Posted: 9/7/2012 12:34:22 PM EDT
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So my wife and I are expecting a boy at the end if the month, couldn't be more excited! But I'm fearing the finances. The wife has only two weeks of vacation and I have a week. She can work at home and will till January before she has to go back to the office. Unfortunately with being in boat sales my season is coming to a close unless I can get in a few more bigger deals then it's back to my regular salary which isn't great but not bad.
We have $4000 in savings and $2200 in CC debt. The CC debt is really my only and biggest concern. I would like that to be gone before the baby gets here but don't think it's possible. We try and send atleast $500 a month and should be able to do that this month. Not sure if I'm worrying for nothing or what but I hate not knowing if my wife will be able to work after her vacation is up or what's going to happen with boat sales. Any tips or suggestions? Extra ways to make money? |
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Similac Coupons
Ask at the hospital too for free samples and coupons. Sometimes you can get diapers for free basically I have heard as well. How well does your insurance cover the delivery? With mine it will cost $1500 to deliver the kid but my wife and I don't think we will ever have to worry about that now 
You are a lucky guy and I hope everything works out well!!! |
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Sorry to hear that Hope everything goes ok. Not sure how well our insurance will cover it. We have our own plan through Regence that my Wife's boss pays for each month. We already wrote a check for $2000 to the doctor that will be doing the delivery and are still paying our deductible so HOPEFULLY we will have some sort of refund or break even. We also got the Insurance from AFLAC that covers as well then they give us a $1500 check or something like that.
Like I said, I may be worrying for nothing and hopefully I can sell a couple decent size boats i'm working on or a few small ones before the summer is over. Just hate having that damn CC debt. I will look into the coupons. Thanks again! |
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Congrats! First off - don't stock up on formula until you know what the baby will take to. My son wouldn't touch Similac without being a puke machine with gas issues. I switched him to Enfamil and he was fine. Once you do find something that works, look for the best price. I was buying Enfamil at Sam's Club and through Amazon as they had the cheapest price per ounce. ENfamil will also send you coupons in the mail if you sign up. I'm sure Similac does the same. When it comes to baby foods, you can get coupons for the Gerber first, second and third foods. Kroger grocery store gives out the buy 8 and get $1, $1.5 and $2 off. Again - find out what the kid eats first. Diapers - Sam's, Costco and Amazon. Just don't stock up too much because they grow fast. Clothes - they grow so fast they'll wear it 3 times and it won't fit. Get second-hand or shop Walmart or some other low-priced clothes. Carters and Osh Kosh is nice, but expensive given growth rate. Shoes - find a Stride Rite outlet and hit up the BOGO sale. Trust me - it seems like a huge financial hurdle, but it's not bad. You learn to adjust. My wife and I gave up eating out twice a week to save money. Know what - we're healthier for it. Don't fall for the Child Life Insurance scam from Gerber. You'll get bombarded by a ton of direct mail for this stuff. As far as the CC debt - pay it off as fast as you can and most importantly - DON'T USE IT. Once you pay it off, keep it active but don't use it unless you can pay it off every month. Save where you can. You never know when you'll have that last minute need because your little one gets sick on a weekend or you have an unexpected ER visit... it happens. Just be as prepared as you can.
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the biggest thing is that I never knew how expensive a baby was until I had one.
Look at the flea markets, thrift stores, anywhere you can for as much discount as you can. There is a yahoo group call freecycle for almost every city, try there. Also hit up craigs list. Don't go crazy buying the $15-20 clothes because they will be out the them in a few months. They grow like weeds. God don't look at shoes or you will have a heart attack, they are worse than my pairs. I went with crocks and they lasted so long and they are cheap. Also about the similac, my son couldn't handle it so we had to switch to soy. Good thing I didn't stock up. Make sure you know what he wants first. At walmart I got a 3-1 which is the changing table, playpen and stroller for about $100. Good deal. There is no reason to spend a billion dollars on furniture. My kid was in his own bed at 2 1/2 so don't go crazy about what they say that they shouldn't be ready until 3-4ish. Anyway it's gonna be fun, good luck and remember... a few years and you are good to go and you will never forget the smell of diapers in your life again :( |
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Never bought ANY formula for any of my kids - They all got titty milk and did just fine with that. Buy your wife a breast pump if she has to work and needs to store the stuff for later...
Cloth diapers... You will save a fortune using these and in a few years you will have a ton of them leftover to use as shop rags... With practice you CAN change and pin a cloth diaper with one hand. 
Why do owe ANY CC debt when you have 4000.00 saved up??? You get NO interest on your 'savings' yet you PAY interest each month on those credit cards... That makes no sence at all. |
| Sign up for Amazon Mom (yeah, dudes can be too). That will give you a large discount on diapers delivered to your door. When I crunched the numbers ten months ago it was the best deal. They just changed it so only your first three months are free, then you have to be a Prime member at $79/yr, which still isn't bad. But at least it's three months. Enjoy your time as a growing family! |
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Congratulations!!
I was really surprised that the financial part was not that bad. Don't sweat it, just figure some ways to save a few bucks here and there and you'll have it covered. Regarding the CC debt, I would use some of the savings to pay it way down or off. You'll still have that available credit if things got really tight, and you'll save the CC interest. I know you're not getting a good rate on your savings!! Once you get past CC debt, my advice would be change your mindset to view your savings as the "go to" for emergencies, and to never use a CC for something if you can't pay the bill in full. |