The cost of peanuts is rising

I have to confess that the first thought when I found out she was pregnant wasn't, 'wow, I'm gonna be a dad!'

Rather, my first thought was probably more along the lines of 'oh man, how are we going to afford this?'

There are many considerations that come along with the little peanut for couples. One of these are if one party is going to stop working full time and be able to spend a lot of time with the child being raised.

To do this, the couple will need to start functioning as though they are on one income well before she gives birth, hopefully at the start of the pregnancy if possible. Using only the income from the decided breadwinner for their monthly expenses, the significantly increased savings from the other person's income will go into a baby fund which will be needed for hospital fees, baby furniture, etc.

It's a little different when you are functioning on one income already like we are. The first step is to calculate the monthly expense once the baby comes out will be including diapers, insurance, baby sitter fees and milk powder. This amount will need to then go into savings each month during the pregnancy on a compulsory basis meaning that you cannot cut back on this fund; you can only reduce on all the other budgets you have such as groceries, petrol, and so on. These savings should then go into the baby fund which is needed for the hospital fees and the rest of the 'start up' baby expenses.

Of course, the best case scenario in terms of finances is when both parties are still working and bringing in income. The best option here would be to maintain what you are currently putting aside for savings and investments each month, and set up a baby fund based on expected monthly expenses as listed above. This way, you would still be able to continue building your financial foundation for the family very solidly on the whole while having proper planning for the child as well.

The most important thing is not to forgo the planning and discipline, and just believing by blind faith that everything will work out without doing anything on our parts. If we are bringing a child into the world, we must be ready to sacrifice and take full responsibility, and the starting point is to ensure that there is enough money to support the family on a reasonable level.

Categories: Home, Money, Peanut