Babies & Money

This post brought to you by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC. All opinions are 100% mine.

Wanna make God laugh, make a plan.

Last night I finally got some common sense and picked out all the kids clothes the night before. Patted myself on the back and looked forward to a less chaotic morning. Guess what? It was a snow day!

Failing to plan is planning to fail. Hence the scale that doesn’t budge.

I guess it can go either way really. Flexible planning? Is that a thing?

We have had three kids. You would think with each kid it would get easier, and in some ways it does. When we found out we were pregnant the very first time a million thoughts fired at one time: joy, fear and the overwhelming question of how we were going to afford this. No matter how much you plan, some things you just cannot plan for.

We needed everything: crib, car seat, stroller, clothes, EVERYTHING! Then there was the million dollar question, would I work? How long would I take off and could we ever make it on one income?

I ended up taking a year leave, returned to the classroom when Quinn was 15 months for second semester. I enjoyed my summer home with Quinn and my first week back at work in the fall, I found out I was pregnant with Eleanor. Again, a million emotions and new questions. How could I take care of two? What would Quinn think of this? Will this baby sleep? And again, how would we afford this?

Two kids in daycare, full time on a teacher’s salary made the decision to stay at home easy. I would be making no money working. The decision was made, but how we were going to swing it all was a big question.

By the time baby number 3 came around, you would think we had it all figured out. We were, after all, living on one income and had acquired quite a bit of baby gear. Well it wasn’t. We needed a car that could hold 3 car seats. We were on my husband’s insurance this time, which meant a lot more out of pocket costs.

Aside from three months maternity leave after each child, I never truly stopped working. I got creative and found ways to contribute financially. Aside from teaching, I tutored, babysat, worked for a literacy council, and eventually started this blog. Believe it or not, this blog has put food on the table more times then I care to admit and we quite literally couldn’t survive without this income.

Along the way we sold a car and went down to one, we refinanced, we got rid of cable, we combined cell bills, we have forgone vacations, I dye my hair out of a box. These are the choices we made to fit our values. Along the way, there are many times we have felt overwhelmed and out of our league. There are times we wished we would have planned a little more, but know that changing our timing just a little bit would change who our family is today. Click Image to view full size and print 8×10

Obviously some tips and a chance at winning some cold, hard cash never hurt anyone.

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This week is all about adding a new addition to the family, which we have done a few times and are considering doing again! I always wanted four.

There are many areas in parenting that I am pretty confident in my skills, but I have never felt money savvy. How do you financially plan for a baby? What suprised you most financially about having a baby?

I was shocked at how much daycare was. I guess I knew it would be expensive, but not that expensive. When I went back to work I thought we were going to have so much extra money, but that just wasn’t the case.

Do you have money saving tips relating to caring for or preparing for a little bundle of joy?