Before you panic, set aside time to plan your finances around your new baby. If possible, do your planning early in the pregnancy so that youre aware of all the potential expenses as you go along and arent stressed for nine long months. BUDGETING TIP Any time you begin to panic, think of your greatest fear in the situation: You'll spend so much money on your baby that you'll be homeless; or you'll have to work so much to pay the bills that you'll make a terrible parent. Whatever the fear is, think it through, and then, if possible, get a good laugh from it. You're too far along the budgeting track to let something like that happen! Sit down with this chapter and work your way through it step by step. If you dont know the price for a particular product or service, find out, and then meet back here to complete this chapter.

Estimating Expenses for Your New Baby Estimating Expenses for Your New Baby Your first step in calmly revising your budget to include your new little roommate is to estimate your new baby expenses. You do this by interviewing people, reading, visiting stores, calling about services, and so on.

Interview Other New Parents Talk to everyone you know who has had a baby recently, and begin to find out what expenses they incurred. Dont be surprised if the talk is a bit overwhelmingsome people may tell you that theyve practically gone broke because of a new babyand try not to let it affect you. Their finances are not your finances, and you may be able to make very different decisions than they made. Brace yourself, though, for lots of advice on what to buy and what not to buy, what to do and what not to do. Even if its annoying, you can gather great information about what expenses were unexpected, what were the good investments, and so on. Keep good notes, thank them for their time, use their information to estimate your expenses, and then proceed to do whatever is best for your finances.

Read One Good Baby Book Baby books can answer all the questions you have, even ones you didnt know to ask! For example, how long do babies breastfeed? After they start eating baby food, how much will they eat? How many diapers do babies go through in a day? What are the essential supplies that babies need, and which are extras that you may be able to do without? How often do they have to visit the doctor? What symptoms warn you that an extra doctor visit is required? Which vaccines do babies need to get? How fast do babies grow? Do they wear shoes? When do they need hearing and eye exams? What about dental visits? Do babies need their own books? How many and which books do they need?