Different Family Different Priority

April 25, 2011

I posted on my Twitter that I was looking for Jibran's passport that I misplaced somewhere (A very important announcement, indeed). Then a friend BBMed me, asking me if I was planning to go overseas..then she went 'Enak lo yaa jalan-jalan terus'..which I answered..I wish..:D. We're not planning on going anywhere (well there's the Umrah plan, which we still haven't finalized) but our passports are about to be expired soon so it's better to renew them before passing the expiration date. I heard it's cheaper that way. Anyway, that got me thinking about family, particularly spending for the kids. Yes we've had a few luxuries such as taking a trip to Singapore and Europe in the last 2 years but we skimp on a few other areas in order to support it such as: 

 - Jehan doesn't drink formula milk (and Jibran only consumed a little bit). I don't know how much is a can of formula milk but that amount times one or two year? Man that's A LOT! 
 - We don't have certified nanny. Just a regular mbak who helps out. How much is a nanny salary? Maybe double than regular mbak? If that's an extra 600 thousands, that equals to an extra Rp 7,200,000 a year. That's about the same price of return ticket we got to London last year. - My kids don't have fancy gears. Jehan stroller and car seat was a hands me down from Jibran and then she has a random umbrella stroller from Ambassador Mall. Also they don't have unnecessary gear/gadget that will only be used once or twice. Their feeding sets are pretty standards too. 

 - They get haircut at regular salon, not the one that charge you over Rp 100,000. Well for Jehan, she's only been in a salon one time for a haircut and Jibran goes to the neighborhood salon near the grandparents house. Cost him Rp 25,000 each trip. 

- We don't take pictures at the photo studio. Simply because I never like studio photo and aren't they pretty expensive? 

 - Both Oki and I are not very big on birthdays. But we try to do something special for the kids. They would at least get birthday cakes and presents. Jibran got to celebrate it with his friends last time (playing at Time Zone and lunch at Fish & Co). But no over the top birthday parties, mostly just time together with extended family. 

- Hmm what else? Obviously they don't get to shop at Zara Kids or Mothercare :D. Most of their more high street brands were hauled when we were in the US or Europe and they were on sale so they were dirt cheap!. Even if they were bought here, they were on sale. 

- They rarely get to buy toys too. Most of their toys are gifts. I used to buy Jibran secondhand toys back in the States..too bad I've only been to one garage sale here (and of course bought some toys :D). 

- And my kids certainly don't go to the indoor playground at the mall every weekend. I don't even remember when was the last time Jehan went to Lollipop. Maybe a year ago?. They went to Giggle not too long ago because Mommy had to work there :). Oh and I don't take them to a Spa either, heck I don't even go to a spa. The concept is cute..but I just don't understand the need on taking babies to a spa. What? They're so stress out they deserve some pampering or some me time while having their nails done? :D Gosh hopefully those don't make me sound like an uncool mom :D. Of course every family has different set of standards and priorities. This is just a few examples on what I did to save money in order to improve the other areas of my life. And this works for us.

How about you? What's work for your family?

Tags: ,

You Might Also Like

8 comments

  1. LindaApril 26, 2011 at 10:20 AM

    Oh, gw suka denger soal 'baby spa', Han. Tapi kelewat aja, ga pernah nanya apakah itu? Mungkin karna ada embel2 'baby'. Tapi serius, lo tau Han, sebener2nya itu baby diapain?

    Yak setuju banget, emang priority pasti beda2 sih. Bedanya antara lain: ada yang punya priority ada yang nggak. Hihihihi.

    ReplyDelete
  2. -April 26, 2011 at 10:30 PM

    Bwahaha..iya bener juga ya ada yang nggak punya prioritas

    Di tempat spa-spaan itu ada macem-macem Lin, ntar lo pengen lagi kalo gue sebutin..hehehe. Antara lain sih baby bisa dipijet di situ pake segala macem minyak-minyakan, ada kolam karet untuk hydrotherapy? Trus bisa potong rambut, ngecat sampe ngeriting rambut trus ada creambath, manicure, pedicure sampe facial. Seru kan nek? :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. OpiMay 4, 2011 at 11:50 PM

    Fancy gears, gadget, birthday party yang lebay buat anak, ga bikin si mommy jadi keliatan 'cool' juga sih, imo, hehehe...

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMay 9, 2011 at 12:21 PM

    Ya ampun Han, ini koq gue banget ya semuanya? Kadang gue suka mikir, ini gue yang kelewatan meditnya atau gimana sih. Glad to know that someone shares the same perception as I do *sambil doa mudah-mudahan bisa kayaklo, ngajak Nadira ke Europe someday, amiinnn :D*

    ReplyDelete
  5. HanzkyMay 9, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    Opi: Hihi iyaa..soalnya yang diundang temen-temen ibunya juga kan. Kalo di pesta ulang taun anak, jauh lebih banyak orang dewasanya (ada bapak ibunya plus mbaknya) daripada anaknya.

    Ira: amin amiiin, pasti bisa Ra. Just keep an eye on promo airline fare :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousOctober 9, 2011 at 1:03 AM

    ih bner bner...setuju banget ini

    anakku sih baru 7bln, tapi dari belanja2 waktu hamil udah medit banget bebeliannya, apalagi soal baju/sepatu, lha wong bayi cepet gede kan..sekarang mah belinya di itc/ol shop aja, jauuuuh lebih murah dari mothercare/zara tapi g kalah lucu, kadang malah lebih lucu kan..kalo gear2 itu yang penting keselamatan&keamanan aja, itu juga tetep made in itc..secara beda harga nya jauh banget ama di mall..

    mending duitnya simpen buat beli popok hahaha...

    ReplyDelete
  7. uilenveenMarch 20, 2013 at 10:28 AM

    Han, pertama baca postinganmu di FD ttg HoL di Cikutra bdg itu (btw, dpt lah aku sebuah suede sling yg bs dipk kerja, lucu, murah, tx ya..). Skrg aku nyasar ke sini hasil melipir dr thread kamar mandi (again, FD).
    Two words: Aku banget :)
    Berasa 'adem' bhw trnyata ada yg sepemikiran. Krn dikau pny usaha, harusnya orang msh rada maklum dng jln2mu dng kel smpi yurep. Lah aq PNS (ex peg swasta) yg kbetulan prnh nyicip tinggal n sekolah di sono, n sedikit bnyk terinspirasi bokap n kakak yg udh duluan melanglang buenos... kebayang kan orang pd 'mempertanyakan', kok bs jln2 ke Spore, Bali, My, Karimunjawa(yg mana itupun klo buat tmn2 yg mbolak balik going abroad keciiil aja kali ya).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HanzkyApril 2, 2013 at 4:50 PM

      Ahh House of Leather. Udah lama nggak ke sana :).

      Wah senangnya udah pernah ke Karimunjawa, aku belom niih. Tapi emang bener yah, mendingan uangnya buat jalan-jalan aja..lebih berkesan sepanjang masa :)

      Delete