"Fall" into September Savings

[lizzie bargain]

Let me preface this to say I support every women in her choice of when or even if to have children and I know some of you are choosing not to have children or delay having children due to personal health issues which makes total sense to me . This is not meant to criticize or pressure anyone in anyway-just to raise awareness for those choosing to have children later in life after career is established etc


I completely agree it is up to each women to decide if/when to have children based on their own personal factors such as a partner, finances, health etc. However I do think it is important that they are fully informed of the possible health risks of delaying pregnancy and should research and speak to their doctor in making their own personal informed choice. They need to know that risk of infertility rises with age, risk of having a baby with a disability and risk of twinning is higher in older women( which then results in a higher risk of prematurity/complications). I believe premature birth is also a greater risk for older Mum's if I recall correctly. I used to work in healthcare and with many children with special needs so I am not fear mongering. Many Mum's can and do have healthy children over 35 but the risks are higher-for eg in a group of 25 year old women vs a group of 35 year old women statistically there will be more infertility,more health problems in the Mum's and more infants born with special needs but you personally may sail through it fine with no difficulties whatsoever!


I just always worry that women will suddenly get to 35( now they have found the right man, established their career, travelled, saved up for baby etc) try for their first baby and have some struggle with getting pregnant, perhaps have to go on infertility treatment waiting lists and may or may not have a successful pregnancy. I just feel that the timeline is short if you are starting at 35 if it takes time to get pregnant, need medical treatment to get pregnant, perhaps have a miscarriage along the way which is not uncommon and then if you want more than one child you feel pressured to have them closer together as the time clock is ticking.

In my own circle of friends recently here is what I see.

Friend 1 married at 35 and then waited a year to start trying-tried for over a year and used fertility treatments( IUI)-healthy baby born at 37.5 years old but now rushing to try and get pregnant with #2( baby is 8 months old)

Friend 2-healthy 4th baby just born at age 36 or 37

Niece age 32- healthy first baby just delivered at 38 weeks due to her high blood pressure which continued after the pregnancy

Niece's wife-age 26-baby stillborn at 25 weeks due to placental abruption. I am thankful they started early so they have time to try for more children before their childbearing days are over.

Friend with twins born at her age of 32-one has special needs. Expecting another set of twins at age 36 in a couple of months-I am praying both will be healthy!

Friend married at 32 unable to get pregnant without IUI-delivered healthy triplets at age 34 and born 6 weeks early

Friend married at 37 unable to conceive-had very expensive IVF-4 embryos transferred-one healthy baby born when friend was 39. Tried another pregnancy at 40 using frozen embryo but miscarried.

2 more nieces delivered healthy first babies around age 30.


Now perhaps I know more than the average number of older women with high risk pregnancies as I specialize in caring for multiples but just giving my circle of friends and family as an eg. Your circle of friends and family may have had much better outcomes!


I think we all assume that if we choose to start our families later that we will not have trouble getting pregnant and we will all have healthy children and so it is important for women to know in making their decisions pregnancy can take time, can be high risk at older ages and if you want more than one child it can be tough to fit 2-3 pregnancies in. I worked very closely with a women who did research studies on pregnancy outcomes and she said that many women were simply unaware of the health risks of waiting and felt it was important to educate all women so that they could make an informed decision on when/if to have their children.

[Frugalbigmama]

TGIF- And a beautiful day and weekend to look forward to! Looking forward to a smooth day at work, tackle whatever is thrown my way . Tonight is date night I pulled a large bottle of wine from the cellar lol. Good thing we have 2 batches ready to bottle as the rack is getting low. Only one hockey game this weekend which is nice and have lined it up to enjoy a free buffet dinner at the casino since my voucher expires on Monday so good timing!

[Andit]

Good morning, everyone.

So, I didn't win the condo board election last night. The lady I lost to is very sweet & I quite like her on a personal level, but she's a bit naive and I worry that she might be manipulated by my crazy neighbour. I stayed to help clean up after the meeting (wine & cheese were served) and the few of us who usually do all the grunt work (4 left standing, er, sitting in the end) polished off 3 bottles of wine and the rest of the cheese & cookies. Didn't get home til after midnight, so the brats were a bit ticked I disturbed them and didn't bring them a doggy bag.

Think today will be devoted to housework. Well, this morning at least. Then the brats & I can enjoy the sunshine this afternoon.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

[Frugalbigmama]

Yes, make sure you enjoy the sunshine! The housework will wait for you

[MrsSunshine]

Andit,, well done on helping to clean up
maybe offer that lady help when she needs .. guide her along the way..

its gorgeous here again.. i know it won't last forever. so probably will spend the day 'cleaning the gardens'
tidying up around here. after finally getting a good nights sleep i have the energy

i was quite proud of myself last night. i took a stewing chicken, a bag of frozen cabbage, 10 wee potatoes, a bag of carrots i was going to throw out as well as some celery (both were blagh looking)
cut everything up and added it all to a pot with the chicken
then after a few hours, hacked the chicken apart and added the meat to the 'stock'
didn't get that done until 11 last night. so its ready to 'stew' this afternoon for dinner.
i think ive made my own chicken soup. woohoo.

i'll let y'all know later if it worked.

[Frugalbigmama]

off for a patio work lunch

[coupon girl]

-well I am tired got up at 7.00 headed over to walmart to develop pictures -cost me 28.00 oh well its from our trip and "ashlyn"-now I see shoppers has a 2 day on line sale .9 cents each oh well is it easy to do online have never done it from home
-got a fewspecials not much on sale in the flyers this week-wrote a comment sheet out for the lovely cashier I had wonderfull service at walmart
-camehome hung clothing out washed last night
just made a batch of homemade patatoe soup-ummm
- i will go to read a bit -I am exhausted

[lilo0003]

I found it ironic that after years of ensuring we did not get pregant it then took so long once we decided it was time. DH & I have been married 20 years with our oldest being 14 we had a lot of time for questions, thankfully we did not have the same challenges trying to concieve with #2. I was 33 & then 36 when I had the boys and personally I think that it is what you know that seems right for your family. It is hard to ignore the questions but at the end of the day that's all you can do. I found once we exlplained to our close family what was going on the questions stopped. We are in the same place with a cousin. He has been married for 7 years and those of us close to them know they are now working on adoption. So no one asks anything about babies and we just wait for the announcement.

[Frugalbigmama]

Oh this afternoon is dragging on. Guess I'm anxious for date night with my honey. Ate way too much at lunch and am stuffed. Can't wait to go home for a quick shower and put on yoga pants

[Frugalbigmama]

Shopping this weekend- I really didn't see too many things I want which is a good thing. The freezer is full so will eat from there and make do with what we have. Have a almost full 10Lb bag of carrots still so that will be the veggie this week. Raw and cooked. Think we just need milk and a fresh loaf of bread. Still have apples from the about 10Lbs I bought last week.

[Granger]

Hello friends. Busy with school, my girls and getting our new home ready for an open house we are having for family.

DD#1 has had a rough start to kindergarten. Some screaming (which I think we have resolved now) and crying (working on) and potty regression (also working on). As a teacher, I am quite stressed about the whole thing, but I am telling myself she is only 3.75 (Dec. birthday), I have to give her time to transition and she won't be doing these things in grade 8. I am not a fan of full day kindergarten, but I understand the goals of the program so I would like to try the program as it is meant to be and give it a chance, before I withdraw her for part days. She did preschool, but with a 30 min bus ride it is a long day.

Angela: We are hoping to have our third baby soon. My first pregnancy was a surprise to many as I told people I had no plans for kids so they would leave me alone. Such questions are private questions. My second pregnancy came as a surprise to many too because it was only 5 months after the last (my mom still does not believe we were using birth control, OUCH!) I have shared with a few people who won't bug that we would like a third, but it depends on God's willing not our own. I have shared mostly because people have figured it out...it is part of why we moved to a big country home. For this pregnancy, I plan to tell no one...if you see me and figure it out, awesome, if not, well, you may just be surprised in a year's time. lol. I am tired of people feeling like they are privy to my business without maintaining a relationship with me. I will of course let those who are close in heart but far in distance know.

As for supplying...in our board, pregnancy would never affect the number of jobs you get. Principals like consistency (at least mine does). Last year we had four different librarians all pregnant temps because ours was on mat. leave. Honestly, each one of them was awesome! It was a running joke, don't hang out in the library too long or your might get a bun in the oven! The last of the women was having trouble (years) getting pregnant and was overjoyed when she left in June announcing a pregnancy! What I mean is, if you are a regular at a school, they will prefer you no matter your condition! Principals are used to dealing with mat leaves and as a result, that year becomes a short window of time that passes quickly.

[Angela273]

At the end of my teaching day today, a teacher asked me to come and teach for her a full day in early October. I now have 8 full days of teaching booked in advance for the month of October. I am quite happy with this.

I just looked back in my records and I worked 12.4 days of work in October 2011, and 7.66 days in October 2013. For anyone that forgot, I get paid a percentage of a day when they calculate my wages, not an hourly wage. This is after the entire month was over, whereas my current days are just the pre-booked ones.

edit: for EI purposes, each day worked is worth 9.5hrs. Since we are planning to have our next child in 2015, my days worked are now that much more important to our family in the long run.

[MrsSunshine]

coupon girl.. getting pics through SDM is so easy. only thing is you have to wait a week to pick them up.

so what a day. didn't get to the garden. but tackled many other jobs with dh. the house looks so clean now.
i can enjoy my weekend.
heading to a couple of huge sales this weekend at local churches.. the last of the sales for the year.
can't wait!
OH and the soup.. yumola!

[Ciel]

^Angela, good that you explained the payment situation. Thought there was a daily rate that teachers get for substitute teaching. Now it's even more clear why every day of work is a victory for you in more than one way.

Some of you SCers must recall Ann Landers' column on the topic of women and getting married/having kid 1/having kid 2/kid not resembling family, etc. The answer was "Why would YOU want to know THAT?" Repeat as needed to get the point across. I have yet to see someone address what a man might have to say if he or peers get similar queries. But the same answer would work.

October thread title suggestions:
Thankful & thrifty October (Thanksgiving theme)
Oktoberfest of beer days & better savings (fun theme)
October Money Balancing Acts
Book-tober Budget Treats & Caramel Dreams (Halloween theme, thanks Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous)
October-fall savings & splurges

[jasperandchar]

Morning everyone,

here are the name suggestions so far for the October thread, I am still accepting names suggestions until 6pm eastern time tomorrow (Sunday).

Thankful for Savings - sweet sparrow

Open to savings - coupon girl

Thankful & thrifty October (Thanksgiving theme) - Ciel
Oktoberfest of beer days & better savings (fun theme) - Ciel
October Money Balancing Acts - Ciel
Book-tober Budget Treats & Caramel Dreams (Halloween theme, thanks Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous) - Ciel
October-fall savings & splurges - Ciel

Pumpkin cutting Savings - jasperandchar
October frugal friends - jasperandchar
Count our blessings October - jasperandchar
Grateful for savings & frugal friends - jasperandchar