What's your ideal MIN savings amount?

SuddenlyISee

H and I are still 'getting it together' before TTC.  Apart from moving into our own house and paying off CC debt, we would ideally like to have a separate amount of additional savings for baby related expenses, on top of our regular savings. My thoughts are that this be around 10K for baby purchases, nursery purchases, unforeseen costs etc. This would not include medical costs or potential loss of income etc. 

Would anyone else like to share?

2junebabies

From my perspective, it sounds like you're doing great. 

DH and I got married the August before my senior year of college. I had the full year left, and he had one semester left. I got pregnant in September. We were living in a studio apartment and had about $7,000 to our name, if that, I don't really remember. Our baby girl was born in June, one month after I graduated. It certainly wasn't the situation I had envisioned for us becoming parents, but we made the best of it. We have done well by being very frugal (cloth diapering, getting some things secondhand, etc). DH got a really good job since then, we are in a bigger living space, and I am able to stay home with our daughter. 

If you move into your own house, pay off your credit card debt, and save 10K, in my opinion that will be great. I think it is smart to be intentional and be as prepared as you can, as long as you remember that sometimes not everything in life goes according to plan. I wish you well. 

lifeonthehill

I think you sound like you have a great plan. H and I are in the same boat as you.

Our big goals pre TTC are:
being debt free
having a 6mo e-fund
medical expenses for L&D saved
5k in start up funds and back up while we adjust to me being a SAHM

sandrabrooke

Honestly....

I want 50k saved.  This includes our emergency fund and baby/delivery fund.  

I'm paranoid.  I just want to feel really safe and for us, since that goal is pretty attainable, I'm shooting for it!

j&gmiller2015

DH and I are doing the same thing. 10K is also what we want to save. We are also paying off credit cards at the moment. My plan is once those are paid off I will take the same amount we were paying on the cards and put it in a savings account. We are planning to start TTC early next year so we have a good year to put some money back. I know along the way we will spend money on crib, dresser, etc. Also I have started couponing for baby stuff. You can always find coupons for diapers, wipes, formula, etc. I have started a stock pile in my spare room closet!

DebateThis

alyssa32713 said:

I think you sound like you have a great plan. H and I are in the same boat as you.

Our big goals pre TTC are:
being debt free
having a 6mo e-fund
medical expenses for L&D saved
5k in start up funds and back up while we adjust to me being a SAHM

These were pretty much ours. We'll never be completely debt free (at least not before we retire, due to a mortgage) but the e-fund and a substantial savings account for daycare and baby gear were pretty important for us.

ChristyM87

We wanted to at least have a 10% down payment for our future home saved up. We have surpassed that goal so we are going to keep saving for a house at a reduced rate while starting to put money into a separate savings account just for when we have a baby

amorcito27

I think it depends on the area you live in.  For me, daycare is almost $2,000/month, so we plan to have a substantial savings.  I estimate spending about $5,000 alone just on a nursery stuff.  We are luckily debt free, minus our mortgage, but I don't know many people who own a home and don't have a mortgage left to pay.  While I don't know that $10,000 is enough for the area where I live, I think there are a lot of people who didn't have that much and were still able to manage.  You can always buy some things used, and from what I hear, when you have a baby, a lot of people give you hand-me-downs.  I have people offer me stuff already and we are still TTC #1.  GL!

FemShep

It really depends on your expenses and situation.  If your living expenses are $10k/month, I'd say you need much more in savings; on the other hand, if your expenses are, say $2k/month, you're in good shape.

You should also factor in whether you own a house (if you do, keep more money in an emergency account for the things that break, require urgent repairs, and aren't paid for by a landlord) and whether you have good insurance/maternity leave.  If you need your salary and don't have paid maternity leave, for example, you should also save up to cover your lost income.

lifeonthehill

Joy2611 said:

More. My ideal number is "always more" than what we have.

This is so true. We set our goals and keep making them for larger sums of money. We are currently debating if we should do a 1yr emergence fund instead of just 6mo.

amorcito27

alyssa32713 said:

Joy2611 said:

More. My ideal number is "always more" than what we have.

This is so true. We set our goals and keep making them for larger sums of money. We are currently debating if we should do a 1yr emergence fund instead of just 6mo.

I couldn't agree more...more is always better!  Hope you ladies all reach your goals (and then some!).

Twinkie0612

We currently don't have any debt other than our mortgage. I had a number in mind for how much I wanted to be in savings for when we get pregnant and we met that goal when we started TTC. Unfortunately we ended up dealing with infertility with no infertility insurance coverage. We used equity from our house to finance our first few tries at IVF and our tax return to finace our FET with donor embryos. We are getting ready to start our 4th IVF in a few weeks and it will be paid out of our savings. Luckily I have great health insurance coverage (excluding the infertility stuff) with a low deductable and OOP max and 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, so we can make it work with less.

In the end it all really comes down to the cost of living where you live, your monthly expense situation, and your comfort level.  Each person will be different.

briannaescplan

Joy2611 said:

More. My ideal number is "always more" than what we have.

I second this.

Alygohome

We waited until we had lived in our house for a few years and paid a lot down, no debt and 20k in the bank for mat leave since I only get 1/2 my income for the year. Of course we needed a new washer/dryer/door and two sets of tires and a mattress so that used about 1/2 be fore baby will come but to make up we bought most of our supplies used (only car seat and breast pump will be new) I figure no matter how much we plan life always gets in the way so I try not to stress over it! We have investments we can pull in the event if a major crises. I don't know if it will be enough but I hope so.

bosco213

I really think it depends. We are lucky that our parents are providing child care and have offered to furnish a nursery. I will also get paid maternity so we won't need to have TOO much saved.

We want to be out of debt and allocate $10k for nursery/medical expenses and give ourselves a little bit of a cushion.

painttheair14

Depends on how you live. We are poor and didn't have much in the way of extra savings before ds.

Before TTC #2 we just want a new job for dh and to be settled in our new city (moving for future job).

kdubbz

1000 look up dave ramsey baby steps!

SuddenlyISee

I hadn't thought of accounting for a few months of daycare, great idea!

JCWhitey

We *planned* to have our debts paid off, full time jobs for at least a year, and at least 3 months of living expenses (so about $10,000 or so)  in savings before getting PG the first time.  We got a little surprise while still in college and that never happened.  It's happening now in time for #2 but not for #1 by far!

That being said I'm trying to wrap my brain around what could possibly cost $10K as far as baby care goes.  We spent a grand total of $300 when we had our son and that was on cloth diapers and Tummy Calm.  Everything else we needed we got from family and friends at the shower and the rest were hand-me-downs from friends.  So even if we had the money to buy all of this brand new we wouldn't have had to, if you are a FTM I'd imagine there's someone in your life who'd want to throw you a shower and buy you gifts.  In the beginning babies need very little and I'd be careful about buying a ton of stuff as it may just go to waste.   So even if you personally bought everything, brand new and top of the line, I can't imagine you'd spend more than $5,000.  So if that $10K is in addition to savings and medical expenses you're over-estimating.  I'd plan to buffer savings more than the baby buying budget.

ETA: Or start a college fund.  That's going to cost you a good million by the time a baby born these days gets to that point, I swear!!