Finances and starting a family

Hello ladies,

It's been a while since I've been on any of these boards. I got some great ideas & advice when I was planning the wedding so....

We're thinking about starting a family in the next year and I want to get some financial information, all I seem to find on many websites is info on what color to paint the nursery (which is important, but not if we don't have any money!!!) Can anyone recommend a good book or website that will have this type of information?

I'm on top of the physical stuff, vitamins, getting off the pill, ovulation, etc. Any suggestions?

Thanks

I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for in terms of finances, but I found this site a while back. It has several good links about SAH and living on one income. It also has a budget page to see if it's financially worth it to go back to work after having a baby:

http://www.parenting.com/parenting/family_finance/budget/stay_home.html

You should call your OB/GYN and go for a TTC check-up. Start taking Folic Acid supplements asap. That helps prevent birth defects.
Go to buy.com or half.com and purchase Taking Control of Your Fertility. This book was highly recommended to me by a number of women and WOW am I glad I read it. It really explains your cycle and what is going on at every point of your cycle in a way I have never read before. I learned a ton from this book. It is cheaper on those sites that is why I recommended them, but you can buy it most anywhere.
www.babyhopes.com has inexpensive pregnancy tests.
You can go to your local library and look for decorating books. There are tons out there.

Hi Karen! Long time, no see! Glad to see your screenname again...it has been awhile!

Your post brings great news...good for you! I hope that I can help with a few suggestions regarding your actual question - FINANCES!! Not an easy topic...here goes:

When DH and I first became pregnant, we immediately began our research on how much it would cost us to have our child. In just the first year alone, it costs an average of $10K. This does NOT include the pre-birth medical care or the actual delivery and hospital stay for Mom and baby, so be sure to consult your health plan for how much they will cover those expenses!

Also, this does not account for losing your income, should you decide to be a stay-at-home-Mom.

We found the following book to be a very acurate predictor of expenses for various must-have baby gear, and things like childcare costs and options. It's called Understanding Children: Q&A by Richard Saul Wurman. Check it out!


*****************BABY DUST TO YOU!!!*****************

Claud2001, Thanks, it has been a while. I'll totally check out the book. I'm a total 'researcher' so want to cover all bases.

I just started checking up on my company's maternity leave and work at home options. But I want to make sure we're saving enough before we get pregnant, so we don't have that added stress when the time comes.

I've missed this board, I stopped coming so often because I found myself not working to chat

Someone posted (don't remember who) a calculator of how much it costs to work vs. stay at home. You might be able to do a search. It was very interesting to read the questions and results.
Claud- do you think you have spent $10K on Paul (not counting his birth)?

I just did a quick scan of our Quicken data relative to expenses for Paul and yes, we are on target for spending about $10K within his first year (we still have 3 months to go before he's one year old). So far, we have spent a little less than $7K.

Here's some things to consider:

1 - we happen to be *very* minimalistic when it comes to baby gear and equipment, mostly b/c until a few weeks ago, we were apartment dwellers. So if you are the type that like to have lots of different gear and equipment, 'just in case' you will probably spend more than $10K.

2 - alot of the expenses were not on things you would expect like diapers, formula and such. Our largest expenses were on things like Paul's christening party, his birth announcements, his furniture, etc. We'll probably be adding his first b-day party to this list soon!

So, this is why I said that DH and I felt that the book was very accurate for estimating expenses. Of course, depending upon how many gifts and showers you receive, you may spend more or less. But at least you have a realistic baseline to start with.

Consumer reports published a report in 10/01 regarding the costs of raising a baby from newborn to age 5.

You can get it online at their website Consumer Reports Home

You'll need to be a subscriber to view the report. You can purchase an online subscription one month at a time.