Written by Lidia Staron
They’ve told you what to expect when you’re expecting. But they didn’t tell you quite everything about the unexpected costs of having a baby.
For new parents, it’s important to expect an increase in your family finances. And I’m talking about an increase that runs from when they get born until they tie the knot in the future. But that’s too vast to begin with. So let me give you some baby milestones instead of covering a lifetime of childcare costs.
What are the unexpected costs of having a baby?
Expect a high jump in your financial responsibilities before your cute little bundle arrives. First is your baby’s nursery, then your baby’s physical needs. Third is your baby’s emergency fund.
You can research to prepare. Ask friends who have had children. Websites such as Babycenter also have what they call their “First-Year Baby Costs Calculator” that you might find helpful. All these are just some of the tools to give you a headstart. Now, let’s jump over to the three major baby finance categories.
Preparing the nursery
Let’s start with the baby’s room. It doesn’t have to be extravagant. Your child at an early stage will likely not have a memory of it, but that doesn’t mean you should skimp on the necessities. Three things you need to remember when it comes to preparing the baby’s nursery include the following: your child’s comfort, safety, and sanitation.
Your baby’s crib must be safe enough even when your baby begins to roll and crawl. It must also be comfortable enough to give your baby a good sleep. Good sleep for baby also means good sleep for you as parents!
Another important reminder is to make sure that your budget goes to the cleanliness of the baby room. Purchase products like pillows that are hypo-allergenic especially if any of you have history of asthma or allergies.
Special vaccines and newborn healthcare
There are a number of special treatments and health requirements that even the healthiest baby will go through. As parents, you want to be able to provide these so as not to expose them to possible health dangers. This is one thing that shocks most parents in terms of finances. A lot of parents think that most of the budgetary adjustments would come at the time of birth and fast forward to when their children start going to school.
Not quite, parents.
Most financial analysts estimate that parents spend more than $500 for the first year of baby’s immunizations. There will be a number of vaccines needed after that. Some private health insurance companies may not cover immunizations, but most do. You may have to check to be sure.
The basic vaccines you need to make sure are covered include those against hepatitis B, polio, rotavirus, pneumococcal, Hib, and DtaP.
Some of those vaccines will have a follow up in the fourth and sixth month of your baby’s life. Know that it’s not just your family’s finances we’re talking about. It will also affect your time. This may mean that taking leaves from work could also affect your month’s wage.
Newborn emergency fund
You’ll wish and pray that it doesn’t have to come to this. But for preparedness’ sake, make sure to consider the possible costs of the following: sudden hospitalizations due to illness, unplanned and urgent visits to the emergency room due to accidents and the like. You would rather be prepared than hesitate to bring your child to the hospital due to lack of budget.
Some common emergency situations among babies are burns, injuries from a fall, and choking.
You might be thinking ahead with personal loans online for emergency situations if you are a single mother investing for unexpected emergency situations.
Planning ahead for these unexpected financial responsibilities will ensure that you and your family are safe and sound with peace of mind.
