By the time you’re reading this, the chances are pretty good that you have seen Google’s latest assault on the world’s heartstrings:
The Chrome YouTube channel shows that this has been watched at least 104 million times, which equates to just shy of a billion tears cried.
The video illustrates the joys and pains of parenthood and pulls tears from the driest eyes, because it focuses on the human element of parenting.
When it comes to budgeting for a baby, I’m certainly talking about ways to sharpen your coupon acumen to save money. I’m also talking about mining your friends-circle to get secondhand car seats and strollers. There is the obvious financial side to budgeting for a baby and I’ll get to that.
The aspect of budgeting for a new addition that doesn’t often get talked about – especially among parents expecting their first child – is the budgeting of things more abstract than finances. Time, patience, easy love, tough love; these are all the things you will have to learn to dole out at the right times in order to make the unfathomably difficult job of “child rearing” easier for yourself. Just keep that in mind. That said, let’s talk about budgeting!
Coupons
Sure. Of course. This is a no-brainer. We live in the post-Extreme Couponing world and the once clandestine ritual of clipping on the dotted line has reached the mainstream in the wake of global financial downturn. What you may not be aware of are the ways in which couponing has evolved. It’s not just a matter of waiting for one-ads in the mail and culling the best deals. You can find pages on pages of online coupons; they are often printable and can be applied from anything to Chuck E. Cheese to groceries. There are online coupon sites that run lightning promotions wherein you can save substantially more than 10 cents here and $1 there. Manufacturer coupons can be found on third-party sites, but you’ll have better luck actually visiting a brand’s social media presence because they attract and maintain their audiences by offering deals and coupons at their stores.
Budget Calendar
This will tickle organizers pink and bring others to their knees in agony. Parenting is spontaneous, but when you have a chance to think in advance, you must carpe diem! Creating a ballpark estimate for the basic costs of your child’s life is helpful and will give you something to work toward so that you’re not caught completely off guard by the costs of food, daycare and paper towels to clean up vomit. There are template estimates for how much babies cost at different ages. You can use these as an outline and modify them to fit your needs.
Personal Time
If you haven’t gotten the memo, a baby is essentially the greatest time sink known to man. That’s right, even more than World of Warcraft or fantasy football. It’s not uncommon for new parents to begin to hate the furious, terrifying cries of a newborn. Some say the first few years of taking care of a baby has killed a part of them: the weak part. It’s important to take a break when you can and budget time for yourself. Schedule a cheap massage at the mall. Go paintballing with other high-strung parents. Any relief you can get from the stress of a newborn is yours to take. I have found noting more beneficial than making time for myself.
Budgeting is an unending game of checks and balances, but done right it can alleviate the stress that comes with molding a perfect human citizen and help you focus on the best parts of parenting, like Daniel Lee.
