baby help please!

Charlton_Taz

Wow..some interesting views here....and i'm definately in the camp of money is a very important thing to consider when having a child!! I am due my first child in November..and being able to afford this has been one of the key parts of my OHs and mine financial planning for the last few years i.e. saving as much as we can while we have 'spare' money / paying down the mortgage as much as we can etc etc.

We both earn good wages (approx 50K each)...so there is no doubt about it, when I leave work we will experience a considerable drop in income which you don't take lightly! And if and when I do go back to work we would still be around £800-1000 a month down due to childcare costs alone (assuming I can get a similarily paid job). Depending on where you live..housing is expensive so unfortunately what appear to be 'high' wages doesn't neccesarily get you very far. And, to be honest, I don't want to 'just survive' on the income we get in, I want to be able to provide for my child adequately, and also think of the longterm for my OH and I i.e. paying off our mortgage / pension savings etc.

Surely it is a sensible consideration to think how a child fits in your life in all ways i.e. including financially!

bestpud

LizzieS wrote: »

OP is suggesting they may struggle, so it isn't really right to judge their ability to afford just because their income looks good.

csh wrote: »

Sorry, but how on earth can you possibly know that??? Unless of course I missed the post where the OP gave a full SOA?

That will be why always used the word 'should' then... :rolleyes:

Better than asking if they are up to their eyeballs in debt, as that would be perceived as judging them for not controlling their substantial income, no doubt! :rolleyes:

To the OP - you do have a pretty good income, even taking your OH's alone, so always is correct, you should be able to manage fine. Unless you rent a mansion, or live in a very expensive area, I can't imagine normal outgoings will outweigh your income.

However, if you have debt, then maybe it would be wise to clear them first, as a baby is stressful enough withouht worrying about meeting payments? Once they are clear, you can then start looking to save, which will reduce the financial pressure on you to get back to work asap and/or fund childcare?

How anyone thinks finances shouldn't matter when planning a child though, I do not know!! :eek:

You are absolutely right to think about all this now, imo.

flea72

but you can plan as much as you want financially, then things crop up beyond your control

all well and good saying i can afford to have a baby now, but whose to say once pg, that you dont loose your job, your partner dies, you have a really bad pregnancy and cant work, etc. the list goes on

If you feel the right time is now to start trying for a child, then money should be fairly low down in your priorities

I didnt plan DD1, planned DD2 and DD3. i can say, we are no better, or worse off financially for having any of them. we make do the best we can, with what finances we have. as long as they have food in their mouth, and a roof over their head, and lots of love and time, from me and their father, then they dont need anything else

Flea

bestpud

flea72 wrote: »

but you can plan as much as you want financially, then things crop up beyond your control

all well and good saying i can afford to have a baby now, but whose to say once pg, that you dont loose your job, your partner dies, you have a really bad pregnancy and cant work, etc. the list goes on

If you feel the right time is now to start trying for a child, then money should be fairly low down in your priorities

I didnt plan DD1, planned DD2 and DD3. i can say, we are no better, or worse off financially for having any of them. we make do the best we can, with what finances we have. as long as they have food in their mouth, and a roof over their head, and lots of love and time, from me and their father, then they dont need anything else

Flea

Nobody can plan fully as, of course, things happen, but I do think it is right to reduce the risk of financial problems as far as is possible.

It's not the be all and end all, but finances should come pretty high up the list imo.

This obviously comes down to personal opinion though, so I feel this could reach stalemate.

daska

Surely the best way to approach starting a family is to clear as many obstacles as you can, whether that's financial or just that the potential nursery is full of junk. But sometimes other considerations have to override the purely financial ones. If we hadn't had our youngest child when we did we wouldn't be able to start trying again until I was 43 at which point the risks of defects are much higher. If you have a hereditary illness you might decide not to have children at all even if you have a massive income. The decision can never be purely financial. That's not to say I advocate bringing a child into a household struggling to cope financially, money might not buy happiness but it sure helps keep some unhappiness away.