Did You Set Financial Goals For Yourself Before You Had A Baby?

I say that if you wait until you can afford a baby you will never have one. The majority of people are not that set financially. If you really want a child and are ready to devote your life to another person’s well being then just go ahead and do it and just live your life.

We waited until we were financailly able. We had a house, we made sure that one of our vehicles were paid for, my school loans 1/2 paid off, credit clean and had an “emergency” fund in the bank.
It took us awhile (5 LONG years) but I’m glad we did it, cause now after 2 beautiful girls later we know that we are ready for every bump in the road that comes our way.

with the economy like it is today..
your waiting for a miracle.
I dont think anyone should wait until they are financially stable…
that would take forever…………
besides that- money rise will keep going up..
supply & demand…
GAS (etc..)
Just have a baby- im sure youll do fine.

We financially planned before having a baby. Our prebaby goals were: have $20K in bank to start our own business (it cost a lot more than that but that was what we needed to buy into the franchise), buy a house (well we owned about 3% and the bank owned 97%), have cars paid off, and be able to have me stay home.
It took us 2 years to save up the money which we did by basically living as though I was already a stay at home mom without an income. All of my income went into the bank and we lived off of hubby’s income. So after about 2 solid years we had the business money, money to pay off car loans, and down payment and closing costs for our first house and it wasn’t a real income sacrifice when I stopped working. In the end we closed on our house June 24th 2003, our first child was born July 11, 2003 and we opened our restaurant for business on Sept 12, 2003. Of course the stress from doing all that in a short period is a whole different story but I think its important to plan.

My fiance and I had a surprise baby and we have tons of bills. Somehow, we still manage to make payments and work towards paying them off. We both want lots of children and I’m 31, so the clock is ticking, so it really was good that we had one now. Cause I believe 35 is the “high risk” age for pregnancies. Not that it’s impossible, but I don’t want a “high risk” pregnancy. I think you should just go for it. Life’s too short and the ole’ biological clock ticks fast! You’ll always find a way to work it out.

I want one but I’m waiting. I’m just like you! I don’t want my baby to grow up poor. Not necessary poor, but I don’t want my kid to starve at night. Just that thought alone scares the crap out of me. I don’t want to have to rely on the government either. I have 10k saved and by next yr 20k. I’m waiting to have mines and will probably get started next month! Good luck to you and I’m glad you’re soo responsible. We need more people like us!

Honestly we really didn’t worry about the financial side, my husband was almost killed in Iraq, he came home and we decided we wanted to have a child, I’m now 29 weeks pregnant. We don’t really have a ton in savings, no we aren’t debt free either, but as long as you can provide for the child, I don’t see the need in having tons and tons of money.
We were both raised in a low income home and honestly it made us better adults, we didn’t get everything we wanted as kids, and as teens what we did want we worked for, it gave us a better appreciation for what we had.
Its honestly a personal choice, if you want to wait, thats fine.
Good luck either way

Just go for it. You have some of your finances in order already, and if you wait until they’re all together, you’ll never have a child because something else will come up, and you will want to wait until that is taken care of, and then something else comes up – and it keeps going like that. Having a child is a huge financial responsiblity, but there are always ways to provide for your child and make sure (s)he is comfortable. Having a child does require sacrifice, so you may have to be more frugal and clip a few more coupons, but there are ways to make it work, and once you have the result of your labor (and hers), everything else comes in second place.

the only financial goal we set for ourselves was having a house. I wanted to own property and move out of our apt before we started having kids…buying the house however pretty much wiped out our savings, but we have equity if, god forbid, we were in a bind. Of course it would be nice to have a nest egg so i can stay home for a few years, but we are both 30, want to have more kids, and we’ll just make it work. Thankfully the only debt we have is our mortgage…so that’s a little comforting.

I think it’s wise to have yourself financially stable before bringing a baby into the world. You want to bring your child into a stable home environment and be able to give your best care to this child. Some people do go out and have children and then use tax payer dollars to afford their child, that’s not what you want to do.
My husband and I are newly married and we are waiting until we reach our financial goals to have a baby. Frankly, right now we have too many bills to afford to take care of a baby without assistance. We’ve set a plan for ourselves so that we should be able to have a baby in 8 years. I would like to finish college, build a home, pay off all of our existing loans/debts, and save at least 5000-6000 dollars before the baby is born. Also, my husband owns his own business, so we’d also like to see that progress financially before we have a child.
Everyone’s finances are different. Set your goals, make a plan to reach your goals to see if it’s a feasible plan, and then once you have your plan stick to it. Children are expensive and if you want to live comfortably it’s best to get your finances in order before taking on such a big responsibility such as a child.
Good luck to you!

Well thats a very difficult, interesting and a very common question im sure. I just turned 23 and I have a 10 month old baby. When I was single and without a worry in the world I would not set any kind of financial goals in my life, as soon as I had money I would spend it “stupidly” on going out, partys, cloths and on my car. When I was with my girlfriend back then now my wife we would go out and spend as much money as we wanted. We decided to have a baby without even preparing, we just went for it and just to let you know ITS VERY HARD. I still lived at home with my parents and had nothing prepared, If you have an apartment or home to begin with it makes everything so much easier. I had to buy furniture for my whole house and also I had to get used to paying rent and bills. I have always been the only one working at my house now and my wife goes to school. I thank God I have a mother who is a stay at home lady so she takes care of her at no charge whats so over. But this is the type of thing that if you keep thinking and thinking and debating and debating is never going to happen. NO ONE AND I REPEAT NO ONE is ever ready for a baby. Sometimes you just have to go for it. You have to determined how ready you are emotionaly, physically, and financially. You have to be ready to be waking up at least 5 times in one night when their newborns. You have to be able to deal with the crying whenever they dont feel well, and It does get frustrating and kindda makes u have a short temper sometimes. When you really think about it babys are not tha expensive Monthly i end up spending about $200 on her things that includes….diapers, gerbers, cereal, milk, wipes, and whenever she needs shampoo, soap, detergent for her clothes, and lotions i spend a little more. It really helps if her friends throw the girl a baby shower because depending on how much friends and family you have it covers clothes for at least a year, well at least that was my case. I just went and bought my daughter clothes this weekend as a matter of fact. Spent out 300$ since I had not bought her clothes since she was born. ::well small things you just cant hold yourself back from buying lol ^_^:: But at the end of the day I can garantee you that its all worth it at the end of the day when you get home and you see that little smile and little eyes looking at you and all you can see is a little version of you. So in your case I would say GO FOR IT!

We waited until we could completely afford it. I watched my sister have children that she really couldn’t afford. I don’t want to be like her. She lives in a very small house with four children, when probably could only afford one or two kids. If her husband were to lose his job they would be in big trouble.
We wanted a house, a stable job, good insurance, a start of a retirement fund and no debt. I honestly think 2 years on not long to insure your future for the rest of your life and the life of your children.
I think so many financial troubles occur because so many people want it right now (the house, the vacations, the clothes and yes sometimes the children)