Are you saving money for a potential baby?

[katelou]

Jun 30, 2015 15:17:18 GMT -5 PepperPottsJ said:

Jun 30, 2015 9:37:15 GMT -5 sleepymonkey said:

Unfortunately it is use it or lose it. But it can be used for fertility treatments and because of my age, my doc would start me going down that route if I'm not KU in the next 6 months. And it can also be used for the dentist and eye exams, glasses, contacts, etc. So the money will be spent easily, no matter what.

Do you have an HSA (healthcare savings account) option? They are new, and basically what you don't use going into a retirement account similar to a 401k, removing the lose it component of the FSA. They are pretty new

fyi HSAs are only available to people enrolled in a high-deductible health plan.

[madamewaffles]

Le sigh. We had a nice little chunk saved up (we were originally saving up for a down payment to build a new home). Bare remnants remain after a miscarriage, several IF treatments, IVF, and now FET. Thankfully we both maxed our FSAs at the beginning of the year, so we were able to use $5000 pre-tax dollars. It was gone by February but every little bit helps.

[icaughtfire]

We have a savings account, and would probably start adding a bigger amount once I got pregnant. But we're not specifically saving for a baby. With my personality, if I waited until we had the "right amount" in savings or the "right amount" of things paid off, we'd never have another kid.

[PepperPottsJ]

Jun 30, 2015 16:28:39 GMT -5 katelou said:

Jun 30, 2015 15:17:18 GMT -5 PepperPottsJ said:

Do you have an HSA (healthcare savings account) option? They are new, and basically what you don't use going into a retirement account similar to a 401k, removing the lose it component of the FSA. They are pretty new

fyi HSAs are only available to people enrolled in a high-deductible health plan.

Not in my case? Maybe it's plan specific?

[renbee]

Jun 30, 2015 9:01:39 GMT -5 mugster said:

After a year of trying, despite needing infertility treatments, we are about to blow a whole wad of cash on a vacation. I feel like my whole adult life, I've left space for a baby (financially, career-wise, emotionally). Now that it isn't happening easily that space feels like a gaping hole and I'm actively looking to fill it up. If and when a baby comes, we can find that space again. But right now? It hurts.

This is meeeeee!

We have squeezed in a last minute trip to Harry Potter world, and we are just getting done with a 10 day trip to Hawaii. After 2 years TTC and 2 losses, we were all "fuck this, let's live our lives".

Now we are officially starting IF treatments, and I kind of wish we had a little bigger cushion...but not really. I never regret spending money on travel.

[aprilz81]

I've just started back to work after being laid of for 3.5 months. Luckily DH's salary covers all of our needs and some of our wants so it wasn't too bad and it was a good experiment to see if we could survive without me working if we chose for me to be a SAHM if we ever get pregnant.

Once my new paychecks start rolling in we will be saving aggressively for estimated delivery costs plus what I estimate it to cost to set up the nursery. That monthly cost is almost as much as what day car will be so again, good practice for living without that money.

[cheshie6]

We are not saving for a baby yet. For the most part, in the 9 months of pregnancy we can afford everything as long as we buy it a little at a time. We did the research on our insurance, DH's company is in the UK and so they cover a lot of the baby/delivery stuff. We also have an HSA for the gaps that they don't cover. Similar to renbee, and mugster, I'm afraid to put off doing stuff for the sake of a pregnancy that may never come. We booked this year's cruise last year with every intention of having to cancel if we got pregnant before May, I didn't put off Scuba lessons because I would never do it if I had to wait till after a baby (the class was 6 weeks,) or are not trying for a while. What if I don't get pregnant before this cruise? That means, I'm going to dive in Oahu and Kaua'i!!!

[potter713]

Jun 30, 2015 20:37:17 GMT -5 cheshie6 said:

We are not saving for a baby yet. For the most part, in the 9 months of pregnancy we can afford everything as long as we buy it a little at a time. We did the research on our insurance, DH's company is in the UK and so they cover a lot of the baby/delivery stuff. We also have an HSA for the gaps that they don't cover. Similar to renbee, and mugster, I'm afraid to put off doing stuff for the sake of a pregnancy that may never come. We booked this year's cruise last year with every intention of having to cancel if we got pregnant before May, I didn't put off Scuba lessons because I would never do it if I had to wait till after a baby (the class was 6 weeks,) or are not trying for a while. What if I don't get pregnant before this cruise? That means, I'm going to dive in Oahu and Kaua'i!!!

I dove in Kona (the big island) and it was absolutely amazing! The water is so clear and warm and there's so much to see. I live in NJ and my brother always harps on me for not diving here (he does rescue diving) but our water is cold and the visibility is terrible though there is quite a bit to see if you can actually see it.

[notagoddess]

I have to say, this is kind of a stressful topic for me. Although we are in our early 30s, we are just starting to get established financially. I'm also not a natural saver and it takes a good amount of motivation and self-discipline to stick to a tight budget. Last spring and summer, knowing TTC was coming up I was very careful with money, never going out to eat, buying only necessities, etc. This carried over during my pregnancy. But after my miscarriage, it became much harder to deprive myself. I wanted to have things to look forward to besides a baby. I signed us up for a photography class. We started going out to eat and exploring our new city. I applied to grad school, which I had been putting off for years because of a potential baby. Recently, I have made the decision to leave my job and do school full-time in the fall. I believe this will open doors down the road for a higher paying job, but in the meanwhile, it's a financial hit obviously. I am starting to rein in most discretionary spending in preparation for leaving work. I do believe things will work out if we have a baby, but I'm sure it will be very tight at first.