Budget changes expected

July 19, 2007

My wife gave birth this past Monday night. Unfortunately the kid looks too much like me for me to deny anything, so another mouth to feed

Kids are expensive to raise, so I know I’m going to have to update my budget. I want to get a couple of months before updating it, but this is what I’m expecting:

• Clothes: $0 - Since both are boys, I’m not expecting a lot of money on clothes.
• Crib: $0. Already have one.
• Stroller: $0 - We thought about purchasing one of those strollers for two kids, but my son isn’t using his stroller that much anymore, so I think we might struggle a bit, but we’re going to survive without upgrading it.
• Toys: $10 - I have to look at my kid’s old toys to see what we can salvage for the new one, but for the most part, newborns don’t need a lot of toys anyway.
• Food: $0 - (at least for now). My wife didn’t breast fed my oldest, but she plans on breast feeding this one.
• Diapers: $40 - Newborns love to crap. So I’m estimating a box every 3 weeks.
• Insurance: $30 - I’m already paying for a family plan, so no large increases there. Probably a few bucks for the Dental and Vision.
• Medical expenses: $30 - I have HMO and my co pay is $10 per visit. So 2 visits per month + parking will probably average around $30.
• 529: I think I’ll start with just $50/month and increase it later on.
• Other baby misc: $30 - I’ll probably end up buying some misc for the new baby. Stuff that we find cute at the store and can’t resist.

Now that I’ve put down everything on paper, things are not looking that bad. Roughly $200/month including $50 for his 529. It is a big change in the budget, but we should be able to manage it since we’ll probably spend less money eating out. I really like my sanity and it’s quite a challenge to take two small kids out, so we’re planing on eating at home more often.

Posted in Family, Finances, Lifestyle