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The final post in this week’s series of managing finances during major life changes comes from our friend Pete over at Bible Money Matters, who’s a brand new father!

A few weeks ago my wife and I had our first child, our little boy named Carter John. We’re both overjoyed at becoming first time parents, and we both agree that there’s nothing quite like welcoming a new life into the world. The overwhelming joy and happiness that comes along with being a parent can’t compare to anything I’ve ever known.

While becoming a parent has been a wonderful journey for us, it hasn’t been without it’s surprises. As any parent can tell you having a child isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. It does have its costs, some of which I hadn’t really anticipated.

Unexpected Financial Costs Of Having Children

My wife and I are probably above average when it comes to financial preparedness. We had anticipated quite a few costs associated with having a baby, which I wrote about in my post “What Expenses Should I Expect When Having A Child?“. In the post I talked about a lot of the expenses new parents can expect including baby furniture, diapers, baby clothing, formula, medical costs and the cost of child care.

While I think the post nailed a lot of the expenses to expect, what I didn’t anticipate for some of them was just how much they would be.

Diaper Costs

For example, I underestimated just how much diapers, wipes and other associated diaper products would cost us. Since day one our son has had quite the robust gastro-intestinal tract, filling his diapers in excess of 10-12 times per day some days. While I expected to be changing a lot of diapers – I didn’t expect to be changing quite as many as I have. In fact, we’ve already gone through a couple of packs of diapers, 2 packs of wipes and an entire tube of baby butt salve. In the end I think we’ll be spending a lot more on diaper care than we first realized.

Eating Out Costs

Another place that we knew we would be spending some money after the baby was born was in our eating out budget. As with diaper costs, however, we grossly underestimated just how much we would be spending. We didn’t realize how tired we would be, and how unmotivated we would be to start cooking right away. Because of that we’ve spent quite a bit on eating out. Thankfully we’ve been saved to a degree by friends and family who have pitched in to bring us several meals.

Lost Opportunity Costs

One cost I hadn’t anticipated was the lost opportunity cost because of the restrictions on your time. I don’t think I appreciated before just how much time it takes to care for an infant. Caring for a baby is a full time job, with constant feedings and diaper changes, and reduced sleep on top of that. It is extremely hard work!

Because you have less free time, it also means less time to devote to sideline income generating pursuits. For me that means less time for blogging, less time for graphic design and less time for researching new money making ventures.

The Financial Costs Are Worth It

So those are a few of the places where I was surprised by the financial impact of having a child. While the increased expenditure (and reduced income potential) haven’t been overwhelming, it has been enough to be noteworthy. If you’re thinking of having a child – be ready. You too will most likely have some unexpected costs that you’ll need to factor into your budget. As long as you’re flexible and are able to adapt, you’ll come out ahead in the end.

What are some other costs associated with having a baby that you were surprised by? Tell us in the comments!

Continuing our series this week on managing finances during major life changes, guest writer Melissa Ezarik shares some great tips on how to exercise(get it?) good judgement when saving for a baby.

With a little one on the way, making room – and gearing up – for baby are top to-do’s. Expecting to focus more on baby than bills after the big arrival? Of course. That’s why you should flex some organizational muscle to improve finances now.

photo credit: Magpie372

Warm-Up:

Have you built up that emergency fund? Having a baby puts things like that into perspective. “People know they should do this, but often don’t,” says certified financial planner Mary Deshong-Kinkelaar of Chicago-based Kinkelaar & Associates, which offers financial life planning services and advice. Also stock up on toiletries and pantry items when you see good sales. Emergency purchases can blow your post-baby budget.

Cardio:

If you aren’t already banking online, you should start. Deshong-Kinkelaar recommends setting up email alerts to be notified of certain transaction values. Request a daily activity log, sent to your in-box, to help monitor and take control of your finances. Mint has great and free online tools to help you do this.

Decide how you’ll pay bills online: from your bank site, via vendor sites, or through automatic payments (only for people with “a really good handle” on cash flow, she says). Use email alerts through a calendar program like Outlook to help with budget and keep you on schedule.

Finally, build clutter-clearing endurance now and avoid losing your baby in paperwork piles. Sort mail as soon as it arrives – “needs action,” “save,” or “read.” Toss what remains.

Strength Training:

New-to-you shopping options online for baby are tempting. To avoid mail overload (and subsequent temptation!), do not provide your contact information. “You can end up on lists you never knew existed,” cautions Deshong-Kinkelaar. Opt out of mailers as you make purchases. To get off multiple lists at once, visit www.catalogchoice.org.

Stretch:

Every body – and financial situation – is different. Regularly discuss what’s on your “money radar” with your spouse, Deshong-Kinkelaar advises. And in between ob-gyn appointments, schedule time with a “financial doctor.” Planners can assist with the big-picture (e.g., college savings, taxes) and day-to-day cash flow to help your budget. “A few dollars misspent here and an overdraft there can add up,” reminds Deshong-Kinkelaar. “If you don’t take care of your money, it won’t last long enough to take care of you” – or your growing family.

Yesterday I saw three different commercials advertising back-to-school specials. Can it be that close already? I’m done with school now, and it will be a while before I have school-aged children, but back-to-school still feels more renewing than the new year.

This summer, I’m going to change my life. I’m going to do the thing I didn’t think I could do, and when I go back to school I’ll walk the halls with confidence and those popular kids won’t even be able to touch me because I’m so brave and awesome and happy with my life.

This week, to celebrate that feeling of wanting to make a big change before the leaves fall and the weather chills, all of our blog posts will be about handling the finances of major life changes. Moving, divorce, marriage, children – all emotionally-charged life changes that require administrative support, if you will, including some big financial decisions. Deciding to move forward on any of these, in fact, may be dependent on making some big financial decisions first.

Are you dealing with the financial issues surrounding a major life-change? Any tips or stories for our readers?