Our Solution to Financial Stress During Pregnancy ✅

Our Solution to Financial Stress During Pregnancy

It’s no secret that having a baby these days can cause financial stress during pregnancy. We also know that stress during pregnancy of any kind is not a good thing. That being for mum or the baby (or dad too for that matter).

It’s not just the financial stress, there’s anxiety that comes along with it especially for first time parents. Not knowing what you’re in for, what to buy and what not to.

At Bubs n Grubs, we are focused on how we can solve our customers problems. This is why I was on a mission to Solve Financial Stress During Pregnancy for our customers.

I have written in the past about the fact that every single persons needs are different. More specifically advising how to choose the right pram for your specific needs.  This is part of our focus to help reduce the statistic that mums buy 5 prams over the life of a child.

The logic is that if we (as a baby store) can help mums choose the right one up front, we can save parents money and Stress During Pregnancy. This is a key part of our mission at Bubs n Grubs.  But there is another problem we hadn’t yet solved, Financial Stress During Pregnancy.

Brainstorming the problem of Financial Stress During Pregnancy.

As an owner of a baby store, I recently sat down with Judy and analysed the feedback we get from customers on a daily basis. I wanted to really understand the issue in regards to the Financial Stress During Pregnancy and challenges involved.  The goal was understand the problem in detail whilst finding a creative way to come up with a solution.

After hours of discussing and white-boarding we can summarize that the main problem is in relation to timing. Specifically new parents having the funds to buy the right products at the right time to avoid paying higher prices or purchasing cheaper items because they missed out.

Let me explain…

Once the team work through the best products for a specific customer’s needs from prams through to car seats or travel systems, through to baby furniture such as cots, change tables, dressers through to breast feeding chairs, nursery items etc.  The costs do add up…

We can often offer special package deals when a customer is purchasing all of their items from us at once. This helps reduce the overall cost…

To add to the savings, we take advantage of deals with manufacturers that often are only for a week or two because the deal we have done with the manufacturer of those items is only for a short period of time and then the prices go back up.

The Problem.

If our customer can not purchase right then and there, they may either have to pay a higher price when they have the funds. Worse, they may have to choose another product that isn’t quite right for them because they couldn’t make the purchase at the time that it was on sale.

This is particularly true for Baby Furniture, Car Seats and Prams which are the 3 highest cost items.

We needed to find a solution to enable parents get everything they need when it is on sale and get the right products for their specific needs regardless of the cash flow situation so that parents can further increasing savings!

We then came up with a list of possible solutions while keeping the goal to reduce Financial Stress During Pregnancy.

Payment Plans.

We currently have 30 day payment plans which requires a 30 percent deposit up front and full payment within 30 days with no fees.  Whilst a lot of customers love this and use it, some customers just are not in a position to pay for all their items within a 30 day period.

Could we extend this Payment Plan to be longer? Yes – but then we would have to increase prices. Our low cost business model doesn’t allow us to offer credit further than 30 days at the low margins we deal with to save customers money – so this was not an ideal solution either…

3 or 6 month lay buys.

Is Offering a 3 or 6 Month Lay Buy and solution? Not really.  The problem with Lay Buys is that again, we  have to hold the stock in our warehouse for 3 or 6 months which pushes our costs up in terms and storage costs and the cost of money for 6 months being tied up and this would have to be passed on to the customer. Again, we would have to pass this on to the customer. This would be more expensive than extending the 30 day payment plan system we offer already. This is why lots of retailers do not offer sale prices on lay buys.

It is also not suitable for customer’s who are needing to purchase their items late in pregnancy and need them fairly quickly as the customer would not be able to collect the items until the lay buy is paid out within that 6 month period.

3 Payments of $X

I also considered offering a system of 3 payments of $x and approached paypal to come up with a solution. Ideally it needed to be online capable and in store without driving prices up. There were legal issues of that possibly becoming a lay buy and again parents could not have their baby goods until all payments were made and then there were legal issues as it technically becomes a lay buy.

Just recently, Paypal have since come up with a solution where it is buy now and pay later with multiple payments. This is now available in Australia and could be a solution for you, but read on for the ultimate solution.

Store Credit Cards (ie. branded Visa Cards)

Again this did not solve the problem. Immediately after the interest free period of 30 or 45 days or what ever, there is interest.  You have to pay up front annual fees and we don’t want to be part of driving up credit card debt in Australia, especially for new parents.  At the End of the Day, this would not Solve Financial Stress During Pregnancy. Or after for that matter. One good thing was customers could take their goods as if they paid for them with cash.

What we really needed…

We really needed an option where parents could purchase their baby goods and take them with them without paying interest just like they paid cash.

We needed to be able to do this without parents ending up with a huge credit card debt and interest bill. That would only increase stress more which would continue after baby was born possibly taking away from the whole beautiful experience of having a baby.

Finding Partners…

In the end, I went looking for solutions by working with partners. Through chats with paypal, I was introduced to a company called Zipmoney. They have tailored a solution to suit our customers needs. We can now offer what we believe is the perfect solution for Solving Financial Stress During Pregnancy.

The Solution

• It involves a very simple application process that only takes minutes!
• It can be done online. (just choose that payment option at our checkout and fill in the form. They email you back approving it within minutes. Just click on a link in that email to finalise it with your account details and it is done!
• You pay Nothing up front at all.
• You can have up to $1000 in credit with 3 months interest Free!
• Or You can have up to $5000 in credit with up to 6 Months Interest Free!
• You are able to choose how you pay to suit your lifestyle. You can set up direct debit to make weekly payments or monthly payments, what ever suits your situation!

What do you need to qualify?

• Be over 18 Years old
• Be an Australian Citizen or Resident
• Earn more than $300 per week.  (Tip for mums – if you’re not going to be working through your pregnancy, put it in your partners name.)

With this solution from zip, although we pay a small fee to offer this service to you, we can still offer this on all of our sale prices!

• Pay nothing up front.
• You can take the goods (or have them delivered) just as you paid cash.
• You pay later – up to 6 months interest Free!

Problem Solved!

This enables us to be able to help parents get everything you need when it is on sale and get the right products for their specific needs regardless of the financial situation further increasing your savings!

The best part is that your Financial Stress During Pregnancy will be reduced because you are not paying interest and pay over time! We have resolved the issue of timing!

To organise up to 6 months interest free on your baby nursery gear, all you have to do is choose Zip as the payment option in our check-out and the rest is simple. Another option is that you can come into our store and our team will do it all for you in store!

To Access our Great Deals on Prams, Cots, Car Seats and everything you need, click the button below now.

If you are local to our store, you can come in and meet our professional team. They will spend time to assist you to choose the right products for your specific needs.

If you have questions, don’t hesitate to call our store!

Don’t forget, We will beat ANY Price! So if you find a better price out there in the market, let us know and I will smash it in line with our Advertised Price Guarantee!

Talk Soon,

Frank