Is a tiny human going to come into your life? If yes, then you should start planning and preparing ahead of time. A baby changes your life; that’s why you must revise financial planning. According to the US department of agriculture:
“A family with mid-range income spends almost $233,610 from childbirth to till the age of 17 years.”
The above cost doesn’t include tuition fees and other expenses. According to consumer finance surveys, 2/3rd of families save nothing with young kids. But don’t panic if you have planned and sorted out things financially. However, it would help if you sorted out the following items on a priority basis:
- Estimate medical cost
- Plan to get leave from your job
- Focus on budgeting for the arrival of a newborn
How to prepare a financial strategy before a baby?
Child birth comes with many expenses, responsibilities, and never-ending tasks. However, due to this, you should review your budget before the baby’s arrival. It doesn’t matter if you have high-income skills because everything will go in vain without planning. In this way, you can manage things easily. Apart from the responsibilities, here is the average cost of having a baby in the first four years:
| Vaginal birth $12,290 | C-Section $16,907 | |
| Furniture $441 | Clothing $649 | Childcare $4340 |
| Nappies $606 | Footwear $122 | Nutrition & foods $1227 |
| Toys $252 | Other $280 | Total cost $7918 |
But you can adopt tips and tricks to keep the cost down. For instance, if you are pregnant, try buying bulk as it’s the best way to save money. We divided the whole pregnancy into the following main categories:
Pre-delivery period:
This section will mention the things you need to plan before delivery. In simple words, we can say that the pre-delivery period provides a base.
Understand health insurance & pre-baby budget:
If you plan a baby soon, then understand that babies are expensive. So, forecast the costs, including parental care, labor, and delivery bills. However, in this regard, you should draft a pre-delivery budget and mainly focus on medical and other expenses. Apart from this, shopping takes a massive chunk of the budget, so plan accordingly. It’s a wise decision to set a limit and make unavoidable expenses. In this way, you can keep the budget under control.
Draft post-baby budget:
Establishing a post-baby budget is crucial for better planning and financial stability. You must spend on diapers, childcare, extra food, and baby clothes. So, you should start planning at this stage; later, you will not feel off guard. A Baby’s first medical appointment comes a few weeks after birth, so you should pick out the physician on time. However, for this purpose, you can start building an emergency fund. When you have kids, then emergencies can happen at any time. So, always keep the disposable income handy for unexpected expenses.
In the hospital:
After planning for the pre-birth expenses, now move towards the hospital cost. For instance, you need to order a birth certificate and social security card in the hospital. However, for these documents, you need to provide the necessary paperwork. But if you have a home birth, contact the state’s office for a birth certificate and social security card.
During the first 30 days:
If you didn’t plan about the baby’s health insurance in the pre-delivery phase, then don’t ignore it now. Usually, you should add a baby to existing health insurance within the first 30 days of birth. In some cases, you have 60 days, but sort these things earlier because there are the following other matters that need your attention:
- Consider getting a life insurance policy
- Plan for the childcare
It can take days and weeks to find the right nanny or daycare. So, starting this hustle during the maternal/paternal leave is good.
After the first month:
After the first month of birth, real responsibilities start; that’s why future planning is crucial. So, there are a few technicalities that you need to fix at this stage:
Adjust beneficiaries:
If you have life insurance, add your newborn baby’s name to the list of beneficiaries. Apart from this, don’t ignore the 401k retirement plan and IRA while managing beneficiaries. You need to adjust to ensure how your child will access the insurance money. Besides, disability is more important than life insurance, so get one with coverage that can meet your expenses for months.
Write WILL & save for education:
Life is unpredictable that’s you should take measures to ensure the safety and future of your kid. I hope you don’t want your child to be abandoned, so write a will on time. The important thing is to start funding the retirement plans because it will help at a later age. In this way, you will not feel bound to get support from your child at an older age. You can plan all this after looking at your payroll. Nowadays, there are many real paystub generator software that helps to keep finances organized.
Pro tip: Additional members bring more responsibilities and more financial pressure. Your kids depend on you, so don’t ignore their education, make it more manageable, and start saving early.
Conclusion:
Little steps show the right direction, and it helps you to feel more controlled and organized. Above all, it plays a central role in reducing the financial crunch. It’s expensive to welcome a new member to the family, but you can manage it well by prioritizing the most items earlier. Here are a few facilities that government offers:
| Paid paternal/maternal leave | Child tax benefits |
| Dad & partner pay | Newborn payments |
Besides, you can take advantage of the payments as a single parent. But these benefits are subject to certain conditions, and you can get information by visiting a related office. Still, medical bills, insurance plans, and budgeting are a few matters that you must sort out in the first several months.
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.
