<prompt> Human: Wife and I are thinking about starting to try for a child and Im curious as to how much having a child changed everyones budgets? There will obviously be added costs for diapers, food, daycare, etc. but Im also thinking other budgets may be able to be decreased for a while going out to dinner, entertainment, etc..Would love input from everybody on how to plan for this and what advice you would give me. Are there things nobody thinks about that I should consider?EDIT: The reason I ask is because my wife is considering a job change. It would be doing something she loves but would come with a 1,200 a month take home pay cut. And she would not get paid maternity leave which would be really rough. It would also be three days a week instead of five. Those other two days she could stay home with the child and save on daycare expenses. Also, my mother is a daycare provider that lives a few blocks away. We will still pay her but it should be significantly less than any other option.  <response>: You are in a pretty good situation to have a child with the option of inexpensive daycare. My main problem is we do not live near any family members and Daycare would pretty much cost as much as my SO makes being employed. For the past year, we have been a single income family making 40k take home because of this Catch-22 situation. I dont see a major change in our financial situation, until preschool 4 years down the road. However, I do not consider our child being significantly expensive. So here are my quick 2 cents.Some pointers on raising a baby on the cheap:1. Breastfeeding: not having to pay for formula can save .2. Buy old clothesgoodwill: As cute as baby clothes can be, just buy used. They will outgrow them fast. 3. Do not spend excessive money to go out to dinner, movies, dates,.. etc: It is seriously a needless expense. There are a lot of inexpensive things to do that can equal some good RR away from work and taking care of a baby. You just have to be creative...parks, dollar movies, museums...etc.4. Make your own baby food: We have been making our own baby food. Cheap, healthier, and surprisingly not that difficult once you get into the swing of things. We make sweet potato, carrots, peas, turnips, apples, pears, chicken, bananas, you name it.5. Consider what you really need: Do you need 4 strollers? no. Do you need an electric swing? maybe our baby hated it and a waste of 150 bucks. All of these forums, books, TV shows will make you think you need all of these random baby appliances, but about 80 of them are just a waste of money.6. Cars: If you are tight on mula, a car is your worst nightmare, if you already have a working car that seats five, do not consider buying another. You dont really need it. The one time we needed a van to travel with family, I rented it. No use shelling out 200 to 400 bucks a month on an SUVVan that isnt really utilized to its full potential.Child costs aside, your life will change. My SO and I were living the fun, traveling and dining-out lifestyle. Now we are the go to bed at 9:30 pm, cook at home every day, bring lunch to work, picnic in the park, and one misstep away from financial ruin family. Wouldnt trade it for the world! 