, is plain to see:

• I am being charged because there have been more claims due to a snowy winter - in no other business is an individual allowed to be charged for another's actions, so why are insurance companies allowed to get away with it?
• I am refused an explanation for the more than doubling of the costs to me - a token, "We have had a lot of claims over the winter" is the best they can offer
• They are advertising "52 days free car insurance" - why then is the cost to a new customer still more than £20 more than an existing customer?
• The government have lowered our taxes, to benefit the people - not lowered them so each and everyone of us could pay a higher price for our insurance!

Factor in, that water companies are selling off reservoirs and not building new ones whilst the number of new homes being built is growing and I would expect their prices to rise as well.
It may sound old fashioned, but it is time the powers that be got a grip on companies like these and started protecting the public.
If they don't, then without feeling any benefits, the people lose and in time the government will be voted out of office!

Back in April 2010, when the government of the day announced their budget, they froze a rise in petrol duty.
All the speculation in the media, was that petrol duty would be increased.
One day prior to the budget, in my area all the garages put up the price of petrol by 1p, then on the day after the budget, they increased their petrol prices by 2p per litre.
The reason given at three petrol stations I filled up at in the week following the budget, was "VAT has been increased in the budget" or "Every petrol station is increasing their prices as we have higher taxes!" - all complete lies!

In the new government's budget today, PETROL, ALCOHOL and CIGARETTES have had their duty FROZEN!
This means there is no increase in the tax we pay on them and as such, the prices of them should remain the same.

I will be watching the prices in my area, will you be watching yours?