Planning finances for new baby

[murraysmum]

isnt the baby bonus in fortnightly payments now for everyone

basicly i went second hand for my son as i was a student and struggling to pay rent and feed myself let alone pay the outlay my parents helped me with most of it cott pram all second hand i got a convertable car seat which was cheap

living i got a cheap rental and cutt my living exspences right back bought home brand stuff and cutt down on my car use

make a budget they are life savers

[sashalo]

Hey guys! I really appreciate all the advice

I guess for now we also have to figure out our living situation as we don't live together.

Thanks again!

[mitzy81]

Don't stress too much, that is the most important thing.
The baby bonus comes in handy and is paid fortnightly I think for 6months
Seriously, buy 2nd hand. Check out online auctions, garage sales etc. I have purchased ALL my baby furniture for absolute bargain prices. Check catalogues when they come in mail, layby (I did this with cot sheets, blankets, matress etc). Get clothes from op shops. I bought a heap of tshirts and shirts for bub for only .99c each and they were ALL brand new, majority even had the tags on them. We are doing cloth nappies, but it is personal opinion. I noticed huggies are nearly $45 a box, but I am sure there are other brands of disposables that are just as good and a lot cheaper. Baby wipes-we are only using when we go out, we will use face washers whenever we can. Each grocery shop we put 1 baby item in the trolley (as in baby wash etc) because I didn't realise these are quite expensive really! If you are low income you will probaby get a healthcare card, rent assistance, and the family tax a or b (I don't know how these work) so it is worth checking these out.Have your baby shower earlier if you can than right before due date so you know what you do and don't need to buy. Tell whoever is organising it that you want (for example) a car seat and ask for people to put $$ towards it. Plus don't buy many 0000 sizes. We only have about 5 growsuits in 0000. Small things like baby socks, $5 a pair for some I noticed, I bought 30 pairs from newborn to 1yo on ebay for $16 and half of them are new, same with bibs, they are expensive, I got about 40 bibs for $10 (both including p&h). Babies don't have to be expensive. We have budgeted and I am now able to take 12months off work and we should hopefully be stress free during this time $ wise. Good luck, it can be done.