My Fleep:
Family & Parenting
Family & Parenting
Baby Budget Tips
Having a baby is a big financial responsibility and will
bring many changes to your income and outgoings. It's
important to get your finances in order and plan for a
bright financial future throughout parenthood.
Consolidate & reduce existing debts - It's easy to accrue
debts on credit cards, store cards and personal loans. Why
not consolidate your existing debts into one place to
reduce your monthly interest payments. You can consolidate
debt from credit cards using a balance transfer offer such
as 0% on balance transfers for 6 months. During these 6
months you should focus on reducing the debt as much as
possible.
Make extra repayments on your mortgage - If you have a
mortgage and are both currently working you should use your
dual incomes to make as many extra repayments on your
mortgage as possible before you go down to a single income.
Make sure your home loan has a free redraw facility so
that you can pull any extra repayments back out at a later
date should you need it. Even if you pull most of the
money back out after you have the baby you will still of
reduced your interest payments in the meantime and further
reduced the principle balance.
Check your Health Insurance cover - Having a baby can rack
up some big healthcare bills especially is there are any
complications. If you don't have private health cover you
should consider taking it out in advance of getting
pregnant as many funds have a 12 month wait before they pay
out for maternity expenses. If you already have health
cover, check the policy and ensure maternity cover is
included. If not, you may need to upgrade or shop around
for another policy.
Protect your income - While an additional expense, it is
seriously worth considering income and life insurance
should the worse happen. A child is a big responsibility
and you need to know that your mortgage could be paid off
or educational and living costs could be covered should an
income be lost or something happen to one of you.
Save for the future – Consider opening a savings account
with a good interest rate to save for future costs such as
education. Online only savings accounts often have higher
interest rates and lower fees than tradtional banks. If
you looking for bigger returns with a long term investment
then you could look into managed funds or shares.
Think ahead - is your retirement plan working for you -
Make sure you have your entire retirement plan in one place
to avoid paying multiple account fees. Look for retirement
plans with low fees and strong performance results. It may
seem like a long way ahead but you need to ensure your
money is working for you for when your little ones are all
grown up.
Practice living on a single income - Moving from a double
income to single income household when you have a baby can
be tough. To make things easier why not try and live off
one income for a while before the baby is born. The other
income can be put towards extra home loan repayments or
reducing debt as suggested in the other tips.
Don't spend money when you don't have to - The great thing
about having a baby is that friends and family are keen to
help out. If you've have friends who have had babies
before you why not see if they have toys, clothes or
equipment that they don't need anymore. Classifieds ads in
your local paper and Ebay are also great sources for second
hand baby goods. You can also use toy libraries for a small
fee which saves on expensive toys that your baby will soon
tire of.
Having a baby can save you money too! - While there are
plenty of costs associated with bringing up a child, you're
bound to find the money you spend on going out for meals,
drinks and entertainment drops right down after having a
baby. They will provide you with plenty of 'entertainment'
and keep you occupied day and night.
----------------------------------------------------
Baby Budget Tips by Richard Greenwood, the Director of
Australian finance and credit card comparison website
http://www.click4credit.com.au . The site features expert
articles on a wide range of financial topics including
budgeting and saving
Having a baby is a big financial responsibility and will
bring many changes to your income and outgoings. It's
important to get your finances in order and plan for a
bright financial future throughout parenthood.
Consolidate & reduce existing debts - It's easy to accrue
debts on credit cards, store cards and personal loans. Why
not consolidate your existing debts into one place to
reduce your monthly interest payments. You can consolidate
debt from credit cards using a balance transfer offer such
as 0% on balance transfers for 6 months. During these 6
months you should focus on reducing the debt as much as
possible.
Make extra repayments on your mortgage - If you have a
mortgage and are both currently working you should use your
dual incomes to make as many extra repayments on your
mortgage as possible before you go down to a single income.
Make sure your home loan has a free redraw facility so
that you can pull any extra repayments back out at a later
date should you need it. Even if you pull most of the
money back out after you have the baby you will still of
reduced your interest payments in the meantime and further
reduced the principle balance.
Check your Health Insurance cover - Having a baby can rack
up some big healthcare bills especially is there are any
complications. If you don't have private health cover you
should consider taking it out in advance of getting
pregnant as many funds have a 12 month wait before they pay
out for maternity expenses. If you already have health
cover, check the policy and ensure maternity cover is
included. If not, you may need to upgrade or shop around
for another policy.
Protect your income - While an additional expense, it is
seriously worth considering income and life insurance
should the worse happen. A child is a big responsibility
and you need to know that your mortgage could be paid off
or educational and living costs could be covered should an
income be lost or something happen to one of you.
Save for the future – Consider opening a savings account
with a good interest rate to save for future costs such as
education. Online only savings accounts often have higher
interest rates and lower fees than tradtional banks. If
you looking for bigger returns with a long term investment
then you could look into managed funds or shares.
Think ahead - is your retirement plan working for you -
Make sure you have your entire retirement plan in one place
to avoid paying multiple account fees. Look for retirement
plans with low fees and strong performance results. It may
seem like a long way ahead but you need to ensure your
money is working for you for when your little ones are all
grown up.
Practice living on a single income - Moving from a double
income to single income household when you have a baby can
be tough. To make things easier why not try and live off
one income for a while before the baby is born. The other
income can be put towards extra home loan repayments or
reducing debt as suggested in the other tips.
Don't spend money when you don't have to - The great thing
about having a baby is that friends and family are keen to
help out. If you've have friends who have had babies
before you why not see if they have toys, clothes or
equipment that they don't need anymore. Classifieds ads in
your local paper and Ebay are also great sources for second
hand baby goods. You can also use toy libraries for a small
fee which saves on expensive toys that your baby will soon
tire of.
Having a baby can save you money too! - While there are
plenty of costs associated with bringing up a child, you're
bound to find the money you spend on going out for meals,
drinks and entertainment drops right down after having a
baby. They will provide you with plenty of 'entertainment'
and keep you occupied day and night.
----------------------------------------------------
Baby Budget Tips by Richard Greenwood, the Director of
Australian finance and credit card comparison website
http://www.click4credit.com.au . The site features expert
articles on a wide range of financial topics including
budgeting and saving