Like any lad, we all dream of mainly watching sport and relaxing and with goals of being financially comfortable and retire at 60!
However this dream changed dramatically when Pete from householdmoneysaving.com had three children:
- Cara 8, very funny but turning into a teenager and likes gymnastics and arts.
- George 7, quite shy who loves football and youtube.
- Amy 4, the most strong willed. She too loves gymnastics and winding her brother up.
So Pete, being there at the birth of one can be traumatic how was it with all three?
Cara was born at a birthing unit due to complications, she was rushed to a hospital and I had to follow the ambulance in my car, not knowing what was going on. George was easy and a straightforward birth. The traumatic time was when Amy didn’t want to leave her warm space after several hours of trying. Suddenly, I was putting on a gown, there were 9 members of a medical team in the room and a an incubator. It was quite scary, but she put in an appearance, and the situation calmed quickly. In some ways I envy the old ways where I could just sit in a corridor outside. Worrying about two of your loved ones at such close quarters is very traumatic.
Having had a lack of sleep and made big changes at work how was it for you having three children and did you have to make any changes?It wasn’t too bad actually. Cara was quite easy. The first six weeks were a little tough as we struggled with breast feeding. With work, at the moment I work shifts so I can help out more weeks than others. It would be great to stop working nights although I wish I didn’t work so much. Thankfully, my wife is childminder so can work from home. We didn’t really have to make any major changes, although money did become quite tight and we had to figure out ways to get around it. We definitely had to work as a team and I felt it made us closer as a team unit.
Finance is one of the biggest factors in choosing parenthood. I can see your site is householdmoneysaving.com I take it you’ve become an expert?
Yes. I managed to cut back a lot of bills without losing anything. I also started to find other ways to earn money. I can easily make over £2000 per year from surveys and mystery shopping. This means we never have to worry about Christmas and we can put some towards holidays. We had to, there is always some kind of club to pay out for, or a child’s party we need to buy a present for. Juggling finances can be tough. Oh, and giving up most of my sleep!
Parenting is so tough but you went back two more times, you must love being a dad.Being a dad is time consuming, costly, tiring, non-stop. But brilliant. There are so many challenges, home is a lot more hectic. There are very few times when our house is silent but there’s also so many rewarding moments. Just seeing their personalities grow has been the most rewarding. No matter how much they argue and complain with each other, I love spending time with them.
If you’re looking to become a parent, don’t worry too much about what other people do. Everybody thinks that they know best.
Thanks Pete! You can find Pete and his Money Saving Tips here: Twitter: @moneysaverpete & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/money
