Expecting? You Can Probably Skip These 3 “Needs”

I am a great aunt!!! My nephew and his wife recently welcomed my beautiful great-niece into the world, and I am so excited for them. As I saw the joy and, frankly, terror of the new life that they are now responsible for on their faces, I started to think of how I felt when I held my daughter for the first time. I felt this overwhelming responsibility to make her world perfect to the point where I was making financial decisions based on what I thought I should be doing rather than what made the most sense for our financial goals. I see a lot of new parents feeling the same way.

If you’re feeling the financial pinch of new parenthood, the good news is that a lot of the things we are told we “need” to have for our kids are actually just “nice to haves.” Here are three things that I initially felt like we needed that it turns out we could go without just fine.

Buying a bigger home because we need “room.”  To quote my colleague Daphne, “Really????” The last time I checked, all a 7 – 8 pound newborn did was eat, sleep and poop, mostly on top of mom. If we are honest, all the stuff we buy for the baby is mostly for us — the baby does not care. What your new baby needs are parents that are not financially stressed. Consider staying in your current home longer while working to pay off high interest credit cards, build an emergency fund, and ideally save up 20% to put down before purchasing a home with a mortgage payment that represents no more than 25%-35% of your take home income. Sticking to a mortgage within your means gives you the wiggle room to handle the sticker stock of childcare, which can easily be over $800 a month.

We have to have a super cute nursery. I have mentioned this in previous posts, but your newborn can barely see at first and will probably sleep with you for the first few months — the truth is that a nursery is unnecessary. The average cost of a nursery can easily exceed $2,000. I still regret that I spent so much money on a color scheme and furniture for a person that can only initially see black and white and slept 10 hours. In retrospect, not surprisingly, she did not care what the room looked like; she was never in it.

To save money, stick with the basics — even a bassinet with a shelf underneath for onesies, diapers, and receiving blankets is enough at first. You can buy more things as your baby gets bigger and starts needing more. Consignment shops, Craigslist, yard sales, and the moms of toddlers are your new best friends for finding great deals on baby items.

We need a bigger car because we need more “space.” I know that getting a car seat into a small car requires the skills of a Cirque du Soleil performer, but your newfound flexibility is better than being saddled with a $400 car payment. We were at the dealership getting ready to buy a larger car and thankfully starting thinking about our finances after the baby was born and changed our minds.

There are enough financial adjustments you will be making with the baby — diapers, wipes, formula which can easily cost over $100 month, not to mention my earlier mention of the possible $800 in childcare expenses. I decided to stick with my Pontiac Sunfire (two doors) then researched car seats for small cars and compact strollers to fit in my small trunk. It was tough, but the lack of payment gave us the breathing room to pay off debt, save for emergencies, and handle the financial needs of our growing family.

Thinking through your baby’s needs vs. wants can go a long way toward helping you manage your financial stress along with your growing family.

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