Concerns about finances with new baby on the way....?

Question

God I am full of questions as I research things I find myself asking more questions hehe. Well I am pregnant. We make 2 grand a month take home (after taxes). I do not work I am a stay at home housewife. Also, in the process of appeal for disability (ssdi & ssi) and have been for almost a year now. I have researched keeping cost down and still getting everything I need for the new baby. I am getting a little scared I might not be able to afford everything, medical, supplies, furniture. I still got a long ways to go with my pregnancy and as I said I rsearched what is best for newborn baby to grow with and saves money at the same time. But I am still a bit nervous. We want to move before baby is born but not sure how we will be able to save with regular bills necessities and rent. As well as buying baby stuff. Anyone have any advice or ideas.

CRAIGSLIST IS AWESOME LOL

Answer 1

We live in an excessive consumer society. It costs $5,500 to outfit for a new baby--about $4,500 more than it needs to cost.

Use cloth diapers to lower your costs. Breastfeed your baby to lower your costs. Make your own babyfood with a hand ricer to lower costs. Funny thing is, all of these choices are definitely better for the baby! You have to figure out what YOU need as opposed to what other people THINK you need, and since this is your first child, that is difficult.

If you live in a big city, I suggest you get on the community bulletin board for free stuff, www.freecycle.org. There, you can see lots of baby items such as cribs, carseats, bassinets, paper diapers, even extra formula listed, all for free except that you have to call and make arrangements and go pick it up. You can even make specific requests for stuff, if you don't get everything on your list.

Another route is to post your requests on craigslist.org, or to look over free and cheap stuff there.

Secondhand stores can be a godsend. Scour them for stuff that people recommend, so that you don't go out-of-pocket at retail prices for things you may not need.

After that, realize that electrical stuff like bottle warmers and sterilizers, baby wipe warmers, special vibration massage rockers, etc. are space and energy wasters. Most baby toys are also space wasters. A good, colorful mobile, 2 or 3 interesting rattles, and a squeeze toy or two plus a nice plush stuffed animal will cover the basics for a good while.

You seem prudent, and I hope these tips get you off to a good start!

Answer 2

I've got 5 'babies'. My older ones are in college now but I still have 2 at home. I remember the 'lean years'. Here are some things I did, and some I wish I had done to keep the costs down and stay on top financially. I was a stay-at-home-mom as well.

First off, there are a whole lot of things out there for baby that you just don't need. For instance, I managed to go through five babies without a changing table. Never missed it. I changed them on a receiving blanket on the floor. There are all sorts of new gadgets and stuff that, quite honestly, you don't need and will only use once or twice if you get them. So try not to get baby-itis and buy every cool thing because it's there. You'll actually need very little.
Now is the time to check Craig's list or local yard sales for big ticket items like crib, stroller, dresser (if you need one) , etc. One note about Craig's list.....only deal locally so you can pay for and recieve goods in person. Garage sales are a great place to pick up hardly used baby stuff. You don't want a crib with slats that are further apart than 2 3/8 "....so the baby's head can't get stuck between them, and you don't want one with peeling paint or splinters. Used cribs are a great bargain. Other than a crib...there really isn't anything else you HAVE to buy furniture-wise. You can keep clothes in a laundry basket until you have the cash for a dresser. Individual crib sheets are fairly cheap. The fancy sets with a comforter, etc, you don't really use and they're very expensive. Your baby won't know the difference. It's pretty easy to keep costs down when you ask yourself, "is this really a necessity, or a convenience?" every time you are thinking about a purchase. Nothing is wrong with conveniences, as long as you have the cash for them.

The other piece of advice I would give you is pay cash for everything. I stuck to this for most of those years and then weakened and started using a credit card. Yikes. Not a good move. The best thing you can do for your family is make a budget and stick to it. Don't buy what you don't have the money for. This will save you untold heartache. Trust me on this one.

For some good, sound, common-sense financial advice, go borrow Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover from your library. You can also go to his website and explore, listen to his radio show....if it doesn't air in your area, listen for free on line. I wish we had read his stuff when we were just starting out. It's not money-saving tips, more a general plan for budgeting, staying out of debt, etc. Funny, motivational, informed, and practical for everyone whether you're making 2G a month or 20.

Yeah, babies can be expensive, but you'll do fine. The baby will never know if it's wearing Target or Gymboree....and most other people won't either. You're going to love being at home with your new baby.

Answer 3

Financially there is never a perfect time. You could be rich and then something happen and you be homeless or you could be just fine but you could never know unless you are psychic. There really is no "perfect" time. My friend was trying to wait too, she finally got financially in a place where she thought life was great. Her and her husband got pregnant and had their first son and then she ended up getting fired from her job because her position was no longer needed then she found out she is pregnant with baby #2. So no matter how much you plan financially things happen so that is no reason to wait. If you are physically and emotionally ready then you should go for it. I know Student loans can take forever to payoff and I can understand you wanting to go ahead and have a child sooner rather than later. You could wait 10 years and still end up in a position where you wouldn't be financially ready.

Answer 4

I was worried about getting all the things I needed for my baby too. You really don't realize how expensive everything is until you go shopping. My husband is in the military, and they tell all the pregnant to sign up for WIC. It buys formula and rice cereal and things like that. It is income restricted, but my husband brings home over 3,000 a month, and they tell us to do it. Also, just get one piece of furniture at a time. With a new jeep and all kinds of bills, we couldn't afford to go out and just spend thousands on baby furniture. I would highly suggest a baby shower too! I had one, and I got all of his bath stuff, diaper bags, and all the 0-3 month clothes he'll need. Also, start going to like oldnavy and buy clothes that are on sale. I got all kinds of little sweat shirts for 3.99 each!

Answer 5

You can go to a second hand store. Your baby won't know the difference between a 200$ crib and a 2000$ crib. As long as you love your child, everything will be fine. Also, I was watching TLC the Baby Block, and it says always save 10%. Put that in a savings account. It will be enough, trust me.

Good luck with you & your future bundle of joy!

Answer 6

You could check out eBay for supplies for your baby. I bought a wallpaper freeze for the babies room from eBay and it cost £5 from someone who had left overs. Had I bought it in the shopes, it would have cost £15.

Never buy a second hand car seat though, unless you know with 100% certainty that it has not been in an accident.

I would imagine that every pregnancy woman is worried to death about money. Having a child is such a massive change in your life, that you are bound to worry.

Answer 7

I'm going to give you some amazing cost saving techniques and you can use this information if you like, you might need to go some research on attachment parenting theories to fully understand where I am coming from.

Babies need = YOU

-save the money from the crib and co-sleep with baby,
-save the money from the stroller and wear your baby whenever possible in a sling
-save the money from disposable diapers and use cloth (and help save the diaper rash and the planet)
-save the money from bottles and formula and breast feed
-save the money from bouncy chair, baby jumpers, exercisers etc and hold baby
-save the money from the play pen and child prof the house
-save the money from pacifiers and don’t let baby have one
-save the money from fancy newborn cloths and buy second hand, or get hand me downs.

All baby needs is you and your love, all the above are practical, cheap or free and readily available.
This isn’t outrageous and many families save thousands and thousands of dollars by doing this. The only thing I would skimp on is a change table and dresser (get an adult on, so you wont be buying a new one in 3 years).

Good luck and I hope you found this insightful.

Answer 8

I am a stay at home mom I just had my first baby he is now 6 weeks and we live on 2 grand a mth just fine although I breast feed that saves money but we had moved to a new town and had nothing but the clothes on our back we now have all new furniture nothing is used so I think you should be fine please feel free to email me for anything [e-mail] congrats and good luck

Answer 9

Borrow stuff like a swap from other mothers who may have extra or start a swap in the area...I would title it Grandma's Donations...Grandparents get stuff and clean it up because they are the second place for the little one...and kids outgrow stuff so fast! I know one thing I was glad to get rid of was the highchair/booster seat thing...playpens are another because they take up room!

Answer 10

you are worrying about something that many people have no control over, there is never a right time to have a baby and unless you are very wealthy and the majority of us aren't, there will always be extra expenses when there is a child, but all seems to work out.