Mr. Money and I both have Roth IRAs with a brokerage account at the bank I currently work at.  Since they are in mutual funds, there is an annual fee for having the accounts.  Every year it’s been $15 since I’m an employee, and he’s my spouse.  Imagine my surprise when this year I received the bills and they were each $40! I almost had a heart attack.  I didn’t mind paying $15 a year, but $40 a year is way too much because the balances we have in those accounts doesn’t make up for it.  My account has around $400 (I put $500 in about 7 years ago and left it at that).  Mr. Money’s has more, which is good because he’s older.

When I went to talk to the broker about it, he told me that the fee had gone up and they would try to get it waived for me.  However, if I wanted to close the accounts, there is a $75 fee.  Nice.  So not only would I be out the annual fee if they can’t get it waived, I’m also out $75 each account.  Really?  I am exploring these options:

-Finding a new brokerage company that doesn’t charge annual fees or other stupid fees.  I’m fine with paying trading fees, since I don’t think there’s really any way around those at any company.  I just can’t stand the idea of paying $40 a year just for them to hold my account.

-Opening up a Roth IRA for each of us with ING.  With ING, they have an IRA savings account that has no minimum balance and no fees.  I really like that idea.  I’ve thought about starting one of those for each of us, and then contributing what we can each month.  When the balance builds up to say $10,000 (which will probably take quite awhile!), then I could always look into transferring it into a brokerage account.

-I’m thinking about just closing out my account totally and just using the money to buy baby things.  Of course, I’d have to claim this as income, which would be a pain, but I wouldn’t have to pay that much in taxes since the balance is so small.

I am waiting to see what happens with the annual fee.  If they can get it waived, then I’ll probably just leave the accounts as they are.  However, I’m worried that once I terminate my employment that they will realize that and remove the waiver and I’ll be right back in the same situation.  I think it would be easiest to just close out the accounts and move them to ING because of the no minimums and no fees, but I’m worried about lost opportunity in the mutual funds.  Of course, if my account has been in mutual funds for 7 years, and I’m $100 less than what I put in, it’s really not doing that well any way!

Planning for retirement can be such a headache.  I’m glad we’re getting it done now, but I’m hoping there’s an easy solution so I don’t have to do too much work after we get it squared away!

Do you have an IRA?  What is your favorite place for a fee free IRA?

Having a baby can be an overwhelming experience, especially when you go into Babies R Us and are bombarded by all the millions of baby items they carry.  The first time I went in our local store, I almost had a panic attack.  There’s no way we can afford all of these things that we supposedly need for a baby!  Thankfully, after I left the store I sat down and thought about what a baby will actually need according to my standards.  I don’t want to have 50 baby things, or a million plastic made in China toys for my kid.  We sway to the side of minimalism, and while I know I won’t be able to limit everything that makes its way into my house, I can do my best to make sure I have things I need and use for the baby.  Here are some of the ways we’re going to save money on baby expenses:

-Breastfeed.  I’m going to do my best to breastfeed, and I plan on doing everything in my power to make it to at least a year.  Breastfeeding is so much better for the baby, natural, and will save us tons of money versus buying formula.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

-Cloth diapering.  We received a pack of newborn disposable diapers for our shower, and after those are gone, I plan on starting to cloth diaper.

-Not buying a bunch of crap.  My co workers keep telling me that I need to register for more stuff; that I’ll regret not having the swing and the bouncer and whatever other gadgets they think I need.  We’re trying to get items that do double duty; for instance we received a swing that is full size and travel size and I think that will work just fine instead of having a bouncer too.

-Buying second hand clothes.  My mother went nuts over the past 7 months, purchasing baby clothes and burp cloths and basically any other item she thought I would need.  This has saved us a ton of money already!  The baby has a gender neutral wardrobe with items ranging from newborn to 1 year already.  I’m sure we’ll have to buy more clothes, but I know we’ll be able to get them second hand.

-Remembering the store will still be there. It’s hard for me when I think I don’t have enough things ready for the baby, but I think we’ve got the essentials so far.  Plus, the store is going to be there after the baby is born!  If we need extra burp cloths or receiving blankets, we can always make a trip to the store.  I’d rather do that than have things on hand that we don’t use and then we’ve wasted money on.

I’m trying to relax and realize that babies don’t need much other than a warm place to sleep, food, and diapers.  Really, when you think about it- that’s it!  That makes me feel better and more confident that we’ll be able to raise our child with respect to our budget and the planet.

I think one of the hardest things about being a first time mom is trying to figure out what I need for this baby.  There are tons of baby gadgets out there, and the first time I went to Babies R Us I was totally overwhelmed.  All the items in the store made me feel like I needed every one of them!  My family is throwing me a baby shower, and my co workers were insisting that I register soon, so a couple weeks ago I went and registered at two places.  When people started viewing my registry, they commented that there weren’t enough items listed on there.  Personally I felt like I had too much listed!  I didn’t want to just add items just to have stuff on there, so I carefully went through and decided what items I’d really like to have.

I wonder if I’m being too much of a minimalist.  I don’t want to be miserable and wish I had gotten a certain item and regret it later on.  I’m trying to find a delicate balance between the two.  I don’t want a million baby items cluttering up my house, but I also don’t want to be up at 3 AM wishing I had a bassinet.  Here are some of the things that I think will be helpful for having our first baby.

-Baby Carriers. I bought a Boba Classic Baby Carrier for a super deal online, so I’ve already got that. I’d like a wrap like a Sleepy Wrap or Moby Wrap for when the baby is small.
-Cloth diapers. I’ve already got some covers and a few Snappis, I just need to order some prefolds and I’ll be all set.
-Cloth wipes. I’ve sewn some myself, and my mom is sewing some too.
-Sleepers/Clothes. My mom has gone crazy buying clothes over the past few months, so I don’t need ANY of these.
-Blankets. Again, my mom has this covered.

-Graco Newborn Napper Pack n Play – Meadow Menagerie. I think having a Pack N Play will be a helpful place for the baby to sleep when it’s little, and then when the baby is bigger I can set them in here to play while I get things done. Also, since our family is all out of state, it will be nice to have a place for the baby to sleep while we are at their house. We plan on co sleeping, but I’d like to have the Pack N Play as back up.

-Graco Swing by Me – Meadow Menagrie. I’m registering for the swing, even though I’m wondering if my baby will like it. I would hate to get it and then the baby hates the swing! However, there’s not really a way to tell if the baby will like the swing until the baby is here, so this is a gamble I’ll have to take.

Some items that I’m double guessing are:

-Full Size High Chair. When Mr. Money and I orginally registered, we picked a Space Saver High Chair because we liked that it was compact and would sit on one of our chairs. Since then, everyone insists that we’ll want a full sized high chair. I’m still not convinced.

-Fisher-Price Newborn Rock ‘n Play Sleeper. One of my friends insisted I need this, so I registered for it. However, I think it will only be used for a few months, so I don’t know if it’s something that I really do need. It would be nice for the baby to sleep in, but if it’s only used for a couple months, I think I may be able to do without it.

-Baby Bath Tub. From the beginning, I didn’t want a bath tub, I wanted something like the Baby bath sponge. Everyone thinks I am crazy. I don’t want to have to store a baby bath tub.

I want to limit the amount of stress during the first few months, so any items that will make my life easier will be welcome.  I just don’t want a bunch of crap hanging around my house that isn’t being used.

What items are must-have for a baby?  Am I being unrealistic and I really need this items I’m doubting?

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