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When you think about how to save for a new baby there are literally hundreds of things that come to mind. Having a new baby is a wonderful and amazing experience for which you can never be completely prepared.
However, in order to make the transition from life before baby to life after baby a little bit smoother you should do some financial planning and set some money aside for big expenses. You can start planning and saving money as soon as you decide to start trying to have a baby so that you have more time to save up for all the big and little costs that a baby will add to your life.
In This Post:
How To Save For A New Baby
Everyday Costs
The every day costs of having a child are the first ones you will need to add to your budget. Will you or your spouse stop working for a short period or completely once you have a child? If so you will have to figure out what you will do to compensate for the lost income. If you will both return to work you will have to add in the cost of child care to your monthly budget.
Along with that are the actual additions to your monthly budget like the cost of food, diapers, and other baby needs. You can cut back on many of these costs if necessary. One of the ways to cut the big budget busters are to consider using cloth diapers over the disposable kind. They require a bit more work on your part but are significantly cheaper in the long run. They are also much kinder to mother earth, so you can leave a little bit better world behind for your little one. The other big expense is formula. Instead of buying expensive formula look into breast feeding. By most accounts, if you are able to breast feed your baby will be much better off for it and you will save a ridiculous amount of money.
The other big chunk of money you will need to spend comes in the form of all the little toys and gadgets that have become necessary for a new baby. The firs thing to know is that only a few of these items are true necessities like a car seat and a crib. But, other items be it a changing table, rattles, pacifiers, and toys are very nice to have when you bring the baby home. Instead of spending a fortune buying all of these items new you might consider borrowing them or getting them second hand. You will find that lots of baby items get very little wear so you can save a bundle and still get gently used but high quality items.
Long Term Costs
Long term costs that you will need to consider when you are figuring out how to save for a new baby include college savings and an emergency funds. These are all funds that you should continually add to so that no matter what happens your future and that of your family is protected. The college fund starts with just a few dollars out of your paycheck each month. However, over time it can grow to a point where it helps your child avoid the cost of student loans later in life.
If your family does not already have an emergency fund you should set one up now. It is hard enough to recover from an emergency expense when you do not have a child, but once you have one it is doubly stressful. You can avoid this situation by saving up enough cash to cover your living expenses for a few months. After that, you should work hard at paying off debts so that your family can be financially free.
If you know how to save for a new baby you will have a bit of peace of mind when you bring your new bundle of joy home. Being secure financially allows you to focus on what really matters which is raising that little child in a happy and healthy home.
