baby prep

Liza3394 · May 2009

DH and I are planning on TTC in august - but I had a few questions I wanted to as the local fellow moms. (I know these should/could be asked in other boards, but i need a nyc perspective)

What did you do financially to get ready to have a baby? save up x-amount of money? there are a lot of comments/articles about 'you'll never be completely ready (in terms of $) for a baby'. What goals did you feel you wanted to have done before TTC? - i.e. pay off debt, go on trips, etc.

Also - what did you consider for childcare if you were going back to work? was there a price range for daycare options? I found an article in a local neighborhood blog stating that daycare is between 1200 - 1500 per month.

TIA!

meggiednm · May 2009

I have no answers for you, just wanted to say congrats and good luck!!

A friend of mine lives in Elmhurst and she found a daycare for her 5 month old that's about $500-$600/month. Even that sounds expensive to me!!

But...i have been 'thinking' about babies a lot lately...and if DH and i EVER decide to have kids here's my list;

-TRAVEL!! Greece, Paris, London, Italy, Ireland, cross country road trip to name a few ideas...

-Travel some more

-go on spur of the moment weekend/day trips

-grad school? (the program i'm looking at is only 1.5yrs)

-pay off debt

-travel Wink

-have a few months of living expenses saved up

Crazycrustacean · May 2009

It's really true that you're never financially ready for a baby. We had accomplished most of our goals before dd came. The exception is that we're not independently wealthy. I had travelled, had a career, etc.?

I can't answer about daycare because i'm a sahm, but you have to research the daycares in the area you want. Just because one person raves about a daycare, doesn't mean it's a good fit for you. You know what I mean??

dnagal · May 2009

Honestly we didn't make special "financial preparations" beyond buying a house that had room for a family. We have dramatically changed our spending habits, amazing what you can set aside when you're not going out to eat all of the time, and think before buying "stuff".

I do think it's so much harder to find time to do home renovations now, so if you do have/find a home that needs work, it's much better to do it before a baby, but plenty of people manage renovations with a new baby too.

There are definitely trips that are out of the question with DD (no upcoming Elephant Treks in Tibet), but we have taken her on several trips/vacations.

As for daycare, we are spending $1470/month in Westchester. When I was researching daycare centers, the range was approx. $1300-$1800/month. Generally an in-home daycare center is much cheaper, and a nanny is more expensive. But, a nanny watching 2 kids is generally cheaper than 2 kids in a daycare center.

lawby2005 · May 2009

Good question Liza. DH and I have been thinking about TTC since the year started, I just don't think we have put enough effort into actually TTC. LOL But now that we have the house, I think that's the impetus we needed. Financially we are not 100% ready but Daycare in our area is about $500 / month so that is doable.

I think it's a big decision to have kids. So I agree with getting a bit of traveling out of the way, and even grad school. I think I will have to find a way to juggle grad school, mommyhood and work! others have done it, so can we, I guess.

Liza3394 · May 2009

Thanks! It is a huge decision! We don't own a house/place yet - but we are not ready for that yet. We both kind of agreed in about 4-5year we could buy a place. (we're slowly saving for it now). But I don't want to wait that long to start a family - so we've both put that goal as a post-baby goal. haha

we're just more focused on being financially set. thanks for the advice and perspective!

2pretty4pink · May 2009

A little late to giving my imput but We did make sure we had enough finances set aside to get through the time I would be out on Maternity leave which was 3 months. We didn't move into a bigger place because we wanted to try keep saving for a house. So we stayed in our 1 1/2 bedroom apartment. We did some travel but I was raised doing a ton of travel as a kid so I was not afraid of losing that once I had a baby. Daycare in my area runs 500-1300 a month. But if you ask around you can find someone that works out of there home that is willing to do it for as little as $30 a day. I agree that you are never %100 ready financially but it has been done with a lot less, as long as you don't have to have the Gucci Diaper bag and the Bugaboo stroller and you are willing to go with something that is still safe yet more affordable it can be done on any budget. You just may not eat out as much. HTH Good Luck!

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