When The Going Gets Tough, Aberdeen Parents Get Selling! Faced with the ever-rising cost of bringing up a child, Aberdeen parents are selling and bartering in a bid to reduce the cost of raising children. Jack & Jill organisers advise Aberdeen Voice of their next event.
Thousands of Aberdeen mums and families took part in their local monthly Jack & Jill Markets last year at The Treetops Hilton Hotel in Aberdeen.
At the last market of the year, 508 shoppers joined in. 37% of mums selling made £100 – £200, 45% made £200 – £350, and our top-selling stall made £355.
This month’s local Aberdeen Jack & Jill event, the first of 2013, will be on Sunday 17th February.
Local Mum Laura Letts said:-
“We had a great time! Hoping to do another one early next year.”
Local Aberdeen mum, Charlene McConnachie, said:-
“I got some great bargains that I am over the moon with.”
It costs £90,000 to raise a child up to age 11, an increase of 15% over the past 5 years, according to new figures released by Halifax, whose economist, Martin Ellis, says the figures have:-
“…added to the already considerable strain on household finances during the economic downturn.”
Thrift is the New Cool. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. As the cost of raising children soars, an increasing number of smart money mums have beefed up their selling and bartering skills to make and save money.
A trend is emerging where mums and dads are now much happier to choose selling and shopping at local car-boot sales and market days as a cost-effective alternative to the high street for what their children need. Over a third of parents are now choosing to buy and sell second-hand, according to recent figures.
Scottish Success Story
One organisation Aberdeen parents have turned to is The Jack & Jill Market which runs monthly nearly-new baby & children’s markets in Aberdeen and across Scotland, solely for local families, with the emphasis on quality goods. The Jack & Jill Market is so swamped with demand from mums wanting to make and save money, that new locations are being set-up all the time in an effort to meet this demand. Smart Money Management.
Recent research has shown that UK adults can have up to £581 worth of useable but unused items; for a two-parent family this can add up to more than £1000, much of it locked up in buggies, bikes, cots, clothes, toys, all the all the rest that still have plenty of life left in them, so it makes smart money sense to release this money into the family budget.
80% of mums and families selling at the markets make £100-£350 in 3-hours of selling, with a significant number of mums having made up to £550 and our top selling mum to date making £800. This is money that can then be re-invested back into the family budget to help with the ongoing costs of raising a family.
Many baby and kids items are barely used, or never used, and on offer at the markets for up to 90% off the retail price. And with over 13 million toys still ending up in landfill each year, it makes perfect sense to recycle and save.
The next monthly Aberdeen Jack & Jill Community Market will be held on Sunday 17th February at Hilton Treetops Hotel, Aberdeen, 10.30am – 1.30pm.
The following event will be on Sunday 17th March.
For further details, visit: www.jackandjillmarket.co.uk
