Dear Dave, My wife and I are expecting our first child in a couple of weeks. I bring home $35,000 a year teaching at a local high school, and she just completed her master’s degree in speech therapy. She has a job waiting for her after the baby is born, and they are being very flexible about when she starts. I have heard you tell some people to leave just $1000 in savings for Baby Step 1, and use any other saved cash to pay off debt. But I am concerned about the new expenses we will have once the baby is home. Should we hang on to our savings, so we have extra cushion for those costs or if something unexpected happens? David Dear David, Congratulations! I know you two are excited to welcome a little one into the world. In your situation, I’d advise pushing the pause button …