On this article, I’ll share some personal finance tips for Filipino couples who are also expecting to have their baby. We personally use and apply these practical tips and I’m telling you they helped a lot. This will help you in saving time and money before and after your child is born. Here we go.
February 15 turned new page and chapter in our life. My wife gave birth to our baby boy and we named him Billy Jr.! This is another milestone in our marriage life and our family. Congrats to us!
If you’re a mom and dad-to-be, I can feel your excitement. I can feel your your happiness. But aside from these things, you know you have to be prepared in terms of financial needs. Check-ups, medicines, vitamins and others are some of the pre-expenses before giving birth.
Hospital bills, medicines, follow-up check-ups and others are some of the post-expenses. The list goes on as your child started to grow. The personal finance tips below can give you some ideas on how you can save time and money before, during and after the delivery of your baby.
Personal finance tips for Filipino couples
1. Build fund for the delivery of your baby
As I’ve shared before, we started a new fund called “baby fund” after completing our emergency fund. Luckily, we completed this before my wife gave birth to our baby boy. We did some research on how much it will cost on giving birth on the hospital we chose and set target for saving that amount. We add some buffer to make sure we can cover other things in case of emergency.
And when I say it’s “baby fund” it should be for baby expenses only. Properly categorizing and separating each budget in the family should become a habit. This help us organize our budget and see if we’re hitting the target or not.
We also prepare for “CS” even if my wife expected to give normal birth. In case of emergency as I’ve said. Thank God everything was normal. When we’re about to pay the bills, we’re not shocked because we are prepared.
Research ahead of time helped a lot. From the name of OB, feedback, estimated hospital bills if normal or CS, facilities, patient’s treatment, “professional fees” and others are sometimes available on the internet via blogs and reviews especially if the hospital is well-known. Good thing my lovely wife did all these ahead. This gave us more ample time to prepare and set proper targets.
You can categorize your fund like before, during and after pregnancy. It depends on your preference. As long as you have your target you’re good.
In our case, we only prepare for the “during” and “after” because pregnancy check-ups were covered in my wife’s HMO. HMO can also help you save a lot. Sad thing, most HMO in the Philippines are not covering the maternity expenses(although there are some).
Our baby fund has some left over. In fact, we only spent almost half of what we prepared. This is the beauty of getting ready. Our plan is to add them on our emergency fund since we got new member on the family.
2. Don’t buy too many things
Entering the stage of parenthood brings a lot of excitement. This includes preparing the needs of your baby after birth. When you go to the store, you can see all these beautiful and cute dresses, accessories, gears and many more. I’m telling you, it’s easy to be tempted to buy almost all of them!
Of course, you’re excited and want to give something good for your baby. But here’s what we learned, buy only the things you need. As in only those essentials and that you’re going to use! And that’s it.
Again, research ahead of time can really save time and money when you’re shopping your baby’s needs. Research online or talk to someone(your in-laws or mother) on what are the essential things you really need. These should only be the necessary things that you’re going to use during and after the pregnancy.
Don’t buy too many clothes. Babies grow fast and most of the time they can only use it once. Try to look for re-usable items such as washable diapers. This can save money. Making a list of everything you need is the key here. List everything down before going to store and buy only what’s on your list. That’s it!
In our case, we did a list of everything we need and shop them together. We only bought 4 to 5 pairs of booties, mittens and clothes. That saves a lot.
Again, the key is to buy only the things you need.
3. Research, research, research
As I mentioned on the first two numbers above, research ahead of time can really help a lot. Reading blogs of Filipina mom bloggers, joining forums and Facebook groups, reading comments of other readers will definitely give you many ideas and real life experiences that you can use and apply in your own situation.
As you build your plan and to-do-lists, conducting a research about them online and offline will surely help. Take note of everything you need and save them. Do’s and dont’s before and during pregnancy should be in your list. Including the food, the proper hygiene and others.
Again just to share, we did some research about the hospital we chose, the O.B my wife chose, feedback and comment of previous patients on the hospital and the O.B. Those things should be included in your research too. My wife also subscribed in different pregnancy blogs while pregnant to our baby. She also joined different forums and Facebook groups that tackles and shares information about pregnancy and giving birth.
Even the group of Pinay breastfeeding is really helping us right now. Of course, not all advises and information may not be applicable but I’m sure there will be some useful tips that you can use. And of course, don’t forget to ask your OB and Pediatrician in terms of health concerns.
Since you did the research upfront, you can create a practical list of just the things you need. And again, you can save time and money.
These are some of the valuable personal finance tips for Filipino couples I can share for now. We have a lot along the way.
As we start the journey of parenthood, I know there’s a lot of lessons and experiences we can share with you to help you in your parenting and personal finance journey too. You can also help by sharing your thoughts and personal experience.
I hope this article has been informative. God bless our parenting journey. Cheers!
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