Summary: Today episode of the Couple Money Podcast is about helping all of you who are <a href="http://couplemoney.com/baby-expenses/how-much-do-we-need-to-save-for-a-baby/">expecting a little one </a>become financially prepared so you two can have fun your bundle of joy without stressing about money.<br> [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/CM_007_How_Much_Do_You_Need_to_Save_for_Baby.mp3″ ]<br> <br> * Subscribe on iTunes: Simply <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/couple-money-podcast-build/id924656111">click on this link</a> and you’ll be taken to Couple Money’s page where you can subscribe.<br> * Subscribe on Stitcher: Please <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=54457&refid=stpr">click here</a> so you can catch all episodes.<br> <br> If you enjoyed the podcast, could you please take a second to share this with your friend or leave a <a href="If%20you%20enjoyed%20the%20podcast,%20could%20you%20please%20share%20this%20with%20your%20friend%20or%20leave%20a%20rating%20and%20review?">rating and review</a>? You’ll be getting the word out on the show and helping other couples build their marriage and net worth. <br> Are Kids Really That Expensive?<br> <br> When we found out I was pregnant, we knew we wanted to<a href="http://couplemoney.com/saving/emergency-fund-growing-building/"> bump up our savings for the baby’s arrival</a>.<br> Being first time parents, though, we had no idea how much would be enough so we started researching and asking around to get a ballpark figure.<br> One source often cited in different articles and on the news is the <a href="http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/calculator.htm" target="_blank" shape="rect">USDA’s Cost of Raising a Child Calculator</a>.<br> Based on how many kids you have and how old they are, you can get national and regional averages for the costs associated with children.<br> <br> * Housing ($4,375)<br> * Food ($1,675)<br> * Transportation ($1,863)<br> * Clothing ($913)<br> * Health Care ($963)<br> * Childcare ($3,238)<br> * Other Expenses ($950)<br> <br> The grand total is $13,975 for the Southeast and the national average for a child under the age of 1 is $14,938.<br> Looking at the numbers above, it looks like <a href="http://couplemoney.com/baby-expenses/raising-kids-children-expensive/">having a kid is expensive, but that’s not necessarily the case</a>.<br> After our baby’s first year, we decided to go back and see how close the expenses were to our own experience.<br> Housing<br> According to the estimates that would mean that parents would spend an average of an extra $365/month for their baby’s first year.<br> I can see that happening if parents changed spaces, but I don’t see it being that drastic an increase, especially for the Southeast area. Our friends had their first baby around the same time as we did. As they were renting they had to wait before changing apartments, but it wasn’t that huge of an increase.<br> We had already bought a townhouse so mortgage stayed the same. You could argue our utilities went up, but with an infant they were negligible. Comparing it with the previous, we’re talking about a difference of less than $10/month.<br> Food<br> This looks about right for the average family. Our plan to breastfeed our first baby thankfully worked out which meant we didn’t have to add baby formula to the budget. However our groceries bill did go up about $100/month as I was eating more to accommodate the arrangement.<a href="http://couplemoneypodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/saving-for-baby.jpg"></a><br> When I looked at estimates for formula, the costs according to sites including Baby Center placed it around $105/month.<br> Transportation<br> The only way I would think a baby would cost the parents that much money is if they swapped out cars.<br> We didn’t buy a car just because we became parents,
