Welcome to the forum, davepac7!
OK then - so you rejected the first few suggestions out of hand - so why are you here at all? Surely you know deep down that you are in troubled waters financially? With a baby on the way, basic security for you and your family, including a healthy Emergency Fund is paramount.
Your duty is to your own family first and foremost.
There may be a good reason for family support, but I wonder, did you commit at a time when things were going well for you? Is this a person that can eventually help themselves? Could you temporarily cut support or at the very least, let them know this is a hardship for you at present and you need to reduce payments for the foreseeable future?
Which brings me to my next point, it would be a good idea to temporarily cut your retirement? 401K? contributions until you have a healthy Emergency Fund. With a baby on the way, there may be all sorts of complications lurking - you need to be better prepared for unexpected expenses in that arena - switch off the retirement payments and bolster your EF instead.
Time to put the brakes on any sort of frivolous spending, which includes dining out, entertainment and clothing. It is really simple - live below your means, pay off your debt and always - always pay yourself first.
How can you help others when you cannot even help yourself?
Stabilize your finances, that really needs to become your only priority at present.
I have confidence that you can easily figure out for yourself how to do that, with the car payment gone and a leaner budget, perhaps some extra income you will be fine in the long run - as soon as you stop finding reasons why you want to live way above what your current income level is.
Do talk it over with your wife - if she has any sense at all and mamas to be usually do, because they start nesting, she will be on board. Princesses need not apply - Queens, however know how to rule their kingdom and reign in the spending.
Get a side gig - babysit, since you are at home anyway. Make it a game to find entertainment and diversions that do not require money.
It is nothing but a mind set:)
Attitude is everything! - An attitude adjustment may be in order to get the ball rolling. Oh and for now, your answer to everything should be, "We can't afford it!"
On the plus side - only two more months of car payments - Yay - victory! - Allocate that money immediately according to your new financial strategy!
New job - sounds promising, you may be on the way, but not if you don't reverse course. If you want a nice life for yourself and your wife and baby, you will need to switch gears from making excuses to finding and sticking to some temporary drastic measures.
Then when the baby is here and your EF is fat and happy and your retirement payments back on track - you make a new and different plan.
My advice - do as much as you can right now, because once the baby is here, everything will be much tougher for a while.
My pregnant wife and I just made an expense sheet and I'm hoping to get some feedback on what could be missing on there and any ideas to improve our financial situation. I currently have exactly $0 dollars after having been unemployed for a month. The income below is after taxes with my new job that's starting next month.
We live in the suburbs in the Washington DC metro area in a 1 bedroom apartment. Unfortunately, we are stuck in one of the top 5 most expensive areas in the US where any type of enjoyment costs a bunch of money.
Ford Car Payment 340 (two months left) - ..... YAY! .....
Car wash/detailing services 2 ..... Umm - it ain't much, but consider putting this money in your EF or towards those fancy nails instead:)
Parking Tickets 2 ..................... see above
General Parking 2 ..................... see above
Entertainment
Dining Out 200 ........................ NO - are you kidding me? You hair is on fire - you can't provide for your family, but you want to go out to eat? OK - if you must, at least go down to $50
Movies/plays 60 .................. NO - until you have room in your budget again - right now, you need to fatten up that EF!
Other 80 .......................... CUT down to $25 each
Entertainment totals 340
Vacations .............................. ??? at present you cannot afford a vacation of any kind.
Accommodations 100
Food 55
Souvenirs 5
Rental car 5
Vacations totals 165
Personal
Clothing 50 .................................. Temporary spending block on clothing - shoes and accessories.
Gifts Savings 100 ......................... ? Is this for gifts or is this a savings account?
Salon/barber 15
Spa/Nails 50 .................................. I sympathize, but if she really wants it, she can find a side gig/baby sit or save on the groceries, whatever it takes.
Professional Development (Wix) 15
Charity 50 .................................. Hold off on charity until you are no longer a hair on fire debt emergency yourself!
Personal totals 280
Financial obligations
Student Debt 331
Friend Debt 200 ....................... Consider reducing to $50, put the difference in your EF
Supporting family member 420 ....... ? Can you explain this a bit more?
Our Retirement 318
Emergency Savings 150 .............. THIS is trouble waiting to happen. You need to fatten up your EF until it is fat and happy.
Child support 250
Financial obligation totals 1669
Total expenses 5989
Cash short/extra -689.00 - With stats like that you have the nerve to defend your lifestyle?
Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, I understand this will be a shift in your perspective. Can you stop thinking about instant gratification for a minute, you are an adult with family responsibilities and even more daunting, other family members that also depend on you. So look beyond immediate spending and a world of excuses and let yourself see the wonderful possibilities of a good life for you and your family.
It is there right in front of you - but you need to make some hard decisions - can you do that?
Nobody can have it all and NO - while you are in financial trouble, you are NOT entitled to anything. You have it backwards - the nice life comes after you fixed this mess!
Lots of good advice here from all sides - trust us, we've been there - we know it works!