Is anyone else worried about $$ after your birth?

[Gray's Mommy]

For some reason I am really worried about finances after this baby is born. We are making it fine, tight, but fine with our money now, but we are adding another person:

I am going to breastfeed & cloth diaper, so that part is pretty much taken care of. I just keep thinking what if one of us loses our job or something.

[Jude Rose]

I'm not 'worried',mainly because I strongly believe fixating on a problem will feed it energy and make it grow. That said, I'm definitely curious as to how we're going pull things off ourselves.

DH is a freelancer and his biggest client drags their feet on paying. Add that to DH's problem of dragging HIS feet in getting a bill to them and sometimes we're talking 3 months without any checks!

I've been nagging him for 7 years to change his ways and even made a computer program for his invoices to help him get it together. So how can I trust he will change when the babes are here? I dunno. I'm hoping the provider gene kicks in bigtime.

As for me, well I spent the first 22 weeks of this pregnancy daydreaming about how to 'sneak' my at-home business in-between baby care. You know, after the first 3 months. Well, I think that is totally shot now that I have two at once. But ironically there's double the costs of baby care.

I quote people the price of formula and disposables to shut them up when they say I can't cloth diaper or breast feed twins. It's like, there's no choice sweetheart-can it. :

[swtmama2be]

I'm totally freaking about finances. I don't know why I'm so nervous, partly b/c we just bought a house, partly because DH's boss (his brother) has shorted him on pay the last 3 weeks and partly because I just have no idea what to expect. I'm having more anxiety over money than anything else concerning the pregnancy, birth, baby, etc. Any suggestions on how to just "breathe" with it. I've also been curious if others are experiencing this.:

[mom2mimi]

Yep feeling it here too! We are making it right now, but it's tight and my daycare money has saved us a lot lately. I am debating how much time to take off right now. It was going to be 4-6 weeks, now I'm thinking I'll take some of my older kids back (as long as I don't have to do any school runs) in as little as 2 weeks pp. I would also like to sock some money away for the time I am out of work but I'm not sure that's gonna be possible. Luckily the tax refund should come at a great time for us this year!

[elmh23]

Well, we owe the midwife $300 more than what we thought (accounting error on our part.) Add to that that my grocery budget this month is only $300 (usually $400, and I go over that often!) and there is no way I'm getting my freezer stalked. And what's already there will probably be pulled out to keep me on budget.

I'm getting nervous about the months to come.

[ewp11100]

Oh I hear ya... we weren't planning on having anyone for a few years, d*mn that birth control! If I were to go back to work I would make $50 a week which would be taken up with buying a pump and bottles and disposibles. Besides that fact it would break my heart. It took me 18 months to go back to work with my ds and I still cried every day for the first week. SO we'll get back on WIC and someone on the holiday helper thread just doinated us some fire word (thanks Jane!), while another friend who just had a tree chopped down is giving us that wook. I'm hoping all that will help this winter to heating cost. I wish I could have a baby shower and say grocery gift cards only please, lol.

[dooney]

I'm a bit nervous. We're buying a house on Thursday.

[TR's_mummy]

oh yeah am i worried. it wasn't a great situation to begin with....now that i'm on bedrest and we have to pay someone to come to the house and take care of ds (and me) during the day... and dh has missed a bunch of work... and we have a lot more medical bills than we thought.:
but, on the plus side, i'm still pregnant!!!

[bdoody11]

I worry too... DH ran his own business for the past year and I supported our family. Strangely, I didn't worry about money then. Now that he has a good paying, full-time job suddenly I have money issues. Go figure.

I think I just worry about the 6 weeks additional unpaid leave I'm taking, plus going part-time for 4 months. I know it will be fine and DH is totally supportive. We have some bills, but hopefully we'll be getting those worked out over the next 5 months.

I just have to remember to breathe sometimes...

[lanielayne]

I am worried about our money now! I can't even think of 2 months from now! Luckily I have not been an income provider at all this pg so I won't be counted on to go back to work to make what we are now. Dh is working 2 jobs but it still isn't enough. I haven't even been able to buy the kids anything for Christmas yet. Talk about worried! #4 won't be taking up much income right away since we breastfeed but I still have to buy diapers. I don't have any cloth yet but have thought about just getting some prefolds a a few covers and trying to stretch that as far as I can. Also I am sure my appetite will increase too but I guess that means that dh is gonna have to go on a diet!

[Gray's Mommy]

I am so glad that I am not the only one who is concerned or worried
We have always made it in the past, so I know we have faith that it can only look better!

[sarah_bella1050]

I worry a lot, but I think everything is going to work out ok. My dh is planning on taking 6 weeks of paid FMLA when the baby comes, but they only pay something like 55%, so we have to come up with the rest. Dh goes to school ft and works ft, but just can't do it all when the baby comes. So it seems neccessary. We are trying to save some of his financial aid for it and he'll probably work a few extra days overtime during winter break. If we end up in a little debt then dh will just work extra hard during the summer. I am concerned though especially seeing as we're having car troubles right now:.

[ekblad9]

We're always broke so I don't have to worry about it anymore I can't imagine with seven kids that we'll be in the black anytime soon, or ever. At least this time dh has paid vacation time to use when I give birth. Unfortunately much of his income is overtime, which he won't get when he uses the vacation time but that's OK. We won't be living in the street or anything so we'll get by.....

[Cloth4Colin]

Totally worried here. As it is already, we don't have a home and don't see any prospects for one...it's made for a really depressing end-of-pregnancy. We're trying to make the best of it, but I hate not having some direction in our life. DH's company doesn't give raises...I HATE that. It's a small business and they can make such rules. DH has made the same since he started there nearly five years ago...needless to say, the COL has shot up quite a bit since then.

I'm trying to get my WAH business started back up, but I don't really look at that as 100% reliable income.

I wish the world didn't revolve so much around $$...I'd love to be able to barter more for our needs - that would help SO much.