Expanding your family is an incredible milestone in your life. Whether through pregnancy or adoption, you’ll want to begin your parenting journey in as much financial health as possible. This is true whether it’s your first child or you’re adding another to your family. With each new member, your family gains more needs and expenses. This is why it’s so important to handle your finances carefully. If you’re unsure how to budget for your growing family, here are some tips to get you started.
Consider Your New Needs
What will you need to add to or change about your life once the new baby arrives? It could be simple things, like adding formula to your grocery budget. Or it could be something more complicated, like buying a new house. If you’re looking for a bigger house, start the process by looking at home prices in your area. These vary widely. In the third quarter of 2017, the average price for a Manhattan condo in an existing building was 1.9 million dollars. However, many places are much cheaper than Manhattan good for parenting. Take some time to think about what you’ll need to change or add to your lives before you start your budget.
Set a Household Budget
Setting an actual budget gives you a framework on which to plan your financial future. Sit down with your partner and make sure you have all of the expenses you need to cover. This includes everything from rent to credit cards. Make sure you’re being fully honest about your spending too. Nearly 7.2 million Americans have a hidden credit card or bank account that they keep from their spouse. Something like this could badly damage both your financial health and your spouse’s trust in you.
Set Future Goals
Adding a new member to your family makes you consider your future more carefully. Do you have any special goals for the immediate or distant future? How do you plan to achieve them? Parenting requires you to be thoughtful about your goals. You might need to choose between saving for a new house or making college savings account for your children. Take some time to decide which goals are more feasible and how you will achieve them.
Sometimes future goals can be achieved faster by bringing in a second form of income. This can vary, but starting a small business or freelancing works for many because of its flexibility. There are approximately 400 million entrepreneurs around the world. So if this is something that interests you, it can help you improve your family’s budget.
Be Flexible
Unfortunately, you can’t plan for everything. No matter how careful you are with your money or how good you are at budgeting, things will come up. So it is important to be flexible. Review your budget every so often and change it as you need. Sometimes the budget you have will work for a while, then stop being effective. This doesn’t mean you did something wrong, it just means your circumstances changed and you need to change with them. So try to find ways to make your budget easier to adjust in the future. It will make things easier if a stressful situation comes along.
Growing your family involves a lot of new responsibilities, but keeping your finances healthy is among the most important. Otherwise, you won’t be able to do all the things that parenting entails. So take some time to assess your current situation, see where you stand, then follow these tips. They will help you set up a good budget for your growing family.
