So after reading the last few posts...I realize all the regular posters I recognize have a particular profile picture. I still have the generic Bump one. Going to change that now so I can join the regular/recognized group.
@LakeR2014 - Let me know if you're able to update your profile pic. I tried to update mine yesterday and today and am getting a message saying I can't. (Something about "change profile picture function not available")
@JennM205It was saying the same thing to me. I had to go the main 'Account page.' And then click on the profile picture (for me the bump one) that's already there. If I hovered over it, it said 'Update.' I clicked on that and that's when it allowed me to update the picture to the 'Bills Bear.'
So I feel like I'm just echoing @AnnaS930 , but I recognized you, @LakeR2014 , even with your Bump avatar. The Bump avatars feel impersonal to me, though, so glad you changed it.
I will say, it's pretty safe to say I recognize anyone who posts on this thread. Drive bys and lurkers don't seem to jump onto the randoms thread.
@PSUBecky23 Haha no! I definitely gave a We Are shout out when I first arrived There are other commonalities, too, which make you easy to remember. We have similar names and I'm pretty sure we actually live somewhat close to each other (ok does that make me a creeper? LOL! There was a whole thread where people shared where they live!)
@AnnaS930& @camichael84Thanks! Glad to be recognized. But you're right, I felt like I should change it more to personally feel like I'm fully vested in the S16 group then a drive-by, lol. If that makes sense? I never changed it when using the Knot, but feel more connected here, so figure it was time to step out of hiding (a little bit) and at least put my love of the Buffalo Bills on display.
@diagonalley I went back and looked through the where do you live thread and it's all coming back to me now. We do live pretty close! Now I can associate you with Penn State and HP, two of my very favorite things
I just updated my spreadsheet budget for life when new baby is here. 2 in daycare. Including the car payment for my new car. We're still on the plus side each month after bills, but the cushion/amount going into savings is seriously dwindling.
Just remind myself - daycare costs will go down as babies get older, this is not a permanent change. Just breathe. Just breathe.
I just updated my spreadsheet budget for life when new baby is here. 2 in daycare. Including the car payment for my new car. We're still on the plus side each month after bills, but the cushion/amount going into savings is seriously dwindling.
Just remind myself - daycare costs will go down as babies get older, this is not a permanent change. Just breathe. Just breathe.
Ugg. DH just did this. It was severely depressing. And our savings amount at the end of the month was horrible. Thankfully DH is due for a raise come August, so hopefully that will make a better cushion, because like you we need to finance in a new car payment too.
@LakeR2014- I should be finding out about my raise in the next couple of weeks, it will be a small percent but I'll take it anyways. Hopefully my husband gets a raise/bonus this year too. We've been very fortunate that we've been able to put $1000 aside each month into a savings/emergency type fund (used some of it for a down payment on new car - things like that). With baby #2 I'm looking at dropping the monthly savings to $500 tucked away at the end of the month and thinking we will spend every other cent beyond that. I know that's still a great savings but I'm a huge worrier of the "what ifs".
And also, totally ridiculous but was really hoping to go to Disney next April and not sure that it will make sense.
@AnnaS930 I'm trying to remind myself of the daycare cost will go down too. I knew daycare around here was expensive but I really thought I could find one not sooo bad, but only the the most expensive ones seems to be possibilities for us. We are actually thinking about moving, I love this part of town but there are a lot of areas much cheaper.
I just read my above post. Those are super super first world problems. I think it's pretty ridiculous, but I'm going to leave it there because I think everyone will feel the squeeze of the new baby and budgeting regardless of what the actual numbers look like for you. Going to feel fortunate for what we have and know we can cut back on unnecessary expenses to make things work (could cut cable (GASP!), find an in-home daycare instead of expensive center, etc)
Ooo here is something really random: DH and I went and saw 'Eddie the Eagle' at the movies this weekend (cute movie) and during the previews I saw a preview for the movie 'You Before Me.' Ladies - it is the first preview I've ever seen where I absolutely NEED to see the movie. It comes out in June.
I was telling my friend that we have to go see it - she informed me she was going to see if a group wants to get together as she saw a preview last month and got the book, read it, and loved it. So who is now on the wait list at the local library for said book? This girl! I seriously cannot wait to read the book and then see the movie. It just looked THAT good! Anyone else heard of it or read the book?
@jhems776 - we have a center that is pretty pricy right now. The pros are: It's great, we have no fears of leaving our little one there. They feed him 2 meals and 1 snack per day. It gets us a slightly larger tax break because it is top-rated by my state's standards, it is a center and I am able to put aside $5000/year in a dependent care account pre-tax. The only con is the price. For me, so far, that is not enough of a con. Once in the toddler room my older one will be $10 cheaper per week ($235 to 225), and once in preschool there it will go down another $40 to $185/week. Now how to convince them my 1 year old is super advanced and ready for the preschool room
@AnnaS930 I'm not sure if it differs by state but in IL, we can set aside the $5000/year in a dependent care account for any care provider that's licensed through the state. DD goes to a small, in home daycare - we pay $180/week regardless of age - and can still contribute the full $5000 pre tax in the dependent care account.
There are so many pros/cons to having a child in a center vs. an in-home daycare, which makes it impossible to truly identify a single perfect solution. We love and trust the woman we found to care for DD which makes all the difference in the world, when it comes right down to it. Plus, I like that DD's exposed to children of different ages rather than being grouped with kids only her age. (She's learned a lot from the older kids and, recently, I've noticed her nurturing side come out towards the younger kids.) One downfall is that when our care provider goes on vacation, we have to have a back-up plan...but it also saves us the $180 for the week, which is a nice bonus to the budget.
I live outside DC and the infant care around me is 1,800-2,200 a month. We had dreams of buying a house next year, but not looking good now. The two years and up centers are better at 1,500ish.
@AnnaS930 Speaking of cutting cable, DH has been trying to get me to cut the cord since I was pregnant for DD. I'm not down. We did it when we were engaged and saving for our wedding, and I hated it, even with Netflix. Now I'm home all day. DD and I don't typically watch much daytime tv, but I like having the option or to sometimes have it on as background noise.
@JennM205- yes we could also do an in-home if licensed. For a reliable in-home, licensed daycare around here I'm not sure that the savings would be significant around here. On the contrary - my sister uses a daycare provider that they pay under the table, she is not licensed. She's fantastic but they have to pay her in cash to keep things beyond the eye of the government.
I also like that I don't have to worry about daycare being closed unexpectedly and the food provided. And @jhems776I'm so happy to live in the boondocks of Maine where childcare/cost of living is all relatively cheap. We will get through it all, just don't like feeling the squeeze.
I should add - I think I had a similar freak out when #1 was on the way... even with 1/2 the expected daycare cost and significantly less in car payments.
My name is Anna and I habitually overreact to budget changes.
@jhems776 Does that price range apply to in-home daycares as well? It wouldn't hurt to check into some...especially when we're talking about that much money!!
There may be organizations in your area that provide private daycare recommendations (so you're not just randomly searching the internet, etc). Near me, there's an organization called 4-C's that provides optional certifications for in-home care providers...that's how I found DD's provider. She elected to participate in a "food program" where 4-C's regulates her weekly menu so that the kids get a balanced nutrition. Her benefit is a small kickback from the organization for grocery expenses as well as being added to the list of 'recommended providers' for parents searching for care. I'm not sure if it's a nation-wide program or not but it was a huge resource to me. You may be able to find something similar, if not the same. Or you can also call DCFS (or whoever licenses care providers in your state) for a list of recommendations. They can also report to you any violations that have been logged for any provider in your state. (I was obessively thorough when searching for DD's provider. I had her checked out in every which way possible. All looked good and I'm happy to say we've been extremely pleased with her over the last 2+ years and look forward to working with her for the next 6+.) Good luck!
Ooo here is something really random: DH and I went and saw 'Eddie the Eagle' at the movies this weekend (cute movie) and during the previews I saw a preview for the movie 'You Before Me.' Ladies - it is the first preview I've ever seen where I absolutely NEED to see the movie. It comes out in June.
I was telling my friend that we have to go see it - she informed me she was going to see if a group wants to get together as she saw a preview last month and got the book, read it, and loved it. So who is now on the wait list at the local library for said book? This girl! I seriously cannot wait to read the book and then see the movie. It just looked THAT good! Anyone else heard of it or read the book?
I downloaded the book, and have it on my iPhone! Haven't read it yet though. If you want the link, lemme know!
Wife to A; Mama to C (2009), N (2011), H (2014) & baby F due 09/16/16
@ThemaritimemamaThanks for the offer! I'm a nerd though and love the physical books too much to have on a tablet or iphone. That being said, I am also addicted to me iphone. So I'll wait and hope I get to checkout the book soon, if not by Friday, then I'm going to purchase it at the bookstore.
Re: Randoms Thread-February
I will say, it's pretty safe to say I recognize anyone who posts on this thread. Drive bys and lurkers don't seem to jump onto the randoms thread.
So much love in this thread today
@diagonalley I went back and looked through the where do you live thread and it's all coming back to me now. We do live pretty close! Now I can associate you with Penn State and HP, two of my very favorite things
Just remind myself - daycare costs will go down as babies get older, this is not a permanent change. Just breathe. Just breathe.
We've been very fortunate that we've been able to put $1000 aside each month into a savings/emergency type fund (used some of it for a down payment on new car - things like that). With baby #2 I'm looking at dropping the monthly savings to $500 tucked away at the end of the month and thinking we will spend every other cent beyond that. I know that's still a great savings but I'm a huge worrier of the "what ifs".
And also, totally ridiculous but was really hoping to go to Disney next April and not sure that it will make sense.
I was telling my friend that we have to go see it - she informed me she was going to see if a group wants to get together as she saw a preview last month and got the book, read it, and loved it. So who is now on the wait list at the local library for said book? This girl! I seriously cannot wait to read the book and then see the movie. It just looked THAT good! Anyone else heard of it or read the book?
Once in the toddler room my older one will be $10 cheaper per week ($235 to 225), and once in preschool there it will go down another $40 to $185/week. Now how to convince them my 1 year old is super advanced and ready for the preschool room
There are so many pros/cons to having a child in a center vs. an in-home daycare, which makes it impossible to truly identify a single perfect solution. We love and trust the woman we found to care for DD which makes all the difference in the world, when it comes right down to it. Plus, I like that DD's exposed to children of different ages rather than being grouped with kids only her age. (She's learned a lot from the older kids and, recently, I've noticed her nurturing side come out towards the younger kids.) One downfall is that when our care provider goes on vacation, we have to have a back-up plan...but it also saves us the $180 for the week, which is a nice bonus to the budget.
I also like that I don't have to worry about daycare being closed unexpectedly and the food provided.
And @jhems776 I'm so happy to live in the boondocks of Maine where childcare/cost of living is all relatively cheap. We will get through it all, just don't like feeling the squeeze.
My name is Anna and I habitually overreact to budget changes.
There may be organizations in your area that provide private daycare recommendations (so you're not just randomly searching the internet, etc). Near me, there's an organization called 4-C's that provides optional certifications for in-home care providers...that's how I found DD's provider. She elected to participate in a "food program" where 4-C's regulates her weekly menu so that the kids get a balanced nutrition. Her benefit is a small kickback from the organization for grocery expenses as well as being added to the list of 'recommended providers' for parents searching for care. I'm not sure if it's a nation-wide program or not but it was a huge resource to me. You may be able to find something similar, if not the same. Or you can also call DCFS (or whoever licenses care providers in your state) for a list of recommendations. They can also report to you any violations that have been logged for any provider in your state. (I was obessively thorough when searching for DD's provider. I had her checked out in every which way possible. All looked good and I'm happy to say we've been extremely pleased with her over the last 2+ years and look forward to working with her for the next 6+.) Good luck!