It’s no secret that your wallet takes a hit when you bring home a baby! We’ve learned that firsthand over the past 4 years as we’ve brought home not one, not two, but three of them. When Matt and I made the decision to grow our family (and for me to stay home), strict budgeting & sacrifice suddenly became a big part of the equation. Budgeting for our growing family has been a learning experience for us and today I want to share some of the things that have helped us find financial peace along the way!
This post is sponsored by Mainstreet Credit Union of Kansas City! Originally founded by teachers, This “not-for-profit” credit union provides financial products and services as well as financial education, counseling and tips to build financial security. The former teacher in me appreciates this common goal and trusts their work!
The Decision to Stay Home
Early in our marriage, Matt and I came to the mutual agreement that I would stay home from work while our babies were young. I was a teacher for 5 years prior to having our first (Brooks), and while I loved my job as a teacher, I felt confident and eager to leave the profession in pursuit of solely full-time motherhood!
This of course would require a bit of lifestyle manipulation, so we began preparing during our first pregnancy for the shift. Here are 5 things we did that have helped us as we budget for our growing family.
Budgeting for your Growing Family: What We Did to Prepare
1. Seek Professional Financial Advice
Now is the time to educate yourself! There is so much to know and it can be overwhelming, so learning from professionals is crucial. A free resource I recommend is Mainstreet Credit Union’s educational tools and lessons. These financial “lessons” are grouped into collections by category such as “preparing for baby”, “buying a home”, “Growing your family”, etc. (pictured below)! The lessons are educational and tangible as they “coach” you through each individual topic. And the best part about it is the price tag (free)! Mainstreet Credit Union is passionate about education and improving financial literacy in teachers, students, and the community at large.
2. Re-work your budget from scratch
Prior to having Brooks, our budget was much more flexible. With two salaries and no kids, we easily lived beneath our means and had plenty of wiggle room to use as we pleased. Adding a baby and losing a salary threw a bit of a wrench in this “relaxed” approach! We knew we would need to adopt a new budget and practice discipline like we hadn’t yet needed to. Between diapers, baby products, increased health insurance, and more… we had to trim the fat in some slightly uncomfortable spaces to make room! Here are a few of the things we manipulated in our budget that first year to leave ourselves plenty of wiggle room for the new “unknowns” in our uncharted territory:
- Gym membership – We valued fitness, but decided that we could go without a hefty membership for the year and give ourselves grace to flex this commitment as needed. We spent the pregnancy building a home gym in our garage that we could use instead!
- Subscriptions – there were SO many we didn’t even realize we were paying for! Cutting out unused or unwanted subscriptions saved us enough money to pay for a couple boxes of diapers a month!
- Bills/Utilities – This was perhaps the most helpful strategy! We called each of our providers (auto insurance, home services & utilities, etc.) and negotiated lower rates/payments. By doing this (and switching some companies), we were able to save a LOT of money each month!
- Fast Food/eating out – We didn’t cut this out cold turkey, but we significantly cut back. By grocery shopping smart/cooking almost all of our meals at home, we created a lot more “wiggle room” in our budget. We were disciplined in maintaining our “once a week” rule for eating out, and it has generally stuck as a part of our lifestyle since then!
Mainstreet Credit Union has a budget calculator that I’ve found to be very helpful as it reveals the “big picture” of how you spend! This is a good starting point – analyze how you spend, determine where you can trim it up, and strategize a plan!
3. Pay off as many debts as you can
As we re-structured our monthly budget, we recognized the need to reduce our monthly expenses as much as possible at first to prepare for any unknowns. We decided to take this opportunity (while still enjoying two salaries) to pay off as many of our debts as we could! While we couldn’t entirely pay off all of our debts such as our mortgage or car payments at that time, we could “chip away” a little more at a few of those while we had the extra cash flow of a second income. We decided to double up our car payments for as long as we comfortably could and this helped us pay off our cars faster so we could drop that monthly expense! Mainstreet Credit Union provides a “debt payoff calculator” along with several other resources to educate you in managing debt – I’ve found these tools to be very helpful!
4. Bulk up your Emergency Fund
The term “emergency fund” got a lot more real when we saw those two pink lines! We knew that with a baby (or three…) and only one salary to depend on, we were highly vulnerable. Now more than ever we needed the safety net of a considerable emergency fund! Saving for your emergency fund can be tedious and slow but I urge you to prioritize it! Mainstreet Credit Union has several helpful resources specific to bulking up your emergency fund if you need some direction and education (like we did)!
5. Consider a College Fund/Savings Plan
It might feel like something you can put off considering, and it actually is as you have many years to prepare for college. But if you can fit it into your budget at the moment, you can really make your “many years” work for you! As you probably guessed, Mainstreet Credit Union has a college savings calculator as well as a collection of financial “lessons” related to saving for college!
Adapting our Budget Along the Way
It has been our experience that each new year, new baby, or circumstance yields a shift in our financial situation. In order to maintain the peace and freedom we want, it’s important for us to continue learning, re-assessing, and manipulating our budget as needed. Consistency in revisiting our plans, prioritizing financial education, and discipline in budgeting have awarded us peace in this trying season! Tangibly speaking and for us, this looks like monthly budget “meetings”. We prioritize these as a way to continue learning/evolving and anticipate changes (or obstacles ) before they arise.
It has always been a goal of ours that I would stay home from work while the kids were little, and I’m thankful for the ability to do so. And while I know this comes from a place of privilege, it has not come without sacrifice. The lessons we’ve learned as we’ve navigated our changing lifestyle and growing family have been valuable ones that will serve us and our kids for years to come, regardless of our financial circumstances!
Budgeting for your Growing Family
Find Financial Peace with Mainstreet Credit Union
Budgeting for your growing family can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be! If you’re in a season of shifting circumstances and are seeking some financial education, support, or peace, I highly recommend Mainstreet Credit Union! They are passionate about the community they serve and offer so many valuable services, products, and free resources for people who, like us, are navigating new circumstances (good or bad)! Head to Mainstreet Credit Union’s website to learn more about the products, services, and resources they provide!
Looking for more mom and family related content? Check out my “motherhood” tab on my menu!
With Love from my family to yours,
Kelsie
