In less than a week, I enter the third trimester and for me, that’s when things start to get real. Properly serious. There’s a baby coming!
Whether it’s your first child, second (like for me) or third or fourth, there’s always going to be a great deal of preparation involved. For us, the first time around, it was really unknown territory and we had to think about EVERYTHING. We had to buy ALL the gear and equipment and furniture, from changing mats, cost and Moses baskets to travel systems and car seats and all the cute clothes in-between.
One consideration at the time was our car. I had a Clio back then, and fortunately it was due for an upgrade at the time so we could consider what the latest model had to offer and pick an option that would suit our growing family. Size, safety and affordability were all priorities - it’s only natural to want to get the best but at the best price too. With maternity leave on the horizon, I needed to be sure to save as many pennies as possible to cover not only the things we needed to buy for baby, but also my contribution to bills and so on.
This time around isn’t all that different; making my money go as far as possible when I’m on leave is really important and we have been looking at our car. Last time, we traded up to the latest Clio as it met our needs, and since then we have a Captur. It won’t be long until it’s due it’s annual full service and the MOT too (another cost to factor in) so I was pleased to learn that I could save some money with the new offer from Halfords, which is designed to help save motorists money and keep our roads safer. Essentially, if you buy any product from a Halfords shop, you will pick up a free £54.85 MOT that can be booked at any of the 300 plus Halfords Autocentres across the UK. Carrying our essential checks on our car - not just buying the best car seat - is all part of our baby preparations so it’s good to know we can keep my car in top condition whilst scoring an MOT to boot. Every penny counts, as they say!
Our car is sufficient for us for now, although I am thinking come out first family staycation, we will need to buy a roof box as there is no way I can travel that light with a baby AND a child AND all our things too!
Our new travel system system is more compact than the last which will help, so at least the bigger purchases are taken care of our planned for.
How did you plan for your maternity leave? Did you have to think about your car and how it would accommodate your growing family?
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