What are some tips on how to cut back on expenses to be able to afford childcare?

Answer 1

I recommend you buy or borrow from the library "Smart Couples Finish Rich" by David Bach. I save all of my articles on money, here is one that I have cut and pasted below: 10 ways you mindlessly waste money 1. Stuff you can't live without Life in the 21st century is so hectic we've convinced ourselves that we absolutely must have all kinds of gadgets and services to "make life easier" -- for which we pay a mind-boggling number of access fees, download fees, activation fees, subscription fees and usage fees. Does call forwarding "make life easier?" Does your internet-enabled, interplanetary, supersonic cell phone-pager-communicator? Or do they just "cost more money?" And who uses call forwarding anyway? I'd like a congressional inquiry into call forwarding. Meanwhile, add up all those things you've signed up for -- the ones that cost "just $9.95 a month!" -- and figure out which ones you really can live without. 2. The silent 'upgrade' I recently reserved a rental car over the phone and got the astonishing rate of $138 for a week. But when I got to the airport, the rental-car guy blithely handed me a bill for $184. I didn't want to make a fuss (especially since my driver's license had expired, and I didn't think they'd understand about that). So I threw a small, discreet fit and got 30 bucks taken off the bill. Lesson: Take the bait, but not the switch. . . . and speaking of switching . . . When did you move your $4,500 balance to that new low-interest credit card? And when does that low-interest rate zoom back up to 19%? Repeat after me: "I have balance-transfer amnesia." Read the fine print. Tattoo important dates on your arm. 3. Memberships you never use Harvard recently released a study that conclusively proved that signing up for a gym membership is an effective way to prevent exercise. Not only are you spared from ever again touching a treadmill, you're paying just $29 a month for the privilege. The same thing happened to me when I signed up to pay $3.50 a month for access to the Consumer Reports Web site. Why? Do I need minute-by-minute updates on Whirlpool appliances? 4. Double-dipping When my uncle decided to quit donating money to a certain charity, he sent them a letter saying so. A few weeks later, he got a letter back -- soliciting more money. The magazine industry has raised double-dipping to an art form. Have you ever noticed that two minutes after you subscribe to any publication they start begging you to renew? Most of the time, the renewal notices start before you've gotten your first issue! 5. The package 'deal' My friend Caroline took the package deal the phone company offered her because, for $49.95 a month, she got every possible telephone service known to mankind. What a deal. Until she realized that with taxes and FCC line charges she was paying almost $70 a month -- just for basic service. Plus, as she admitted, she didn't really need satellite three-way calling to Mongolia. She broke up the package and now pays only $33 a month. 6. Shopping delusions Oh, the price you pay when . . .