Having a baby is one of the most joyous but also stressful times in your life. Adjusting to so many changes at once is not easy:

• New sleeping routines
• Potentially lower household income
• Additional expenses, before, during and after the birth and the last thing you need is to add to this having to worry about finances.

This is exactly why the Baby Budget is critical. A baby budget will assist in reducing financial stress and provide some guidelines of the costs associated with Pregnancy, Birth and the first 12 months after that. Here are some main areas to discuss with your partner – another benefit of compiling a baby budget is that it will encourage a conversation about big financial questions early on and as an outcome, produce decisions that are made together:

• Which one of you will stay home to care for the baby initially and for how long?
• Are you going to go via public or private hospital system for your pregnancy and birth?
• Many private health funds impose a waiting period of 12 months before you can claim on pregnancy and birth-related costs, so your insurance is something to organise well in advance of ‘trying’
• Health cover with pregnancy cover can come at a significantly increased cost of premiums. To get the most bang for your buck shop around, use comparison sites ask friends what they found really useful when they were pregnant.
• Check the inclusions and extra’s in each policy and see whether those items that are important to you are covered and how much you are likely to get back.
• Will you get any maternity leave benefits, For how long and how much?
• Would you be eligible to receive any government assistance benefits?
• Bottle or Breast? Breast is best but don’t feel guilty if for any reason this is not possible.
• Re-usable v Disposable Nappies
• Childcare options:
• Daycare
• Family Daycare
• Nanny
• Friends and Relatives

Here are some tips to assist you to stick to your baby budget:

• Before buying ask yourself is this product really essential?
• Plan so you can take advantage of sales promotions
• Buy in bulk whenever you can
• There’s nothing wrong with baby budget brands as these have to pass the same safety tests as the expensive brands and are often made by the same companies in the same factories just under a different
• Look for good-quality second-hand items
• Tell the world that you want hand-me-downs
• Borrow items wherever possible
• Put together a Baby Registry; prepare a wish list of non-essential items to give to friends and relatives when they ask you what you would like.
• Consider second-hand marketplaces like Ebay and GumTree as well as specific baby gear swap sites.