Trying for a baby? How to Prepare Your Finances for the Future

Is expanding your family on the cards for you and your other half? To ensure your finances are in the healthiest possible position (and to alleviate financial pressure later), we’re bringing you some top tips to prepare you for the future.

Start Saving Now

Even if you don’t plan to add to your family for a while yet, if you know you’d like to have children in the future, there’s no harm in saving sooner rather than later. In fact, it makes perfect sense; even if your plans get waylaid, you should still have a nice pot of money which can be used elsewhere.

Of course, you can’t put any time constraints on trying for a baby/journeying into parenthood. Some people will find that it is a straightforward process, while for others it could take much longer than anticipated. Plan for a scenario in which everything goes exactly as you hope – and save accordingly. If things take longer, you’ll have more money put to one side than you potentially need.

Sit down with your partner and work out how much to save for a baby on a monthly basis – and commit to putting that amount aside, if you are able to.

For some couples, that could mean allocating what you’d normally spend on takeaways, meals out or other treats to your savings fund, while others may have more than enough to stash away alongside enjoying those little luxuries.

Ascertain what you’ll need to save and how you may need to cut back now and you’ll be glad you did.

Gather Baby Gear – But Only When You Can Afford To

Pinterest, Instagram and the Internet in general will have you believe that you simply must buy the latest baby gear or nursery décor. Not to mention those ‘essential’ gadgets any new parent might need.

While there are some baby items you won’t be able to do without (a pram, for example) in the early days and months, others can wait until you have the spare funds. For instance, while it’s exciting to get your baby’s room ready ahead of their big arrival, there are other alternatives for their first 6 months, should you choose to use them. Regardless of how you choose to go about it – your little one is going to need somewhere to sleep, and that will need to be factored into your budget.

Hang fire to buy anything you won’t need straight away – and buy it when you can afford to.

You’d be surprised, too; once you tell people you’re expecting a baby, everyone from family to friends and colleagues will be eager to help you out and pass on anything they no longer need.

Thirty-nine-year-old Lauren, from Lancaster, said: “We had our first baby two years ago and we were absolutely inundated with everything from fleece-lined foot muffs and rain covers for our pram, to old toys, and even hand-knitted blankets and knitwear.

“If you shop around, you can also take advantage of year-round sales, such as ‘Black Friday’ and even post-Christmas deals; our little one was born in March, so January sales were the perfect time to look out for essentials from our baby list.”

Map Out Your Maternity/Paternity Leave

Alongside putting enough funds aside for covering all the gear you’ll need to introduce to your home before a little one comes along, you’ll want to prepare for your maternity/paternity too.

Work out what you’re entitled to from the Government in terms of maternity pay; if you’re self-employed, this may be different (it’s also known as maternity allowance, not maternity pay), and you can plan to put extra side too.

Maternity pay is generally a significantly smaller figure than what you might be used to receiving from your employer, but you may find that, thanks to the fact you’ll have a small human to care for, you’ll be leaving the house less. Fewer trips outdoors generally equals less money spent.

That said, you should still plan for maternity/paternity by budgeting as much as you can in the run up to your leave.

Apply for your maternity pay or allowance as soon as possible, which will give you some breathing space before your baby comes along. Having a clear idea when you can expect your first payment to land in your account, as well as how much to save for baby, can remove any unwanted pressure.

Want to start saving for a baby? Check out our financial products*, which could help you reach all kinds of savings goals.  

Have a question or two? Do not hesitate to get in touch with the Unity Mutual team, who will be more than happy to help.

Until next time…

*Terms and conditions apply to all Unity Mutual products, please see the website for more details.