Got a baby on the way?

[Midwestzx2]

When i found out my fiance was pregnant 5 months ago, i freaked. Not only because i dont know how to raise a child but mostly about "how are we going to afford this"? I've seen a few people ask this question in the chatbox and once in a while on the forums. I have come up with a simple plan that is so far working great.

If you dont know, your babys mother will be off work around 6 weeks+ and there is allot of costs involved in buying all the things you need. If you are used to a 2 income household and it suddenly drops to 1 with another member living there, and your not prepared your in some serious trouble.

First what you need to do is go over all of your living costs. For me rent is 325, gas to heat the place is about 75 a month water/sewer/electric runs about 50 a month. I got these figures by adding up all my past bills and then averaging it out.

The tough part is accepting your going to be a little more strapped than usual. What I am doing and this plan consists of is paying all bills ahead as far as possible.

I started this a bit late (this month) but by the week before the due date of our child we will have all our bills around 5 months ahead, except my car payment.

Take all of your bills and pay them up current. Now before they are due pay towards them the average cost you figured out before, do this every check or everyother if you are paid weekly.

This month I will have paid rent 3 times, and paid towards my utilities 3 times.
so by the end of this month I will have december rent paid for and my utilities paid up to december also. I plan to do this right up untill the baby is born, thus giving me around 5-6 months of pre-paid rent and utilities. Leaving me my entire check to spend on food and baby stuff and allowing my fiance to stay at home and not feel guilty that she's not helping pay.

This plan doesnt stop here either. we are both putting 100-150 away each month to save for when the baby comes, again by the time he is born, we will have saved around 2g give or take a few hundred.

we have both also completely paid off our credit cards, there is an extra 800, I have also gotten pre-approved for a 3k personal loan just in case.


All in all when the baby is born we will have around 6k dollars that we can use for living expenses, buying things for the baby etc. This along with our utilities and rent paid up untill may-june is damn near a fool proof plan.

With this method used we will be able to live comfortably on my wages alone for many months if need be. I hope we dont have to, but things do go wrong and i want to be prepared.


I hope this helps you soon to be fathers and mothers, it takes allot of self controll to do this, but it will pay off 10 fold in the end.

[SoCalZX2]

Thats all sound advice. One thing though, is if they have a Cesarean birth, it's a minimum of 8 weeks off. Usually there is some sort of FMLA to cover quite a bit of their income that will be missing for the time frame they are off.

Lisa and I did that as well. We kinnda just socked away cash as necessary, instead of spearheading our debt payoff like we had been.

I hope your pregnancy is going well, and congrats man :)

[Midwestzx2]

Thanks man I'm really excited lol, so far everything is going by the book so they say. I felt him kick when my hand was on her stomach for the first time, that honestly was pretty cool. It really puts a new light on every aspect of your life.

I have seen many of my friends be completely broke when there baby is born, on the verge of loosing there appartment, having electricity turned off, its there fault for not being prepared. I refuse to be one of them and hope my plan helps others out as well.

[SoCalZX2]

Thanks man I'm really excited lol, so far everything is going by the book so they say. I felt him kick when my hand was on her stomach for the first time, that honestly was pretty cool. It really puts a new light on every aspect of your life.

I have seen many of my friends be completely broke when there baby is born, on the verge of loosing there appartment, having electricity turned off, its there fault for not being prepared. I refuse to be one of them and hope my plan helps others out as well.

Just wait until you hold him/her ;) THAT will put a new perspective on everything lol. It did me! I'm back in school, working only weekends, fighting for promotions that will enable my wife to become a stay at home mom... I'm invigorated as a human again.

It's not all fun and games. We've now reached the point where we're in need of discipline, which is never fun. But even now @ 8mo old, my son is the most precious thing in the world to me.

Back on topic though... Lisa and I have been on a personal crusade for the better part of 18 months (we've had some lapse in judgment a couple times) to pay off all our consumer debt. We're at 13k of 34k left. Even without a baby on the way, having finances squared away like that is a better and less stressful way of life. Not worrying about bills being paid, or if you're gonna make it this month is a freakin' fantastic feeling. Hyper-Consumerism is a bad idea. People feel entitled to everything, and they don't care how they get it...

Sorry, little bit of a financial rant, but thats how I am nowadays LOL

[Midwestzx2]

I am turning that way too.. save save save, no more impulse buys etc. You are correct in the fact that it feels amazing to say ok bills are due, here's your money have a nice day, and not be broke doing it. and 18k left of 34k in 18months.. wow congrats!!!

[SoCalZX2]

13k of 34k ;)

But, who's counting? lmfao

[S/R girl]

I think it is absolutly amazing that you 2 guys have thought that far in advance. Being a single mom with an ex-husband who doesn't help, I know how hard it can be. That is why everything must go. I am selling things that I don't need to make sure we will be ok.

[zxtwou2]

thanks to my wife..when i was in the coast guard, she helped me pay down almost 30k in debt. we have 7k left. no mortgage, no car payments...just one loan we got to pay off a couple credit cards.

also, i use Quicken religiously...that way it tells me in the form of a very visual graph what to expect payment to paycheck wise. in other words, if payday falls on a weird day in our billing cycles..it'll let me know when i'd be in the hole...so then i'd just know to not spend however much i'll need. if i look at December and see i'll be at 300 dollars at my lowest point, i know to budget that i'll only have 300, even if in October i have 1000 left over. without that, i'd spend the 1000 and be -700 :lol:

[Midwestzx2]

I just set up an excel spreadsheet myself lol, more or less to show me where my money is going, what it gets spent on, how much i have left monthly etc etc. Now i jsut have to figure out where that other 700 is going monthly that is accounted for in excel.

[Midwestzx2]

I think it is absolutly amazing that you 2 guys have thought that far in advance. Being a single mom with an ex-husband who doesn't help, I know how hard it can be. That is why everything must go. I am selling things that I don't need to make sure we will be ok.


Doesnt he pay some form of child support? I know here in wisconsin they are very strict about it. A single mother gets 17% of the fathers wages before taxes or anything. My sister is getting almost 400 a month, wich really isnt much, but it will pay her rent.

[CraZx2ing]

I just set up an excel spreadsheet myself lol, more or less to show me where my money is going, what it gets spent on, how much i have left monthly etc etc. Now i jsut have to figure out where that other 700 is going monthly that is accounted for in excel.

Me too. My account sticks at or around 0-100 every month, but according to my spreadsheet i should be +500-700 every month. i'm keeping a close eye on why I use my debit card for. Ish just adds up too quick :).

Personally, I'm down to about 5 or 6K of debt that I have to pay down. That'll be gone sooner than later, and at the same time I'm remodeling my house. Once both of those are done, the wife and I are going to powersave 10-20K over the next year or two and plan on starting on kids in the next 1 to 3 years. We'll see.

[Capbyrd]

i want to have at least 50k set aside before i even think about having a kid.

[zxtwou2]

Me too. My account sticks at or around 0-100 every month, but according to my spreadsheet i should be +500-700 every month. i'm keeping a close eye on why I use my debit card for. Ish just adds up too quick :).

Personally, I'm down to about 5 or 6K of debt that I have to pay down. That'll be gone sooner than later, and at the same time I'm remodeling my house. Once both of those are done, the wife and I are going to powersave 10-20K over the next year or two and plan on starting on kids in the next 1 to 3 years. We'll see.

same thing happened with me when i used a spreadsheet....but i spend a lot more wisely and seem to have a better time having spare cash since i went with Quicken.

[CraZx2ing]

I did quicken for a while but it was too time consuming. Overall I found it annoying and not user friendly enough. I also tried the MS Money program with the same results. That's just me though :).

[S/R girl]

He is suppose to pay child support, he chooses not to. He only has to pay $75 a week, but with a new truck payment and a new girlfriend who has two kids there is no money left for his kid. It is ok though...one of these days he will figure it out. The only person he is hurting is his son.

[zxtwou2]

He is suppose to pay child support, he chooses not to. He only has to pay $75 a week, but with a new truck payment and a new girlfriend who has two kids there is no money left for his kid. It is ok though...one of these days he will figure it out. The only person he is hurting is his son.

very true. my wife's father owes back support on 5 kids...it comes out to something like 180,000 bucks i think...but in Alaska, it seems if you are native american, they put you on the backburner. my mother in law hasn't seen a dime, and they've had the guy in jail for being drunk so many times since she's filed multiple times for reembursement. he keeps on selling off his land which is rited to his children as well...without paying tax, without paying c/s.

[S/R girl]

The only crappy thing is, it costs more to keep taking them back to court then what they would pay in a year's time. Here they have to be a 14 weeks behind before you can do anything, but if they come in and pay a week of support your 14 week count starts over. They say they are attempting to pay. This is what he does. I get one check every 14 weeks so it keeps him out of court.

[zxtwou2]

The only crappy thing is, it costs more to keep taking them back to court then what they would pay in a year's time. Here they have to be a 14 weeks behind before you can do anything, but if they come in and pay a week of support your 14 week count starts over. They say they are attempting to pay. This is what he does. I get one check every 14 weeks so it keeps him out of court.

hmm...i can look into some things...but Alaska and Illinois are the only 2 states i'm familiar with...i don't know about Indiana. as far as IL and AK..you don't need to make court appearances, and late is late...there is no "trying to make payments". wages can be garnished, assets liquidated, etc. only problem my mother in law has, is that her ex husband works under the table, and doens't have a dime to his name other than the land that he technically can't sell...yet somehow finds a way to.

[slammmed]

s/r girl check with an attorney, the internet is a good resource but ultimately its really down to the individual area laws.

as to the OP, congrats. as for the impulse buys... I recommend you just stay away from all things baby! lol

are you having aboy or girl?

[S/R girl]

I have an attorney...she is good, but expensive. $250 an hour. That is why I said it will cost more to take him back to court than what he pays. I live in a very small town and everyone knows everyone, which makes it hard sometimes. They let a lot of things slide in this county and child support is not such a biggie.

[zxtwou2]

s/r girl check with an attorney, the internet is a good resource but ultimately its really down to the individual area laws.

as to the OP, congrats. as for the impulse buys... I recommend you just stay away from all things baby! lol

are you having aboy or girl?

sound advice!!! frankly, we had a lot of useless crap that was baby related...and Xavier didn't care. babies don't really care how cute stuff is, or how much crap they have...not until they become a toddler and learn what a Toys R Us catalog is :lol:

they just need attention, clothing, food, etc...decorations are more for the parents.

[S/R girl]

sound advice!!! frankly, we had a lot of useless crap that was baby related...and Xavier didn't care. babies don't really care how cute stuff is, or how much crap they have...not until they become a toddler and learn what a Toys R Us catalog is :lol:

they just need attention, clothing, food, etc...decorations are more for the parents.

Your sons name is Xavier??? Mine too!

[2000zx2chik]

s/r girl, his child support doesnt automaticallycome out of his paycheck? here in MD if you report that hes not paying or he misses a payment his license will automatically be suspended until it is caught up.. But I dont know how it is in the state that you are in. besides court see what other actions are taken when he misses child support sometimes the only thing you need to do is notify a few people outside of your lawyer.

[S/R girl]

s/r girl, his child support doesnt automaticallycome out of his paycheck? here in MD if you report that hes not paying or he misses a payment his license will automatically be suspended until it is caught up.. But I dont know how it is in the state that you are in. besides court see what other actions are taken when he misses child support sometimes the only thing you need to do is notify a few people outside of your lawyer.

I am trying to get his wages garnished. I will also be getting his state tax check this year. That probably won't cover it all, but anything is better than nothing. It would be nice if it were the same in Indiana that it is there.

[zxtwou2]

Your sons name is Xavier??? Mine too!

awesome! how old? my Xavier just turned 4 today.

[S/R girl]

awesome! how old? my Xavier just turned 4 today.

Xavier Gage turned 7 in July and is in the second grade.

[zxtwou2]

dang...now i really really want to buy that car....as if wanting a fresh stock black s/r for racing wasn't enough..i'd be helping out a fellow parent of an Xavier :wiggle:

[Midwestzx2]

s/r girl check with an attorney, the internet is a good resource but ultimately its really down to the individual area laws.

as to the OP, congrats. as for the impulse buys... I recommend you just stay away from all things baby! lol

are you having aboy or girl?


We are having a boy!! Naming him Devan. It was kind of funny last night, shannon said he was flipping around and kicking her like crazy, I put my hand on her stomach, he kicked twice and then was perfectly still.


As to s/r girl, I know here in wisconsin if you dont pay up on child support they will lock your ass up, take everything you have or put a lien against valuble things untill its paid in full up to date, there is always somethign you can do.

[S/R girl]

dang...now i really really want to buy that car....as if wanting a fresh stock black s/r for racing wasn't enough..i'd be helping out a fellow parent of an Xavier :wiggle:

I still have the car, it is just waiting for a new owner!