March 2012 Moms
aspen970
member
Baby on the way and FINANCES.
aspen970
member
Sooo...is anyone else besides me starting to freak out about money and the baby coming? I know that we will make it work, but I am having a harder and harder time quieting the voices in my head that make me freak out. We are okay right now, but I am just starting to get worried.
Anyone else??
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Re: Baby on the way and FINANCES.
Off B.C. Jan '06, started charting Feb '08, 2% morphology and PCOS, no O with meds,
IVF w/ICSI only option to conceive.
Licensed Foster Parents 07.11
Miracle BFP 7.20.11 1st beta 6,274! EDD 3.17.12
Miracle Baby born March 5, 2012 . 6lbs 1oz, 19 3/4"
Miracle BFP #2 10.8.12 - edd 6.20.13
I am.. we are not the best at staying on budget as is and I am really concerned about the extremely high cost of daycare in my area..I think the daycare costs are what scare me the most...
I'm right there with you.
I'm not getting nervous about finances now... but after the baby comes. Like take day care. This summer it's going to cost $750+ a month for the baby and my son. It's only about $65 a month right now with my son being in school. That's a big freaking difference! That is pretty much the only big thing... but still. it's a big difference!
Sort of... but not really...
We've been budgeting for years, so for us it's just adding line items into the budget and re-working the numbers to make it all work again.
I think it's the big ticket items that are making my hyperventilate some days and seeing the baby savings go down with the big purchases of furniture, stroller, car seat, etc... (I knew it would... but I just didn't want to see that day coming! lol).
Oh, I definitely worry. To NOT worry just isn't within my abilities. This w/e we're sitting down and creating a spreadsheet of expenses and figuring out where to trim what fat there may be. Daycare costs around here are pretty insane, wouldn't be unheard of to pay around $175/wk for infant care. I'm hoping to find an in-home care provider who can be flexible with DH's work hours so that we won't need full-time care.
As for the PP who said they were CD and BF; be prepared. Even with those costs cut down; baby is STILL expensive.
Somewhat, but I think that's kind of my normal way to be. There are no jobs in my field so I'm a SAHM which is great and we save on daycare, but $40,000 less a year makes a difference.
Anyway, do what you can now to try to start budgeting and being smart about finances. The thing about having a baby that's difficult is that you can't really plan ahead for a lot of things. For example, you can hope and plan to BF, but sometimes things just don't work out. Physically it isn't possible for me, but EP'ing is (however, that with a newborn and toddler probably isn't possible either). I would assume you'll have a shower and hopefully get lots of things then to help with some of those big purchases.
That's a crazy difference!
I definitely have the money talk running through my head right now too. Honestly though, we'll make it work - people do it with less! Focus on the "needs" before the wants and be realistic with it. My dh and I have started budgeting for it now as if we are spending the extra money on diapers, etc. so that we are used to it when baby gets here. We have the money going into a savings account and will use that money to buy any extras that we need after the baby shower, tough months, etc.
Make a pregnancy ticker
Daycare is my biggest concern as well. However, right now my husband and I have a fair amount of disposable income and we have a budget in place for the baby. Our lifestyles are going to change considerably, so I know we'll definitely feel it.
Me (32) DH (30)
A Wordy Blog
Baby Evangeline is here!
Totally!!! We bought our first house in April so now we have the dreaded MORTGAGE!! We weren't trying but weren't not trying and are not the best at staying on budget either. I have really high anxiety and was really really freaking out for a while...
What it comes down to is that we can't know the outcome b/c of the way we live - if we were planners then we would be more prepared - but it WILL WORK OUT!!
You are not alone in your worries and we are here to help support your woes!!
Thanks guys! I have been looking on craigslist under childcare and have actually found a few right by where I work. They submit all info for drug testing and background checks, and I would be able to go feed Addie on my lunch break, as well as pump and take it to her. The ones I have found at $150.00 a week, so I can go back to work and it would actually make financial sense.
It is just stressful with everything going on, and all of the changes within a short period of time. Glad to know I am not alone!
Daycare is obviously the biggest concern for us as well. We saved for baby before we TTC and I also called all the DC's in our area so we would be prepared budget wise for that but it still is going to be our highest cost per month and I am still paying off SL's, so it will be tight until I'm done with those in 2 years.
I also realized that I will be paying more to put my one kid in daycare than I paid for my college education (which for me including the cost of housing as well.)
This! daycare scares me...we will make it work but it is not going to be fun!
Yes and no. For the first several years of our marriage, DH and I got used to a very comfortable DINK lifestyle where we could pretty much afford to eat out, travel, buy things we wanted and not just needed, while saving about 35% of our take home salary. DH went back to school about 18mo ago and I've pretty much been our sole breadwinner since then and our budget had to change pretty significantly. Fortunately, during our dual income years, we saved enough so that now we can afford whatever expenses will increase with the baby. I'm also getting a pay raise next year around when the baby is due that will pretty much cover daycare and DH is going back to work. I'm thinking about quitting my job and staying home, or working part time. It would be really nice to go back to dual incomes (which would mean we could replace DH's 11 year old two-door car, among other things), but I'm really starting to want to stay home with LO, at least for a while, and my current job is pretty fast-paced and not very flexible. We are also looking at buying a house next year so it would be nice for me to keep working to help cover that cost, but probably not absolutely necessary if we tighten up in other areas.
In other words, budgeting is always a challenge, there is never as much coming in as I might like, but we are fortunate that all of our needs and many of our wants are covered.
This. I know we will be fine. Worst case, I'll go back to work earlier than planned.