First of all, try not to become overwhelmed with the numbers you see out there and remember that regardless of your situation, there are people that are living on less than you and finding their way, so use that as encouragement to know that you can do it too.

Start with assessing your situation. Write out your inflows/outflows/debts and associated interest rates.

Do you have extra money after all of your obligations are paid at the end of the month? The amount leftover can then be allocated to a “baby fund”. This is what you have to work with. If there is nothing or very little leftover then look at ways you can reduce your spending to create some extra available cash. Pre-baby we planned for one date night a week, after getting pregnant I didn’t want to go out as much and when we did we weren’t drinking so that cut down the cost of our dates dramatically. We have also traveled less due to my discomfort, so another saving for us there.

Find easy ways like that where you can pull money from first, then get more extreme as needed.

I prefer to hold off until closer to the end of pregnancy to buy things for the baby, but if you are the type of person that has a difficult time saving, then it may be best for you to buy necessities for the baby along the way. I wouldn’t recommend this though because you may overspend and you could also be gifted things or find them for really cheap if you hold out.

If you’re in a situation where you are really struggling financially, I also have a video on how to use government assistance to help in your journey.