Our Family is Expanding…
I’ve been dropping hints here and there, and if you’ve been following me on Twitter you knew something was up!
We’re having another baby!!! We just got our clearance from the doctor that they believe the baby is healthy. (My pregnancies are high risk, so to get that news brings a lot of relief.)
We have two boys at home, a 3 year old and a 16 month old. So, some extra special news was that they “think” it’s a GIRL!!!!!!!!! They weren’t really sure, so I don’t know if I’m ready to run out and paint the nursery or buy all pink clothes, but I’ll take it!
A Bundle of Financial Joy
We’ll be welcoming the newest addition to the family this summer. Here’s how it will impact our family’s financial picture:
Day care. With the addition of a new baby, comes added expenses. Our biggest cost used to be child care. However, since I quit my job, adding another to the mix won’t affect our budget too much. In fact, it makes even more sense for me to stay home.
College savings. The other big expense besides day care is college savings. We made the decision to save for our children long before they were born. We still add money now, but the vast majority is already accounted for.
Budget. Besides the big ticket items, there are all kinds of added costs, diapers, gear, and more. Since this isn’t our first baby, we can reuse a lot of items (although most of the clothes were blue, so we’ll be switching to pink!) We usually budget about an extra $50-$75 per month for each kid, and it’s worked out perfect the last few years.
Saving Money with Babies
I know some of you are expecting this summer too. Here’s some helpful resources for those with a baby on the way:
Baby Bargains book. The essential guide to staying frugal with a new baby on the way! The book details all the junk you don’t need. We used it with our first and saved a lot of money!
The Baby Britax sale. Just in time, the Britax sale at Amazon is going on through February 15, 2009. I’m a huge fan of Britax, and I have two of the Marathon convertible car seats already, so I’ll be picking up a couple more.
Snapfish. Get 50 free prints of the baby, plus share the photos online with friends and family.
Financial Accounts for Kids
Upromise Rewards. College savings from your everyday purchases. It doesn’t get any easier than this!
ING $25 Signup Bonus. My favorite savings account for kids. Each of my kids have an account at ING, and they refer each other to earn bonus money too!
ShareBuilder Account. This is where I’ll be opening brokerage account for the kids. It’s much more kid friendly than our old brokerage.
Ohio College Advantage 529 plan. My favorite place to stash college money for the kids. I have a few other 529 plans, too.
Financial Resources for New Families
Checklist: Financial Strategies for Infants and Young Children. A financial checklist surrounding the arrival of a new baby including taxes, 529 plans, life insurance, wills and more.
How to Budget for a New Baby. Budgeting tips for the expanding family at Kids and Money.
What Does Your Life Mix Pie Chart Look Like? A helpful exercise to evaluate where your time goes, especially when family time becomes your priority.
All About Baby Gifts
We’re at the age where many friends and family are also having babies. Here are some of my favorite baby gifts to give if you are looking for inspiration for someone you know.
OneShare. Instead of the old gift of savings bonds, give the gift of stock to kids and babies.
Craft-E-Family. Personalized keepsake gifts, including the adorable baby blocks with all the baby’s arrival information.
Angel Dear blankets. One of my favorite gifts to give with the baby blocks.
Congratulations!
Congratulations – that’s great news!
Awesome! And don’t worry too much about pink clothes…girls can wear blue, at least at home. In public, I suppose it helps to wear pink or neutral so they don’t think she’s a boy. 😉
Congrats!
Congrats! That’s wonderful news. I think it’s in the air in the PF blogger world (we’re due in July).
I’ll have to look into those Amazon sales (I wish they were still connected to Toys R Us though).
Way to go! My parents always told me I was one of their favorite tax breaks.
Congratulations first of all…
The third always costs more…you have to change your car to make sure that 5 of you can sit in comfort….family hotel rooms become a thing of the past too, you now have to get 2 rooms everytime.
Congratulations! Babies rock…
Congrats! 3 kids? That will be crazy. I’m still trying to control my 18 month old son. Can’t imagine have two, but we will soon enough. 🙂
Congratulations! We have two boys too, so if we ever choose to have another I would be super excited to have a girl. I’m glad to hear that your doctor gave you a clean bill of health too.
Congratulations to you and your family Madison 🙂
Congratulations! I’m expecting our first this month. Thanks for the baby checklist!
Congrats. We have a 25 month old and a 1 month old at home — both girls. I hope everything goes well for you.
Congratulations! I knew it when you hinted on twitter – your tweets had a glow about them.. 😉
Congrats! So very exciting.
Mike 🙂
Woo-hoo! What great news! And what a great feeling to know that your smart moves have made a third child financially feasible…
Congratulations! My wife and I are expecting our first, so I will have to check out some of your links. 🙂
Thanks everyone! We’re really excited and I was glad I could share it with you.
@ Life Critical Illness: Don’t worry, we were planning ahead. Both cars can fit 3 (or 4)carseats/kids!
@ FFB, Liz, and Patrick: Congrats to all of you too… there must be something in the water!
Congratulations!
Congradulations!
Madison! Congratulations!!! That’s awesome. If you ever want to talk about what it’s like to have three under the age of five, just give me a call. 🙂 (… he said as Thing 1 and Thing 2 ran around the house giggling …)
Congrats on your pregnancy!
Woo hoo! Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy and delivery!
Congratulations! Our prayers are for a healthy pregnancy and a safe delivery.
Best regards
Congratulations! I hope you have an easy pregnancy and delivery, resulting in a very healthy baby.