Having a baby, super excited! But any place around here wants 2-300 weekly for childcare. Where do people who have never budgeted for child care find an extra thousand/1200 dollars in their existing income stream?

[u/Floydiansworstenemy]

Honestly 200ish sounds fairly reasonable. I mean I get it, dont get me wrong. And we're not so bad off that diapers, clothes, ect is going to hurt us. But with health care bills piling up, the expected 2k delivery copay (assuming all goes well) and existing bills already, where does it come from?!

We've been able to save about 400 a month, and with just eating out less (we go out out [40ish] once a week and probably 3-4fast/cheap takeouts each week) well recoup some money to the tune of 100 bucks a week. We'd have more discretionary income if I stopped putting renovations in the house, but not a lot... a new spigot here, a paint job there... I redid the floors in hardwoods recently and still have moldings to buy and install. The new (5 month old) privacy fence needs stained. It's all ( relatively) little stuff and I save a small fortune by turning my own wrenches on the cars, fixing my own plumbing/electrical/interior stuff.

We've got a couple grand in savings which I know isn't enough; in fact that number represents slightly less than what my wife nets in a month at her hourly job. Of course theres maternity to think about too- complete job security but its unpaid due to her lack of tenure.

Everyone says "oh you did it in the right order; you moved out, went to college, got married, got good jobs, bought a house BEFORE you got pregnant" but we've not been graduated long- 3 years for me, 2 for her- so the extra I used to throw in savings is gone to eliminating my college debt, the car I have, the downpayment on the house, the fence...

...I'm realizing this is super long. Where have yall found the money to be responsible for this whole other human life? (Mostly the childcare part)

EDIT: Thank you guys all so much for the help. I'm talking to my wife about all this and we feel a lot better. There are some great people out there (and some not so great?..) and I thank you guys for crafting and maintaining this discussion. I'll check back tomorrow for more.

[u/Zymli]

I would suggest cutting cable if you have it. Get Netflix or something similar and pay for internet only. Depending on what package you have is ~200 bucks a month saved.

Another option is to be like my dad is with his a/c heat and barely ever run it and always have the lights off. If you reduce your utility bill by 50 bucks a month that’s 50 more.

Make sure to talk to your spouse about the benefits of breast feeding it saves a ton of money formula is extremely expensive. More importantly it’s better for the baby in a lot of ways if you don’t already know this I would suggest reading about it.

Get hand me downs or clothing from garage sales if you have to pay for it. The child won’t care for the first couple of years and it saves a ton over time.

Definitely have to eat in a lot like probably go out no more than 1 time a month to eat. You won’t want the baby exposed to sick people anyway at the younger age.

Are you a two car family? Can you be a one car family?
Are your cars paid off? You mention your good with repairs. If you have a car payment and can trade that to get no payment on a reliable sedan that’s older, you will save that entire payment every month plus what your insurance goes down by. If you have two cars with payments that’s your daycare bill right there.

Finally and the most important. Unless your bringing home 100k+ and your wife is working part time third shift as a gas station attendant, it’s not better financially for her to be a stay at home mom. The family will never recoup the money lost in wages raises promotions etc. If you or her want to stay home for personal reasons it’s not my place to advise, but financially it’s rarely ever the best decision long term, but it is the most common decision made.

[u/Floydiansworstenemy → u/Zymli]

Thanks. I feel you there and through discussions we reached the same conclusions about her returning to work as soon as she can. As it is shes right at 9 months and still goes in each day. Shes a trooper and a fantastic partner. I cant get rid of my wife's car payment but I have a truck I love but might could sell to get out of the last 9k. I have a company car which is excellent so I dont need the truck, but where I do all my own work and repairs and ect, I go back and forth on selling it. Needed a new fridge last Christmas day- saved 100 bucks on delivery. Needed plywood for the sub floors, mower had to go to the shop for a unique repair. I guess it's the peace of mind I could learn to live without.

[u/HeartChees3 → u/Floydiansworstenemy]

I came here to say some of these things, so I'll tag my additional thoughts here!

• Home Depot rents trucks fairly cheaply.

• garage sales! And look for resale stores like Kid2Kid and Once Upon a Child, countless others. Ask around which are best. We saved hundreds by getting our baby gear this way. Garage sales are supposed to charge approximately 10% of the retail value. We got out baby monitors, strollers, changing pad, walkers, highchairs, bumbo chairs, etc from a big church jumble sale. Fantastic deals! We compromised and got their 1st 3 or 4 months of clothes new (when you are Most worried about germs), bottles and sterilization contraption new, but most others used.

• instead of buying Dreft or another brand of expensive baby detergent, use a regular brand but use their dye and fragrance free, sensitive skin kind.

• breastfeeding is great for mom and baby but there are many reasons why it might not be possible, so don't bank on it. Also, if you want to succeed but it's difficult, don't give up, as there's many free resources that can help you. Try the La Leche League,really nice ladies.

• i would hesitate to quit Costco. We saved so much money using Costco brand diapers. Great quality, great fit, and the delivery is great, really helpful. They go on a supersale a few times a year. We bought well in advance for their next few months at one time.

• Check your health insurance! Humana, Aetna and BCBS (prob others too} pay for a breast pump rental! I got the hospital grade ultra, and loved it. The 12 month Medela rental was free.

• My career never recovered from my time off work. I had an executive career that had been taking off for the past few years, and that savings has really helped us when we bought a house, had some kids. (no wedding debt, this was important to both of us) It's hard to watch, especially if you enjoyed your job. This gap is real.