Congrats on your pregnancy. All of the tips above are great. Sorry to hear about the support situation.
Here is a list of what I did recently to save money:
- got rid of cable completely and use a digital antenna which cost $25 and I pick up about 22 channels.
- I have no cellphone bills as I use pay as you go with Telus - I buy a prepaid $100 card that is good for a year and use it for emergencies only and occasional texting. I have data blocked on this account.
- I keep a basic phone line in my house for $20 a month.
- I switched banks and pay no service charges.
- I use a Tangerine MasterCard which pays cash back into my savings account - 4% for first 3 months than 2% on three categories - I have it set for groceries, drugstore and gasoline.
- I eliminated junk food like pop, chips, etc and drink more filtered tap water.
- I replaced all of my light bulbs with energy saving ones.
- I turned the furnace down by a few degrees and got a free energy thermostat from my local hydro company.
- I go to the library regularly.
- I have a reusable Keurig k-cup and purchase coffee in bulk at Costco.
- I always bring water and/or coffee with me when I am out running errands so that I am not tempted to stop into Tim's.
- I stay out of stores as much as possible.
- I found keeping a log of what I spend everyday really helps and gives an insight into what my weaknesses are (for me it is cosmetics and the clearance section at Shoppers)
Another idea is to start living as if you were on maternity leave now and save that portion of money for future costs.
Good luck and let us know how successful you are as I am sure you have some great tips as well to share.