Frugality and my mother-in-law are practically the same thing. Shes convinced theres no point buying anything new for our baby when other family members have older children and can pass down their clothes. You can probably imagine what items look like after theyve been handed down half a dozen times. Honestly, I have no interest in all that clutter.
When my husband and I were renting, my mother-in-law mostly kept her distance. But things changed after we bought our own place; she couldnt wait to oversee our renovation. She insisted we didnt need to hire professionals, saying that her friend could lay the tiles and another mate would handle the wiring. Supposedly, there was no need to spend a penny.
The so-called experts she recommended were hopeless. Id already witnessed the results of their handiwork at her own househer floor is so uneven Ive seen her nearly trip over it. When I said we would rather hire proper tradespeople, she accused me of being greedy and wasteful with money.
Things escalated when we wanted to replace our furniture. She began ringing every relative she knew, trying to collect old sofas, battered cupboards, and threadbare carpets. After we politely declined, she warned us that our approach would leave us struggling financially.
Thankfully, my husband agreed with me. We both earn enough to furnish our home as we see fit. We stood firm, regardless of her protests.
I should clarify that Im not obsessed with buying new for the sake of it. My sister often passes along her clothes to me, but theyre always in good condition and stylish. I don’t believe in accepting anything and everything just to avoid spending; Id far rather buy a few quality things for our child that are comfortable and look nice.
Why are you wasting money? my mother-in-law complained. Weve got so many children in the family.
But Id seen what most of these hand-me-downs looked likeclothes that had been through ten different children, stained and patched up, riddled with holes, missing buttons and zips. I wouldnt even use them as cleaning rags.
Another relative turned up with a cot from her cousin. It didnt even have proper sidesher husband had to attempt repairs. I ended up sending that family heirloom straight to the garage at our place in the country and bought a safe, sturdy crib ourselves.
Look at you, living like royalty! she scoffed. You waste money now, but once youre on maternity leave, youll get a wake-up call. Then youll wish youd listened to me instead of turning up your nose.
It doesnt bother me if she takes offence. Its my responsibility to ensure my child is looked after. Even if we ever hit hard times, I know my parents would support us. We wouldnt starve just because we turned down her hand-me-downs.
