It’s a scenario that bears considering: You have a healthy and happy home life, and you want to have a baby, but your financial situation doesn’t leave much room to help you meet the needs of a newborn, much less as the child grows. This means that some hard choices are ahead.
If you are a two-income household, you may have more options, but not all of them are necessarily ideal. One parent staying at home offers the child full-time care, but can mean tightening the budget in extreme ways. Two incomes mean more money to pay for quality childcare, but that means sacrificing quality time with a child or infant.
One scenario that many new or growing families may consider is moving to a less-expensive neighborhood or area. While this may not diminish your costs for childcare, preschool, and other baby costs, it may offer you opportunities to cut back on your overall living expenses as you adjust to factor in the baby. A different neighborhood or area may also allow you to buy a home rather than rent, which could be a financial boon to the entire family in the longer term.