A Child Fund?

**SixxOfDiamonds** · 11-29-2008, 12:02 AM

Not too sure where to post this as a lot of the forums areas aren't visited.
Please move if need be. Thanks!

Anyways, I was curious if anybody had ever set up a 'child fund'? Within the next few years Mr. Husband and I are planning on having a child and I was curious how much you set aside each month and how much your goal was set for?

Now that we've purchased a home and settled down in an area, as well as became 100% debt-free (with the exception of mortgage) we want to focus on that.

I am currently not working, but plan to part-time after the holidays. We don't have a great deal to add to a new savings without cutting down on contributions to our general savings. I'm sure that if I cut down on the excess and became better at my coupon-clipping we could free up a lot more.

But I want to find opinions on exactly how much more? As I stated before, we're looking at anywhere from a year to four years. I want to have a decent amount of financial 'padding' before introducing a child in our lives.

Any help or recommendations? Have you done this? Thanks!

**SheKat** · 11-29-2008, 02:05 AM

what a fantastic idea and so forethoughtful. I guess you would need to consider the amount of medical costs that are associated with the pre and post natal care and the birth and then add on the cost for the equipment you will purchase for the baby whether it be brand new, second hand or a combination of both. you could also think about the money you may miss out on earning whilst at home epecially if you need that income to make ends meet.

**monkeymia** · 11-29-2008, 03:35 AM

I think its a great idea to start a baby fund, I wish I had thought of it before I went on medically induced unpaid maternity leave at 20 weeks as we lived off one wage for the remaining of the pregnancy. It wasn't easy living off one wage and trying to get set up for baby.

I would factor in how much you would need if you too had to go on unpaid maternity leave early (factor in what your part time wage would be) and also medical bills (unsure of this as Australia is different to America.)

Big ticket items are hard to budget for if you unexpectedly went from two wages to one so try to do a little bit of research at all the costs for furniture, linen and clothes.

**ladykemma2** · 11-29-2008, 09:27 AM

make sure you are setting up a 3-6 month emergency fund first. (6 months of take home pay)

then also set aside $100 bucks a month for car maintenance.

budget for anticipated items like car replacement, computer replacement, baby fund, and furniture replacement.

put aside $300 a month for home repairs and upkeep. when my home was 13 years old it needed a $7000 new roof, somewhere in there was a $5000 tile floor to replace the nasty carpets. in the 15th year ALL the appliances broke and needed to be replaced. a $10,000 home repair account would keep you straight. all of these things will happen, can be anticipated.

15% to retirement.

**Iansmommy** · 11-29-2008, 10:05 AM

We didn't set up a fund prior to having a baby, but that sounds like a great idea. Of course, none of ours were really planned.

**SixxOfDiamonds** · 11-29-2008, 11:58 AM

I should have probably given a bit more info.

All of my medical bills will be fully paid for - we have fantastic insurance.
We already have 5 months of an emergency fund set up and we already put 20% into retirement. We do have CDs and other investments that we could tap into if there was a huge disaster, although I don't foresee that happening.

Currently, we live off of one income, so I know that won't be a problem for us. I plan on getting a part time job (only part time because I'm finishing up school) to help the baby/child fund. That will happen after we come home from visiting family for the holidays in early January. I left my last job because they wouldn't give the time off for Christmas, and it's the one time of year that we see our parents, siblings, grandparents and extended family.

We have three fully working vehicles so if one breaks down, we'll be okay even not having it fixed right away. If we have any problems with the vehicles, all have warranties. Also, we have a warranty on the house so that if anything goes awry, we just pay a $50 deductible and whatever it is gets fixed.

I plan on being a SAHM (hopefully I'm done with school!) until our children are school aged and then back to work.

I'm just curious how much money was spent during the first five years? We're not big on a ton of toys, will be doing cloth diapers, will BF (if all goes as planned) and will purchase all the baby furniture separately. I'm just curious how much money was spent a month on baby items? So that we can save up close to that amount and use it if need be. Anything left over will probably go into a college savings.

ETA: I know we're pretty young. But DH and I have worked very hard to get to this point. We wanted to have a house and extra savings before we added a child into our life. Finally, we're feeling comfortable enough to do this. We've been debt-free since June of 2008 with the exception of our mortgage and now that we have maintained being debt-free for six months, we are comfortable focusing on adding a child to our family.

**Wendy99** · 11-29-2008, 12:28 PM

I had twins and not sure what we spend in the first year - it was a whirlwind, but it was a lot and looking back we could have did a ton less. I think it's great for this to be so planned out financially speaking - you are doing great!!!

**monkeymia** · 11-30-2008, 02:15 AM

Originally Posted by SixxOfDiamonds

ETA: I know we're pretty young. But DH and I have worked very hard to get to this point. We wanted to have a house and extra savings before we added a child into our life. Finally, we're feeling comfortable enough to do this. We've been debt-free since June of 2008 with the exception of our mortgage and now that we have maintained being debt-free for six months, we are comfortable focusing on adding a child to our family.

I think for your age you have your heads screwed on very well and you should be proud of yourselves. Well done.

It's great that you think of how the baby will affect you financially before you try to conceive. It shows responsibility.

**miaumiau** · 12-01-2008, 04:34 PM

DH and I also just set up a baby fund a few months ago, even though it might not happen until a few years away. I've consulted with some co workers and friends, they all suggested me to put aside around $5000 to $8000.

I had my husband to open an online saving account, and try to put in $200 to $300 depends on our budget that month, to also help building a sense of responsibility of being a dad in the future into his head, to help him get ready. As you can see in my signature page, I've pretty much taken care most of the financial planning, so I want him to get involved as much as possible, especially the baby issue.

**SixxOfDiamonds** · 12-01-2008, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by miaumiau

DH and I also just set up a baby fund a few months ago, even though it might not happen until a few years away. I've consulted with some co workers and friends, they all suggested me to put aside around $5000 to $8000.

I had my husband to open an online saving account, and try to put in $200 to $300 depends on our budget that month, to also help building a sense of responsibility of being a dad in the future into his head, to help him get ready. As you can see in my signature page, I've pretty much taken care most of the financial planning, so I want him to get involved as much as possible, especially the baby issue.

Thanks! That's so much more attainable than the $20K I thought we would need. $8,000 sounds so much better.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 12-01-2008, 10:03 PM

I'd also factor in how much of the items you need for the baby are going to come either through secondhand stores or gifted to you through family. I commend you on being so forethoughtful with your plans on having a child and putting all your ducks in a row. Most people don't do that and that's where alot of them feel very overwhelmed.

Here's how I would do it:

- Find out what the current insurance would cover for both your child's expenses, whether there'll be extra costs for special procedures, etc. I'd save some of that money in case something happens and the baby/child needs to be transported somewheres (God forbid!).

- Look into life insurance for the baby also.

- Call around and see if you can get the items you need to buy new at the best possible price while taking into account safety issues.

I'd sit down with your DH, look at your budget and see just how much you can contribute to a child fund without putting a huge strain on finances and your marriage. I always had enough clothes for my kids to last them two weeks and stockpiled toiletries, plus I had help through family and friends. You want to look into budgeting in formula in case something prevents you from BFing (my youngest was in the NICU for two weeks and I couldn't be there for the entire two weeks to BF him, so we had to get formula...then we also had to supplement formula because until I started taking medication to increase my milk supply, he wasn't getting enough from me). Price out formula that's suitable for what you want for the baby, multiply that by as long as you plan on feeding him/her formula and keep that as an extra part of your budgeted funds.

Also, you can go right to table food as soon as he/she is able to take solid foods. It's more frugal and a lot healthier for the baby if you make your own baby food anyways.

Baby food is so outright expensive, it's disgusting!

Once you've gotten down and included every single thing you need to spend money on, divide that by how many months it'll be between now and the day that TTC is successful. You can then add another eight to nine months ontop of that for a buffer, or just to stretch out the budget in case something happens.

**SixxOfDiamonds** · 12-01-2008, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by MomToTwoBoys

I'd also factor in how much of the items you need for the baby are going to come either through secondhand stores or gifted to you through family. I commend you on being so forethoughtful with your plans on having a child and putting all your ducks in a row. Most people don't do that and that's where alot of them feel very overwhelmed.

Here's how I would do it:

- Find out what the current insurance would cover for both your child's expenses, whether there'll be extra costs for special procedures, etc. I'd save some of that money in case something happens and the baby/child needs to be transported somewheres (God forbid!).

- Look into life insurance for the baby also.

- Call around and see if you can get the items you need to buy new at the best possible price while taking into account safety issues.

I'd sit down with your DH, look at your budget and see just how much you can contribute to a child fund without putting a huge strain on finances and your marriage. I always had enough clothes for my kids to last them two weeks and stockpiled toiletries, plus I had help through family and friends. You want to look into budgeting in formula in case something prevents you from BFing (my youngest was in the NICU for two weeks and I couldn't be there for the entire two weeks to BF him, so we had to get formula...then we also had to supplement formula because until I started taking medication to increase my milk supply, he wasn't getting enough from me). Price out formula that's suitable for what you want for the baby, multiply that by as long as you plan on feeding him/her formula and keep that as an extra part of your budgeted funds.

Also, you can go right to table food as soon as he/she is able to take solid foods. It's more frugal and a lot healthier for the baby if you make your own baby food anyways.

Baby food is so outright expensive, it's disgusting!

Once you've gotten down and included every single thing you need to spend money on, divide that by how many months it'll be between now and the day that TTC is successful. You can then add another eight to nine months ontop of that for a buffer, or just to stretch out the budget in case something happens.

Those are some pretty awesome ideas, thank you! Especially about adding it all up and dividing it till the TTC date, it's obvious but I didn't think of that! Haha.

Our insurance covers 100% so we're set on that. Even transportation, helo flights, whatever is paid for. Also, life insurance is automatic up until 1 year in the amount of $15,000 when we have a child.

Also, I can get a breast pump for free (a military perk) so if I'm unable to be there due to some circumstance, I could still in a way BF. I'll definitely add up formula if for some reason I don't produce, though. Better to be safe than sorry.

We're lucky as far as the large things go - furniture, strollers and the like. Our child will be the first grandchild and both of our parents are pretty intent on helping out with that.

It's just the little things that add up. Diapers, bottles, onesies, pacifiers, blankets. Everything is just so expensive I'm dreading it. I'd much rather be prepared.

Thanks SO much. I'm going to sit down and calculate how much I need.