Bringing a new life into the world can be an overwhelming thought. From worrying about the overall health of your newborn to your parenting skills, to simply being able to afford enough diapers. Luckily, the latter can be one less stressor by taking small steps to create a budget plan throughout your pregnancy. Here are tips for how to save money for a baby on the way.
Keep track of expenses
Here is a good starting point for understanding expenses relating to the infant. Think about what expenses you can trim down or push a few months back.
Start by logging the one-time baby expenses you’ll have in the first year. As you go through each item, decide what’s worth the splurge and what you can buy in gently-used condition.
Here is a free baby expenses printable to work from that is easy to follow. Just click on the image to print out your copy.
If you’re a fashionista, it’s more than okay to continue to maintain a great wardrobe, especially as your body changes after giving birth. But to ensure you have the funds your growing family needs, shop for clothes on a budget. Among the best tips are to mix high and low and to set sales alert notifications online.
How to save money for baby: Create a monthly budget
Next, you’ll need to plan month over month family expenses. Common ones are doctor’s visits, daycare, and formula.
By simply multiplying the cost of a single good or service by the number of times you’ll have that expense within a month, you’ll have a better gauge of your outgoing funds. That’s a quick way to figure out approximate costs.
When the last trimester comes
You have another task in the last trimester or towards the end of your pregnancy. Put together all of these calculations to come up with a baby budget expense template.
With this template, you’ll estimate monthly costs and find the difference between actual spending. The more months you use it, the more accurate it will be.
Conclusions about how to save money for baby
Remember, as stressful as budgeting and planning for your baby can be, enjoy these next several months. The earlier you take even small steps to make plans for your newborn, the easier the first few months will be.