7 Easy Ways To Financially Prepare For A New Baby

Having a new baby in the New Year? Totally freaked out about how you’re going to afford it?! I’ve got some genius tips for you to check off your list and help you feel more prepared for welcoming your new baby. In fact, financially preparing for a baby is something NO ONE told me about… These days, baby advice is always about sleeping, feeding, self-care… but you’ve gotta pay for the little monster, too!

[ReviewDisclaimer]

Let me start by announcing to everyone that I learned all of these things AFTER my first child. Because again, I knew ALL THE THINGS about breastfeeding, swaddling, safety… but didn’t have a clue in the zoo when it came to financially preparing for a new baby.

Ok, I take it back. I didn’t know a thing about breastfeeding until it was go-time but I figured that out quickly.

Finances aren’t something you just “figure out” on the fly. It takes time and preparation and some strategy to fit this new life into your budget. I learned much of what I know from Dave Ramsey because he teaches common sense finances with biblical standards.

If you’ve got a new little muffin on the way or you think you’d like to start trying sometime soon, here’s a checklist of items you should consider when financially preparing for a new baby:

Before you get pregnant:

Get a short term disability policy.

This is especially helpful if your employer doesn’t offer paid maternity leave (like mine doesn’t). You MUST have the policy in place for 10 months BEFORE you give birth. Most policies will pay out 60-80% of your salary and it’s pretty affordable per month. The bills don’t just stop coming because you just had a baby (but that would be awesome, right?). I also have a hospital policy that pays additional when you’re admitted but I haven’t used that one yet. Check with your insurance provider and see what your options are.

Before the baby comes:

Pile up some cash.

The SECOND you find out you’re pregnant (and the second after you tell your husband), STOP paying extra on any bills you may be trying to reduce. Paying double on that car payment? Stop temporarily and just pay minimums. Pile up as much cash as you possibly can until YOU and the baby have made it home from the hospital and everyone is happy and healthy.

There are SO MANY things that can cost you more money during pregnancy and delivery. Example: Cam is a New Years Eve baby (YAY tax deduction) but I stayed in the hospital the night of December 31st… thus I woke up January 1 with a new baby and a new insurance deductible to meet for the year (hand-face emoji).  Instead of coming home to a new baby and a ton of medical debt, you’ll at least have a cushion for the unexpected.

Don’t get crazy buying “stuff”. 

It can be pretty hard to reel it in when buying items for the nursery or resisting all the adorable clothes, especially for your first born. I nearly vomited when I was taking down Cambria’s crib and realized how much it actually cost (Hint: Pottery Barn). Truth be told, I wish I would have gone with something, you know, 5 times less the price, but the hormones made me believe I HAD to have this one crib.

Let’s face it; I totally understand not being “into” hand me down items or buying stuff from random people, but seriously, don’t go crazy. Buy the necessities and then decide what you actually need once the baby comes. I can assure you, the 5,000 pacifiers you bought in different brands will go to waste when your baby finds their fingers (me!). Or maybe not.

Determine your work situation.

Can you afford to stay at home with the baby if that’s what you desire? Run a NEW budget on just one income for a few months and see if you can make it work. What can you cut out of your budget that isn’t a necessity? Or maybe there is a certain amount of money you need to contribute each month to stay home? I hustled my way to being a stay at home mom for a few years when Cam was tiny and I have ZERO regrets.

Once the baby is born:

Actually look at an itemized hospital bill.

There’s a good chance I paid for a circumcision for my little girl and possibly a C-Section that I didn’t have. I didn’t BOTHER to look at the itemized bill because no one told me medical billers screw things up (not sure why I was shocked). I guess one wrong code and you’re paying for who-knows-what.

Get the bill, read over it, and dispute any charges you didn’t actually utilize. When we got home from the hospital, we had bills FLOWING in our mailbox for one thing or another and we blindly paid them because… well, no one told us otherwise.

Get a term life insurance policy.

If you have a child, YOU NEED TERM LIFE INSURANCE. In the event that something happens to you or your husband, your child still needs to eat, be clothed, and cared for. If you don’t have a policy in place, your spouse and child are left to “figure it out” and that could be a scary place.

Even if you stay at home and something happens to you, your husband now has to pay someone else to care for your child so that he can continue to work… which cost (a lot of) MONEY. Each parent should carry a term life insurance policy. Period.

Put money away for college. 

This doesn’t have to happen right away, a 529 savings plan should be considered in your family. It is one way to get a head start on setting your child up to win. There are some parents who STILL pay for their own college (and struggle) and they want their child to learn how to handle money in a similar way.

That’s all fine and good, but I personally want to teach my child about money from her childhood. If she doesn’t have a scholarship for college, we will be able to pay for a (reasonably priced) college education. What a gift to start our adult life without student loans!? (Can I get an AMEN!)

I don’t know about you but having a PLAN makes me feel accomplished. This is especially true when there’s something big about to happen. My first pregnancy, I was lost in more ways than one and I wish someone had written this for me.

If you’re having a baby soon, financially preparing for them will help you set a clearer path for your future. And at the end of the day, it will make enjoying that tiny babe so much better.

What financial advice do you wish you would have received before starting a family?