Extra Ways to Set Money Aside for the Baby

When you are expecting a baby or have a newborn, finding extra ways to save money for the baby becomes very important. There are many more expenses to account for, including daycare, medical bills, diapers and formula, clothing and extra food. By taking small steps early on and forming new habits, you will be able to set enough money aside to account for these additional expenses without seeing a drastic change in income. It is important to not only cut down on expenses, but to also put that money away into savings. Depending on your personal situation, you can choose to do all or just one or two of these ideas. The key is to review your monthly expenses and think creatively and honestly about what you can and cannot cut.

The first step to finding extra ways to set money aside for the baby is to find expenses that you can cut. The following are a few ideas to cut expenses:

1. Pay off or pay down credit cards. If you have a couple credit cards or lines of credit, then you might consider paying them off, or consolidating them. If you are making payments to three different accounts, all with a $100 monthly payment, then you can possibly consolidate them into one with a lower required payment. I do not suggest only making the minimum payment, but to continue to make the $300 payment and pay it off faster. This can also allow you to have a lower overall interest rate, and if you have an emergency month, then you can make the minimum payment without any penalty and start the higher payments again the next month. Also, if you have one card with a low balance, you can use extra money to pay that card off faster, then use the money you had been spending on it to pay off the next lowest balance card faster. Use this method to get one or two accounts paid off before the baby is born or before they start going to daycare.
2. Eat out less. This is a habit you might need to break. It might be eating out for lunch every day, or it might be getting that expensive coffee every morning. Most people have some form of expensive eating habit they can cut back on. If you can save five dollars a day on your eating habits, then that adds up to $150 dollars a month.
3. Stop smoking. If you are a smoker looking to save money for the baby, you have several good reasons to quit. Again, if you smoke a pack a day, then you could easily save about $150 a month.
4. Cut out cable or satellite TV. This is a hard decision for many people, but cable television is not a necessity for living, and can be very expensive. Cutting this expense could save between $50 to $150 per month depending on your package. Also, if you have both cellular phones and a home phone, you might consider cutting one of them from the budget. This could also save between $30 to $100 per month.
5. Refinance. If interest rates are better that when you first got you home or car loans, and if your credit is in good standing, then you might consider refinancing. Try not to extend your payments when refinancing, because that will cost you more over the long run. However, if you can refinance at a lower rate for the same amount of time, then you can save money in the short and long term.