Hi /r/personalfinance! I am a 22 year old male living in rural Virginia. My girlfriend and I just found out that she is pregnant. While this is a surprise, it is something we had discussed and were both looking forward to... eventually. With it happening now, I have to go into planning mode, so I'm hoping someone can lend some helpful advice.
Current living situation: We both still live with our parents. I have been staying at her place recently to spend more time with her.
Current income: I make $10 an hour working full time with no benefits. She works part time, maybe 3 days a week, at $10 an hour with no benefits.
Current debt: I pay $280 for a car payment which will be finished next year. She just payed off her credit card debt that she had before we got together. She has some debt with Wal-Mart and Pay Pal.
Current finances: I will have about $2000 to my name combining my checking and my savings. I have a credit score in the 720's and have never missed a payment on my car or my Discover. She's in the 630's after paying off her Capital One.
Current feelings: Flustered, but excited. This is something I have always wanted. Both families are also overjoyed, so that makes things a little better.
Future income: I have a current application to the Virginia State Police academy. I went to the first orientation back in February and made it through the day just fine. They said at the end we would either be receiving a letter in the mail telling us when to come in for the lie detector test, or a letter saying sorry, try again. I have not gotten either. It's my goal to become a cop/trooper, and have been training for it since January. I am thinking about putting an application in to be a county cop, since apparently my county is hiring. My education level is that I am 5 classes away with my associates in criminal justice, but have not taken any classes since last December.
Future living situation: We love the area we are in. Her mom owns a decent amount of land, so we were discussing putting a modular home on an acre of her land. My father owns the waterworks company in the area, so getting a well at a reduced cost would be feasible. This land would be on the same driveway as her mother, so that her mother can look after my girlfriend if I am away and something happens. This is also only 5 minutes away from my parents. I was planning on going to the bank on Friday to find out how much I could get pre-financed for.
Future relationship: I love my girlfriend very much. I have been thinking about proposing to her for awhile now. Should I do this before the baby comes? Is there any financial implications for having the child when we are not married vs. when we are?
Thanks for all your help. My mind is just racing right now. We are going to tell my grandparents on mothers day. They'll be ecstatic.
TL;DR: 22 year old with child on the way. Wants to do the best things possible for girlfriend and future child.
Submitted April 26, 2017 at 08:46AM by MarshallTheSwb http://ift.tt/2ovx8Vj
