8 Ways to Start a Family – Without Breaking the Bank
Staring a family can be expensive. It is a big commitment, financially and relationally. Many people want to make sure they can afford it prior to starting the journey. Here are 8 ways to ensure you have the money to start a family, without going into debt.
1. Evaluate Your Budget
If you haven’t heard it yet, you need to have a budget! Everything in your financial success comes back to your basic monthly budget – income minus expenses. You can evaluate what you can afford every month based on what your monthly plan states. For instance, if you are currently in debt, barely making your minimum payments, this would be reflected in your working budget. Similarly, if you have a surplus in your monthly spending, you would also see this reflected in your budget.
The first step to planning to start a family is evaluating your expenses. Look at the monthly budget, and see what your numbers say! Does your income match your lifestyle? Are you spending more than you are making every month? Are there places in your budget that could be reduced so you can afford to have a family?
Check out our previous post regarding the Cost of Having Kids. This will give you a rough estimate of the overall cost to have a family, and what the impact could be to your monthly expenses. Anticipate an average of $1000 additional monthly expenses after having a child.
2. Evaluate Your Lifestyle
Something to prioritize prior to having children is the type of lifestyle you want to live. When you and your significant other grow your family, what do you want that to look like? Does this mean you both continue to work and secure childcare for the infant? Will one of you stay home and raise the children? What does your family plan look like, and how will you make it work financially? If one of you wants to be a stay-at-home parent, but the other does not believe it will work for your family’s income, this is something that needs to be discussed prior to making the decision to start a family.
3. Plan for Savings
There are a lot of items in the market now, things we at FFL like to call “Wealth Extraction”. The baby market is no exception to this phenomenon. Something you can do right out of the gate is evaluate what you truly need for your future child, and plan for those items. Don’t get sucked into the “Wealth Extraction” mindset, the gimmicks and glow of the baby market products. Not everything is absolutely necessary, and often times only gets used for a short period of time, if at all! Plan for the ways you and your family will save money in this time, by not buying things you don’t need, and saving money on the extras.
4. Shop around!
The infant market is saturated with lots of different materials. often, these items can be over-priced. Something to keep in mind is that you do not always need to purchase the top-of-the-line, latest and greatest gear. Many times, especially for expensive items like carseats, strollers, etc. these items can be found used on local sites. Don’t invest in something brand new if you can purchase used and it works just as well. Many people are selling their baby items as they were only used once or twice, and need to get rid of them.
This is especially helpful for carseats and strollers; the items you need multiples of for family member’s homes and vehicles. It’s not necessary to buy the best model or brand new for all of the items. Ask around from friends, relatives, etc for items they no longer want or need, that you could use for your future child.
There you have it – 4 tips on saving money when planning to have a family. Starting a family does not have to be an expensive, stressful ordeal. When you plan for your finances, you can make sure you are aware of your situation and can go into it with the right information.