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You may have noticed something a bit different over the last month – I've had many guest posts here on Couple Money. While I've continued to post as much as I could, I had to slow down. I was under the weather, but I had a very good reason. My husband and I are expecting our first kid this summer!
Anticipating Baby Expenses
I've decided to track the baby expenses on Couple Money as we're going through this process and some wonderful bloggers have decided to join in the fun.
I know for us, it is an eye opening experience in many ways, especially with the financial obligations (and distractions!) that are out there. Some topic we've talked about include such things as:
- Health insurance
- Preparing our house for the baby
- Possible work arrangements when the baby is born
- Baby registry (so many opinions on what's needed!)
Baby Savings Goal for 2011
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago with our financial goals, we wanted to bump up our savings to around 6 months of expenses. That would put us around $10k for savings. We're hoping to meet our goal by June 30th. To get there, we'll be automatically redirecting some money every month into the account.
We currently have money transferred over from to specific savings account for other financial goals regularly, like the car replacement fund. The difference is now is that we'll also have some go into our emergency fund.
Working Harder to Be Debt Free
Needless to say, we feel like there's a fire lit under us to finish off our non-mortgage debt. Right now, we only have a low interest student loan left. We've been doing well with no car loans and saving, both for short term and long term like our retirement.
Our goals include knocking down the student loan by a big chunk (25-30%) this year while reaching our saving goals. We'll work hard to reach it and I can't wait to include our progress with our monthly net worth reviews.
Parenting Round-Up
I'd like to start the series off by sharing some extremely helpful posts that I've reviewed as we're embarking on this next chapter of our lives. I also included my weekly post on FCN about some financial preparations we're starting with the baby.
- Preparing for a Baby @Five Cent Nickel
- Ways You Can Save On Baby Costs @ Free From Broke
- 10 Tips to Help Parents Stay Out of Debt @ Live Real, Now
- Babies are Expensive @ Live Real, Now
- A Visual Guide to Saving Money with a Baby @The Simple Dollar
- What Expenses Should I Expect When Having a Baby? @ Bible Money Matters
- Having A Baby Can Be A Good Excuse To Simplify And De-Clutter @ Bible Money Matters
- 7 Ways to Save Money on Baby Clothes @ Saving Money Today
- Unexpected Baby Expenses @ Cash Money Life
- Top 5 Worst and Best Baby Shower Gifts @ The Saved Quarter
I hope you take a minute to check out a post or two. I'll be incorporating link from some of these posts as I write more about new expenses and changes.
Join In the Baby Expenses Series
Are you a parent or a parent to be with some helpful advice or stories? Please go ahead and join in on the fun, there are 3 ways you can be a part of it:
- Leave your tips in the comment section. I love reviewing thoughtful comments from readers. Some topics have several ‘right’ answers and I think sharing different view points can be helpful.
- Submit your stories for future posts. As you know, baby and expenses can cover a variety of topics. If you have a short story or some tips you want to share, please submit them. If you're a blogger, please share your site's address with the email so I can credit you if you want.
- Write a blog post about your experience. Please include a link in your bio for your site and if you have a relevant post on your site, please link to it in your post.
Thank you to everyone who was kind enough to step in and help me out on Couple Money. I'm very grateful for the support of the personal finance community, including the Yakezie.