My Tips
You will hear many people say it is very expensive to have children, and you will hear of surveys which quote astronomical figures detailing the expense: enough to put any potential parent off the whole idea. In fact, it costs money but, nothing any man, even on low earnings could not support, providing there is method and discipline in his housekeeping.
Savings
It’s not what you want to hear: it is extremely difficult to adapt your lifestyle to saving when you have an excess of funds when you are single or a couple. When you don’t pamper yourself you start to interpret it as self neglect. When you prepare for a family it is no longer just your life that has to be supported, but a possible three or more. So my advice is get into the routine of saving and train yourself to judge, whether something is absolutely necessary to buy before purchase.
Move house
Move to a house in a good school cachment area with as much garden as possible. Make sure the route to school is safe enough for your child to walk and eventually cycle to school. This will then be the only move you will have to make until you are more financially stable.
I was living in a very picturesque part of the Midlands when I got married and moved into my love nest. When I had my first child I realised I did not want my child being looked after by anyone but its Mother which ultimately meant I would have to be the main earner and my wife would have to get weekend work. This meant we could not save up quickly enough to move to a larger property in the catchment we needed. This was stressful and it meant we would have to move twice more in order to achieve this goal.
Car
When deciding on what type of car to buy make sure it has 5 doors and minimise the expense by limiting the budget and loan. On the arrival of a child your car may have to last 5 years and within that time local holidays will be a necessity. A good size boot would be handy for the travel cot, steriliser and several cases of clothes and nappies you need to pack. Nowadays it’s not difficult to buy a good looking family car but you need one which looks good, economical, comfortable to drive and space enough for a family of 5.