Honeydoll
20-08-2006, 12:02
Hello everyone!
In another forum where I'm a member of, a mom-to-be posted a question if money is going to be a problem when the baby is born and if she'll have what it takes to provide for her child.
I believe that this is one of the major worries any new parent would have....This is the reply I posted for her query and I'm posting it here as well. I hope it will come in handy for some and if you have any tips that you would like to share, I would highly appreciate hearing from you.
_________
Hello,
Ooohh I'm thinking of that bit as well!!! The financial side of raising and supporting a family is not simple. It sure takes a lot of planning, sacrifices, and resourcefulness!
But, I believe, that any mother who knows how to plan and has their priorities right, will always have what it takes!
When I learned that I was pregnant, I felt a bit upset at first because the original plan that my husband and I had was to buy a house before starting to have kids, get to travel or fullfill the materialistic side of our dreams and have a particular amount in our savings. With a baby on the way, those will be hard to achieve.
Then the fact that I'll have to be on maternity leave w/o pay was a worry. I felt so guilty and sorry for my hubby because he'll be the only one who'll have to shoulder all the expenses. Plus, since being pregnant, he has to go alone to look after our market business during the weekend. So, he works 7 days per week, while I stay at home
But thinking about all of it, I'm lucky that my hubby is very good in budgeting and planning! And even though I won't be able to contribute much financially, but I can still contribute with the budgeting and take on with the home chores which would reduce the need to call the housekeeper to come in. Also, do my part in promoting the business (like doing ads, website, etc.)
The only suggestions that I can give you, that might be of any assistance are the following:
1. If you're still working, calculate how much is left from your wages after you have paid your bills and other standard expenses you have (ex. manicure, pedicure, waxing, etc.). Whatever is left, I suggest that you put at least 1/3 of it to another account which will be your BABY FUND. Any expense that is for your baby, you can take it out from there.
2. Have a piggy bank for your baby. Any loose change that you have in your purse, put it in the piggy bank. Would be nice to encourage the grandads and grandmas, aunts and uncles, close friends to contribute into her/his piggy bank
3. Don't be afraid to shop from 2nd hand shops. Remember, your baby will outgrow the clothes anyway. Your family, out of excitement, will surely buy baby stuff. But, if you're like me, shop for some nice brand new ones--just to get the baby shopping frenzy out of your system. I bought new ones but I bought sizes that would fit my baby when she's about 6 months to 1-2 years old.
4. If you are going to buy baby furniture, go for the ones that will last for years. Example: Cots--go for the 3 or 4-in-1 designs. They can be more expensive but if you think of it, when your kid is older, the cot will convert into a single bed. When s/he outgrows the single bed, it will convert into a sofa or a bench. If they don't want the sofa in their room as they get older, you can have it on your patio or store it properly for your next child. For changetables--go for the changetable-chest of drawer combos. At least, when baby outgrows it, you can use it as a mere chest of drawers, take out the changemat and replace with photoframes, trophies or other knick-knacks.
5. Take advantage of items that are on special!
6. Breastfeed. It doesn't only assist in getting your uterus back to size and weight loss, it will help you and your baby bond at no cost at all! Pump some milk as well and put it aside so you'll always have supply when it's inconvenient to breastfeed. Probably, you might just need to have a can or 2 of formula just in case. But if you calculate how much a can of formula is and how many cans you go through a week, a month, a year--you will be soooo surprised. A can of formula here is about 20.99AUD. If you didn't need it because of breastfeeding, $20 can be spent for something else.
7. Change diapers only when it's really needed. A friend of mine told me that she actually waits for the bub's diaper to be full before she changes them, unlike some people who change after only 1 wetting. But if the baby does a #2, of course, change it straight away
8. Paying bills: this is what my hubby does and I think it works brilliantly! Since we pay via bank transfer, he schedules a transfer to the phone and electricity bill every week. Example, 15.00 for power and 10.00 for phone. Thus, by the time the bill comes to us, it's either we only have to pay less than 20.00 or we're actually in credit .
So, it's alot better than waiting for the bill to come before paying it and takes a sudden big chunk out of our bank balance.
We know how much we earn a month and we're aware of the standard bills we pay, yet, when we have little change in our purse, we actually don't know where it goes. But if you put a certain amount aside and drop a few coins in a tin...You'll be surprised how much you save--Usually, it's that money that you're able to put aside is the amount that you normally don't know where it goes
when I was working, I put 300 into the Baby Fund. Drop 1 or 2 dollars into my baby's money tin more than 1x a week. The money I get into my debit card from my Salary Packaging, I used to pay off my nursery furniture, cotsheets, baby clothes, sterilizer, etc. and buy some dvds for myself and hubby. I still get to pay the rent, the loan, keeping up with the vanity and still have some money left. And I don't remember having to give up anything to make ends meet. If I kept the 300 in my normal account, I would still be left with the same amount and I wouldn't have a clue where that 300 would have gone.
Now that I'm not working...will just have to make whatever is left in my account last as long as possible
_________
I hope that the tips are helpful.
Best of luck!!!
In another forum where I'm a member of, a mom-to-be posted a question if money is going to be a problem when the baby is born and if she'll have what it takes to provide for her child.
I believe that this is one of the major worries any new parent would have....This is the reply I posted for her query and I'm posting it here as well. I hope it will come in handy for some and if you have any tips that you would like to share, I would highly appreciate hearing from you.
_________
Hello,
Ooohh I'm thinking of that bit as well!!! The financial side of raising and supporting a family is not simple. It sure takes a lot of planning, sacrifices, and resourcefulness!
But, I believe, that any mother who knows how to plan and has their priorities right, will always have what it takes!
When I learned that I was pregnant, I felt a bit upset at first because the original plan that my husband and I had was to buy a house before starting to have kids, get to travel or fullfill the materialistic side of our dreams and have a particular amount in our savings. With a baby on the way, those will be hard to achieve.
Then the fact that I'll have to be on maternity leave w/o pay was a worry. I felt so guilty and sorry for my hubby because he'll be the only one who'll have to shoulder all the expenses. Plus, since being pregnant, he has to go alone to look after our market business during the weekend. So, he works 7 days per week, while I stay at home
But thinking about all of it, I'm lucky that my hubby is very good in budgeting and planning! And even though I won't be able to contribute much financially, but I can still contribute with the budgeting and take on with the home chores which would reduce the need to call the housekeeper to come in. Also, do my part in promoting the business (like doing ads, website, etc.)
The only suggestions that I can give you, that might be of any assistance are the following:
1. If you're still working, calculate how much is left from your wages after you have paid your bills and other standard expenses you have (ex. manicure, pedicure, waxing, etc.). Whatever is left, I suggest that you put at least 1/3 of it to another account which will be your BABY FUND. Any expense that is for your baby, you can take it out from there.
2. Have a piggy bank for your baby. Any loose change that you have in your purse, put it in the piggy bank. Would be nice to encourage the grandads and grandmas, aunts and uncles, close friends to contribute into her/his piggy bank
3. Don't be afraid to shop from 2nd hand shops. Remember, your baby will outgrow the clothes anyway. Your family, out of excitement, will surely buy baby stuff. But, if you're like me, shop for some nice brand new ones--just to get the baby shopping frenzy out of your system. I bought new ones but I bought sizes that would fit my baby when she's about 6 months to 1-2 years old.
4. If you are going to buy baby furniture, go for the ones that will last for years. Example: Cots--go for the 3 or 4-in-1 designs. They can be more expensive but if you think of it, when your kid is older, the cot will convert into a single bed. When s/he outgrows the single bed, it will convert into a sofa or a bench. If they don't want the sofa in their room as they get older, you can have it on your patio or store it properly for your next child. For changetables--go for the changetable-chest of drawer combos. At least, when baby outgrows it, you can use it as a mere chest of drawers, take out the changemat and replace with photoframes, trophies or other knick-knacks.
5. Take advantage of items that are on special!
6. Breastfeed. It doesn't only assist in getting your uterus back to size and weight loss, it will help you and your baby bond at no cost at all! Pump some milk as well and put it aside so you'll always have supply when it's inconvenient to breastfeed. Probably, you might just need to have a can or 2 of formula just in case. But if you calculate how much a can of formula is and how many cans you go through a week, a month, a year--you will be soooo surprised. A can of formula here is about 20.99AUD. If you didn't need it because of breastfeeding, $20 can be spent for something else.
7. Change diapers only when it's really needed. A friend of mine told me that she actually waits for the bub's diaper to be full before she changes them, unlike some people who change after only 1 wetting. But if the baby does a #2, of course, change it straight away
8. Paying bills: this is what my hubby does and I think it works brilliantly! Since we pay via bank transfer, he schedules a transfer to the phone and electricity bill every week. Example, 15.00 for power and 10.00 for phone. Thus, by the time the bill comes to us, it's either we only have to pay less than 20.00 or we're actually in credit .
So, it's alot better than waiting for the bill to come before paying it and takes a sudden big chunk out of our bank balance.
We know how much we earn a month and we're aware of the standard bills we pay, yet, when we have little change in our purse, we actually don't know where it goes. But if you put a certain amount aside and drop a few coins in a tin...You'll be surprised how much you save--Usually, it's that money that you're able to put aside is the amount that you normally don't know where it goes
when I was working, I put 300 into the Baby Fund. Drop 1 or 2 dollars into my baby's money tin more than 1x a week. The money I get into my debit card from my Salary Packaging, I used to pay off my nursery furniture, cotsheets, baby clothes, sterilizer, etc. and buy some dvds for myself and hubby. I still get to pay the rent, the loan, keeping up with the vanity and still have some money left. And I don't remember having to give up anything to make ends meet. If I kept the 300 in my normal account, I would still be left with the same amount and I wouldn't have a clue where that 300 would have gone.
Now that I'm not working...will just have to make whatever is left in my account last as long as possible
_________
I hope that the tips are helpful.
Best of luck!!!