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Buy quality, gently worn clothes at yard sales, and resell them once your child outgrows them. Photo: Sierra Tierra

In 2009, I had my first child, a girl I named Lydia Rose. She was beautiful and dainty just like a baby doll, and I loved dressing her up in cute little outfits and taking all kinds of pictures. Unfortunately, those first few years turned out to be expensive. Since I wasn’t all that frugal at the time, I spent all kinds of money on outfits, hairbands, and ridiculously tiny baby shoes.

In 2011, things changed. I had a second daughter and realized we needed to rein in our spending… fast. But where would we start?

The events of our lives are made up of a mixture of elements that are out of our control and elements that we have control over. It’s the relationship between those two elements that has a lot to do with personal finance and career and personal success.

I think my own experience provides a wonderful example of this.

When I was in pure “financial disaster” mode in the mid-2000s, I spent money with reckless abandon.

I didn’t really worry that much about my day-to-day expenses (something I could control) because I believed that my future self would make enough money (something I couldn’t control) that I would be just fine in the long run.

I didn’t really worry about saving for a down payment (something I could control) because I believed that my future self would be able to pay for it (something I couldn’t control).

Your new bundle of joy will come with a bundle of new expenses, too. Photo: Frank de Kleine

I was once told there’s never a right time to have a child, and you can never prepare enough once they’re on the way.

After seven years of parenting, I definitely agree with the first part of the statement. As for the second half? You never know what will happen after your child is born, but I do believe there are actions you can take to get your finances in order.

Here are some simple ways to get your financial act together before your new baby arrives, and some useful tips to trim expenses that crop up along the way.

Younger kids can be a handful when you’re trying to get things done. Photo: Rob Briscoe

If you’ve ever thought working from home with small children beats driving to the office each day, you may be sadly mistaken. My children are definitely the apple of my eye, but they can be a handful anytime I sit down to complete an important task. It’s almost as if they have an internal switch that flips on any time the cover of my laptop opens!

Before I made the decision to enroll my youngest son in child care, it was quite a struggle to balance running a business with an infant in tow. After years of following all sorts of tips to minimize distractions, I finally figured out how to successfully accomplish tasks without pulling all my hair out.