Book swaps

My recent library posting got me in a very bookish frame of mind... so I've embarked on an experiment I've been meaning to try for a while: book swapping. I've plucked a name from the google soup and signed up to ReaditSwapit.com but there are many many options out there. Groups of wannabe swappers range from local to international networks, some meeting in person to discuss and handover their wares, others setting up swaps electronically and leaving the rest to the postman. I've gone for the appealingly anonymous and less time consuming online option. The Guardian compiled a list of bookswap sites last year and received some interesting feedback from both fans and phobes.

The books in my life that I couldn't bear to part with were safely boxed up in our cellar three years ago, to make way for Ginger's invasion of our home - Eric Carle and Mr Bump now jostle for space where Jeffrey Eugenides, Vikram Seth and Louis De Bernieres once announced my literary leanings. My modest collection of grown up books acquired (rather than borrowed) since then have now been split into Keep and Swap piles and the Swaps offered up to all at ReaditSwapit. The best bit is compiling a Wishlist of books you'd like to trade for, then using the search function to request swaps with users who have one of these on offer.

I'm a convert! I've recovered from the knockbacks my rash of initial swap requests generated and learned to check out people's profiles and reading tastes before suggesting a trade. By having some bestsellers on my list I've even had people competing for my books, leaving me in the great position of perusing all of their book lists to see who I'd rather swap with. If nothing takes your fancy you can always say no thanks and hang on until a better offer comes along. I've only been a member for a fortnight but already I've bagged myself four books I can't wait to read - each for the price of posting a paperback - and there is something so nice about receiving parcels through the good old snail mail. If you have a ReaditSwapit account or feel inspired to sign up, check out my ReaditSwapit Profile and perhaps we can do thrify business :)

So far I've seen little online action on the children's book swap front, but here's an inspiring tale from Slate.com... This thrifty mum (or 'Spartan Mom' in this case) has replaced the dreaded gift and goody-bag culture at her son's birthday parties with a book swap scheme. We haven't yet reached the stage where we're expected to invite all of Ginger's classmates over on his birthday - and presumably reciprocate, bearing gifts, for each of these 25 close friends - but I'm warned it can't be put off forever. Since we had to buy a cupboard taller than me to house the trappings of his 2nd birthday this scheme sounds very appealing. Now we just have to convert each of those classmates' parents to our frugle, oh-so-practical ways...

Learning to love my library

Below street level at the foot of a windswept 60's tower block lurks our local library. Despite my thrifty nature I have to admit I'd deliberately given it a wide berth until I was pregnant - preferring the guilty pleasure of splurging on 3-for-2 offers at the big chain book stores.

Why the change of heart? Indecision. My natural response to any new challenge in life is to research, research, research. I always start online but ultimately I need reference tomes on my bookshelves. Which ones would see me through this baby-rearing business? Would I be a regimented routine Gina Ford-style mother or a go-with-the-flow Baby Whisperer? Rather than buy up the entire baby section at Borders I finally crossed my library threshold and came home with the full spectrum of options to browse.

As I've said in an earlier post, the winner for us was Baby Secrets, which I now thrust upon any new mum-to-be who shows half an interest. Here are a selection of other great baby-raising books we discovered at the library and have since invested in.

As I swelled into a waddling whale, the once shunned library became an essential pit stop when running (ok, trudging) local errands. And once I'd exhausted the shelves of new clues to what parenthood held in store, I discovered a nice line in parenting magazines to leaf through - full of yet more money saving tips and fairly terrifying labour stories.

Fast forward another few months and my life with tiny baby Ginger involved seemingly endless hours of breastfeeding. None of the guidebooks prepared me for just how much it dominated our days (and nights). In low moments I felt my existence was reduced to that of giant milking machine, but the breakthrough came when I learned to balance a book on the guzzling Ginger and enjoy endless novels through all those hours on the sofa. I've never read so much in all my life!

I'm building my own collection of Thrifty Mum book tips on Listmania - watch this space for new additions.

I'll end this library love-in with a tip from my good friend Legal Mum. She scours the weekend papers for new book reviews to whet her appetite then, rather than fork out she goes online and requests her library order a copy in for her. Not a bad way to keep up with the latest releases without spending a penny...

And - hot off the press - here's the Guardian's list of 1000 novels everyone must read, which should keep me going for a while.

Pregnant shopping

Shopping and hormones. Potentially a very messy combination with the capacity to leave unexplained chasms in your current account. When I was pregnant with Ginger (referred to as Spud back then) two books saved us a fortune, and later on, our sanity: The "Which?" Guide to Baby Products (does what it says on the tin) and Baby Secrets: How to know your baby's needs (an all-round life-saver for clueless first-timers like us, including a super-sensible shopping section).

As we prepared our home to welcome Spud we were seriously skint - Not-naturally-thrifty Husband had just quit his job to focus on exam revision (or was he just chasing the dream - a student lifestyle complete with lie-ins, daytime TV and happy hours?!). We needed all the help we could get in sorting the fluff from the essential kit.

So when I wasn't addressing my comedy pregnancy symptoms (eyebrow dandruff - was that just me?) I calmed my financial nerves with a spot of list making (Beg, Borrow or - last resort - Buy).

Top tactics included:

• Save the big buys for sale time. Once you're over the denial you've probably got 4-5 months of shopping time left and with any luck, at least one sale season. Friends who were parenting pros recommended a pushchair where your tiny baby could lie and face you as you walked. We made the investment in a Mama's & Papa's Pliko Pramette then got lucky with a donation from friends of a compatible car seat. M&P's is not a natural match for thrifty parents (I wanted to get a 2nd hand one on eBay but NNT Husband couldn't cope with the concept of 2nd hand baby sick - he's over that now!) but we loved this pram so much and it lasted until Ginger's 2nd birthday. You'd be amazed how many people spend £100's on some high spec baby chariot only to abandon it for a more practical runaround after 6 months...
• Borrow anything you can. It may be a little late for you to consider this strategy but I highly recommend delaying your child-rearing until at least two or three of your close friends have been there first. Thanks to my great friends Corporate Mum, Army Mum and Escaped-to-the-country Mum I acquired a selection of maternity clothes on loan that put my regular wardrobe to shame. And with any luck there will be several Moses baskets on offer, to save you shelling out on something your baby may only sleep in for 6 short weeks.
• Stock up at the Supermarket. You'll be inundated with cute little outfits for your newborn so let your friends and family do the fun but pricey baby clothes shopping and stockpile basic babygrows instead (we could get through 6 a day in the earliest/ messiest days). The likes of Tesco and Co-op did packs that came in significantly cheaper than the basic ranges at more obvious sources like Mothercare and John Lewis. And if you're lucky your baby's bottom will be a good match for the supermarket own-brand nappies. Buy just a few packs in advance from your most convenient supermarket and see if they suit - you'll save a fortune if they do.
• Spend a little on yourself. By the time I'd survived the free antenatal classes at our local hospital (how can it be helpful to pass around a pillowcase packed with ominous medical instruments and guess how they might be used on you during labour?) I was dangerously well informed about the joys of childbirth. The antidote turned out to be a course of Pregnancy Yoga classes at the rather right-on Active Birth Centre. By this stage I needed to hear that my body was built for this and to learn how to roar through the pain (sorry, work with the pain). The mental preparation saved me from a threatened Cesarean at the end of a 36 hour labour, and the bit at the end of each class, where we snoozed under blankets and then compared symptoms and plans over herbal tea and biscuits, was just bliss.
• Buy regular furniture for your baby's room. They see you coming a mile off if you're shopping for 'nursery furniture'. Of course you need a cot, but a 'changing table' and matching wardrobe will cost you a fortune whilst a simple chest of drawers of the right height (we use the 4-drawer Malm from IKEA) can store endless baby clothes and bedding, then fits a changing mat on top to work perfectly for nappy changes. Did I mention we are raising Ginger in a one bedroom flat? He sleeps in our living room, so not filling it with too much obvious baby clutter has added appeal!
• Smaller things that were worth spending on... A towling bath support to lay tiny babies in the bath (giving nervous novices at least one free hand to wash their baby with); a boomerang shaped pillow (for bump-support during those uncomfortable nights, breast feeding and propping up babies); a 'Slumber Bear' (don't ask! Actually a motion- and sound-activated 'settler' that plays soothing sounds from the womb to lull a newborn baby back to sleep).

I'll stop now. There is no fool-proof baby product shopping list - your own thrifty solution to preparing for a new arrival will be uniquely matched to your circumstances... After all, one woman's brilliant bed-side bottle warmer is another mum's waste of space, but comparing notes with fellow travelers can only help.

We've been training hard for this

Mass redundancies, crunching credit and a housing market that's grinding to a halt. Tough times for us all - especially if you're trying to raise a family. The free papers I snatch when I occasionally brave the tube (not for the faint hearted, with Ginger plus pushchair), office and playground chat alike tell me all are tightening their belts.

But although we fear a direct hit, we three - let's call us Ginger, Thrifty Mum and Not-naturally-thrifty Dad - seem to have been in training for this era of shoe-string parenting for three hard years already. Ever since the NNT Dad (then a student) and I (on a modest museum salary) watched a little blue line appear on a pregnancy test back in late 2005.

It wasn't fashionable to be frugal back then but we've acquired all sorts of tricks to keep up appearances, enjoy this extraordinary thing called family life and spoil our son without breaking the bank. Sometimes the desire to splash out on shiny new mini-Boden kit, not to mention a sleep- and luxury-filled spa break has been almost unbearable. But we usually resist and overall we've had a ball.

I thought I'd use this blog to collect some of my money-saving thoughts together and hopefully share ideas with other thrifty parents. I know you're out there, and joining in this conversation won't cost you a penny!