Pregnancy Diary

A recent statistics shows that the cost of raising a baby from birth through college is into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that’s only if your child is willing to attend a public college instead of a private university.

Yes, it costs a lot of money to raise a child. Yes, it will at times feel as though you don’t have enough money for everything you want to give your child. The best way to approach expectant and new parenthood with regards to finances is to not look at it as one huge cumulative financial obligation. It isn’t as though your baby will be born and the next day you’ll be handed a bill for the next eighteen years.

There are a few expenses you may not be expecting, so keep these in mind and budget accordingly:
1. There may be medical complications. Even if your medical insurance covers all the extra expenses associated with any complications you or the baby experiences, there will be additional costs caused by the situation.
2. You may not want to return to work. Don’t underestimate your maternal instincts to stay right beside your baby even after your maternity leave has expired, so if you feel as though there is any chance that you won’t want to return to work you should start adjusting your budget right away.
3. You will have the desire to buy a lot of stuff for your baby. Even if you are notoriously frugal you may be surprised by your amazingly strong desire to buy every cute toy, developmental tool, and adorable outfit you stumble upon at stores and online.
4. Babies grow quickly. Unless you’re blessed with bags upon bags of hand-me-downs from family and friends you will probably be quick to discover that babies can grow out of clothes really quickly.

The best thing you can do is to compose a budget and stick to it. This is especially important during the first year of your baby’s life when parenthood is new and you aren’t versed in the actual costs associated with having children.