Financial advice please!

**Cares** · 02-11-2011, 12:02 PM

Here's the situation. We want to try for another kid. We wanted our 2 kids to be pretty close in age. We wanted ideally to start trying asap. We have a lot of debt and things we need to get done in the house. Our current plan is to save and reno the bathroom (it NEEDS it, there's mold). Then save for a $6000 minimum as an emergency fund for while on mat leave,b ut we shouldn't need to touch it unless something HUGE comes up. We can handle a $500 per month set back, without dipping into the EF. We'll be continuing to pay off our debt while saving and renoing, it'll just slow down for the time being. About half or just over half of our debt would be paid off before baby would be due in February IF we chose to start ttc in May/June, AND IF we got pregnant right away (and we plan on just not preventing it, so it could take a while). While on mat leave, we can still make debt payments, about 4-5x higher than the minimum payment.

So, would you suggest that we go ahead and start ttc (well, not preventing) in May and carry some debt while I"m on mat leave taht we'll just continue paying off for a little while longer?
OR should we wait to ttc until the debt would be totally paid off before baby would arrive (if we choose that route, our first child will be another year older, and the age gap we wanted would be bigger than ideal for us).

T hank you so much!

**MissSeetonFan** · 02-11-2011, 02:42 PM

For what it's worth, I do know that Dave Ramsey followers would quote him and say "Stop the debt snowball and sock as much money away as possible until the baby comes." Still pay minimums but put the pay-down on hold. I can't remember if that applies only once you are expecting or once you start planning.

Me personally, I would say get the renovation done first before everything else. But then, I have mold allergies and we had a bad experience with a moldy rental and our baby, who may have breathing problems (asthma?) because of the mold. I wouldn't want to have a newborn exposed to it. Or be pregnant and being exposed to it as it is being ripped out and redone.

**Greebo** · 02-11-2011, 02:48 PM

Expecting - not planning.

Planning is thinking, "there might be a storm one day".
Expecting is knowing there could be one and exactly when.

**Cares** · 02-11-2011, 04:29 PM

Greebo, perhaps it's because I'm so tired today and my brain is fried... but... WHAT??? lol.

Thanks MissSeeton, we're hoping to do the reno in April, and perhaps start "trying" in May.

I do keep reading things from DR and other financial advisors to stock away a big emergency fund, slow debt payments, and to go ahead with trying (debt doesn't have to be totally paid off)