January 2013 Moms
MRSVELA07
member
Things to Consider Before TTC for #2...?
MRSVELA07
member
Hi Mommies!!!
Happy 1st Birthday to all your Little Ones!!!
As my son's first birthday approaches the topic of 'baby #2' has been brought up and/or hinted towards.
***I'm putting it all out there for honest responses***
My husband and I live in Southern California, bring in about $125K annually and are home owners as of 2011. We have 1 car note however we might gain another one by the end of the year depending on how my car holds up. We make enough to put money in savings and take 2-3 trips per year, with careful budgeting and planning. I do the majority of shopping for Christopher, mainly because I have better taste and have the time and patience to look for bargains. I shop at Carters/OKBG, Gap (sale items) and splurge for his shoes because his feet are super important. He's signed up for Gymboree to take two classes a month for $138 per month. Currently our moms watch Chris, we pay his mom $640 per month, however we're looking to put him in day care/school part time when he reaches 18 months. We're looking into Montessori schools and that's about $900-1K a month for 2-3 days a week. A talent agency has found potential in my son and he's booked his first commercial/ad so whatever money he gets from that will go directly to his college fund in addition to what we will save for him.
With all these expenses and a few more we get by and live comfortably. We have very little debt, the 1 car note and hubby's school loan, however I'm stumped on how we'd be able to afford another child. Please don't think I'm putting a price on a life but at the end of the day I'd feel like a horrible mother bringing a life into this world and not being able to financially support him/her. I want my son to have a sibling...I did and my husband has 11 brothers/sisters in total. For mothers who have thought about this and mothers who have multiple children, what were the things you considered before having #2..3..4 and so on?
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Re: Things to Consider Before TTC for #2...?
A second wouldn't be easy by any means and there are things you'd potentially have to give up, like another car note, a vacation, classes, or even finding cheaper child. But it sounds like you're smart about saving and budgeting, so I'm sure you could make it work if another baby is something you really want.
Another child scares me financially because it's been hard enough with one, but I know that within the next 12-18 months I'd like to try again. A recent raise at work will help in the savings/debt reduction category, but even if we were very comfortable it would still be scary. But sometimes the best things in life are and you just have to take a leap of faith.
I think you're smart to consider finite resources against the quality of life you want. Something to remember though is that your childcare costs will only be around for a few years.
If DH and I had another baby, our monthly childcare costs would be about $3200, slightly higher than our mortgage. While this seems like a very high price to pay, it's only for a couple of years.
We want another baby and while we make a very good living, we have a plan to make sure we come out on top financially. This includes paying off our second auto loan two years early and paying off DH's student loans by this summer to increase our monthly available income. We want to have enough saved up to qualify for a loan on a second home before we start trying (probably another year).
I think it's smart to really think about how you want to live and how another child will impact that. That said, even if DH and I don't attain those financial goals, as long as we can take care of ourselves and our kids, we're doing well.