Writing

The 2010 documentary Babies follows four adorable babies from around the world through roughly the first year of their lives. One of the babies, Ponijao from Namibia, lives in conditions that most Westerners would consider primitive. He crawls around in the dirt, and most of the time he’s naked or wearing a loincloth. The family doesn’t own a single “baby item”—no diapers, crib, or stroller to be found. I was struck by how little Ponijao needed to thrive—and thrive he did—in the company of his loving family.

Of course, Ponijao’s world is pretty foreign to most of us. I’m guessing you’re not reading this book in a hut in Namibia but rather in a place where creature comforts are a lot more commonplace. If I’m right, the chances that you’ll raise your baby without buying a single baby item are pretty slim indeed.

The journey to saving begins with the recognition that you don’t need to spend nearly as much as you think you do. Of course, anyone who’s ever tried to cut out junk food has found that it’s easy to say you’ll just have a tiny bite of that delicious chocolate cake on the counter, but much harder to actually resist grabbing a plate and a fork and digging in.

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