I'm back and this is what I've got!

[bubbleepink]

Hello! 

I was really active on this boards in 2012 and earlier. At the time I was paying off student loans and saving money. In the meantime I was able to marry my DH (paid for in Cash! woot!), bought a house and now am pregnant. That's the good news. Bad news is that though my DH is employed full-time, I am not. I am currently on Employment Insurance since my temp teaching job ended in June. I am on the sub list (which means I should be working 4 days a week... but not for a few weeks) and I will be looking for full time work as more jobs are posted. 

Here is the breakdown:

DH Take home: $1,856.83 (bi monthly) 3737.66 (monthly)
ME take Home: $928.00 (bi weekly) 1856.00 (ish - monthly)
Rental Income: $1250.00 monthly
Total:  $6843.66
With that said we put the rental income into a separate account specifically for repairs/emergencies on the rental suite. So our real income is $5593.66

                      Week/bi/etc Monthly
his take home  1856.83       3713.66
her take home   928.00       1856.00
rental                               1250
other
Total                                6819.66

Expenses
Mortgage          579.46      1158.92
Tuscon             259.48        518.96
Power                               153
Water              140.00         70
Gas                                   80
Banking                             13.95
CC                                  1300.00
Total                              3294.83

Savings
10% of his pay                 186
10% of her pay                   0
Weekly               26.5       106 
Rental                            1250
Insurance and Repairs        200
Emergencies                     100
RRSP Him                         125
RRSP Her                         100
                                    2067


We put EVERYTHING thing else on our credit card which earns us money towards our travel (we live in Alberta and our families live in Ontario). So each time he gets paid we pay the CC $650.00 so $1300.00 /month. WOW that looks bad. The difference here is $1457.83, which is about right. We always have about $1500.00 in our chequing account.

My goal for next month is to work out exactly where our money is going (Credit card wise). I feel like we have gotten into a habit of "charging it" and not really caring where we spend money. I know we spend a lot on entertainment (dinners out mostly) and entertaining people at home and we have already made a commitment to reduce our spending.  

So I want to start a savings account for Baby B and I would like suggestions on how much we should be looking to save, monthly. 

[econstudent]

You said how much you pay to the CC. Do you know how much you're charging each month? Does the card have a balance?

[haapai]

Good!  You've started trying to figure out where it is going.  Keep at it, even though it gets much harder. 

[Blonde Granny]

I don't believe you will get a solid grasp on your spending until you both commit to tracking every single penny that is spent.

Just for giggles last year I bought YNAB when it was on sale for $15. We set up line item budget accounts only to discover daily, that our spending was far more detailed than we thought. This was due to us actually entering the exact amount that was spent, then discovering we needed another new category. WOW, no wonder we went through our monthly income and then some.

We still save every receipt and they get entered daily into YNAB. We have 30 different line items that are budgeted for.  Until you get that detailed with your spending, you really won't know where the money is going. The $1.75 DH spends for 1 cup of coffee at Barnes and Nobel gets counted.

Happy to have you back, and look forward to being able to see your progress. And blessing for you and your DH and the soon to be new baby.

[bubbleepink]

Sept 1, 2015 20:07:33 GMT -5 econstudent said:

You said how much you pay to the CC. Do you know how much you're charging each month? Does the card have a






We pay the card off, in full, monthly. We do no carry a balance. Since we pay a lump sum overtime we get paid we often end up with a credit balance on the statement when it comes in. I think we had a negative balance once in the past 3 years of doing it this way.

[bubbleepink]

I actually just want suggestions for how much money we should be saving for the baby. In your experiences, how much did you save? Was it enough? What do I NEED? What can I do without?

[Peace77]

You will want to save enough to cover your medical costs (insurance deductibles, co-pays, prenatal vitamins, extended hospital stay for you or the baby)

baby needs:  crib, crib sheets, car seat, stroller, diapers and layette.
if you are breast feeding, nursing bras, breast pads, breast pump
if you are bottle feeding: bottles, nipples and formula.

funds to cover your maternity leave and the first few weeks of child care.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I don't know much about the differences between Canada and the US for FMLA/maternity leaves so I don't know if/how much you'll need to cover that aspect. 

As for baby, yeah, Peace77 has the basics.  How much you want to spend on those things is going to be up to you.  If you NEED Pottery Barn Kids vs. generics vs. hand me downs is a personal choice.  Some of my baby gear was hand me downs (including one of the cribs) so as long as they met the then current safety standards, I was ok with them.  Some was new (shower gifts) and some we bought. 

Some kids LOVE the swings, other hate it.  I had one of each so you never can tell until you try it. 

I couldn't figure out how to wear my babies but I think the baby wearing harnesses have been redesigned since I tried.  My kids are almost 6 and 7 and I know a lot has changed since then. 

Congratulations!

[bubbleepink]

Thanks Beth! I will be covered for hospital expenses (through Alberta Health and extended benefits from my DHs job). 

In terms of mat leave... I need to work for 600 hours in order to qualify for a full mat leave (1 year), which I should be able to do this year through subbing days and *hopefully* a long term sub position. As soon as jobs get posted I will be applying so that my mat leave income will be higher. 

In in terms of new/used/fancy I'm okay with hand me downs. I'm trying to think of things that I will need that I may not have thought of. 

item	new	Used
Crib	$550.00	?
basenet			already have one, but I would have to pay to get it shipped to AB
Rocking chair	$300.00
Playpen	$80.00		Do I need one?
Change table	$250.00
Stroller/car seat	$300.00		I would like these to be new. We plan to have more babies in the next few years and I don't want the safety to expire before the next one. I would like these to be new. We plan to have more babies in the next few years and I don't want the safety to expire before the next one.
Dresser			I have a tall 6 drawer dresser for storage

The problem is that people in this area don't really sell used furniture like that so I have no idea what things go for used. I'll try to join some Facebook baby groups to see what's out there. 

Clothes - new and used will work. People in my area are constantly selling a garbage bag full of baby clothes for 25-30/bag. 
blankets - new and used
nursing pillow - used will work
diapers / wipes / creams - used, for sure! LOL

I would like one of those vibrating jumpers (the ones where baby lies down and it vibrates and plays music) then they dance and the whole thing bounces. It's not a Jolly Jumper, but it's made by the same people. I don't know what it's actually called...They are between 15-35 used.

[Peace77]

You can use a PackNPlay if you're planning on traveling and need a portable crib.  Otherwise, you won't need to use one until your baby starts crawling.  Even then, you may not need one.  You could use gates to keep the baby in one room.  Or, you could use a walker with an play tray.  Many parents want a safe place to put the baby while you are cooking or taking a shower.

[justme]

I think a lot of mom's on here avoid changing tables. I know my brother has a dresser with a changing thing on top that they can remove once it's not needed. At home from what I've seen they do usually carry her up there, but they also use cloth diapers so they need the hamper they put that stuff in.