Five Financial Tips for Expecting Parents

Preparing and caring for a baby adds new costs to your expenses. Use our budget tools to help you:

• See if you need to make adjustments
• Total your one-time expenses, like a crib
• Estimate new costs, like diapers
• Look for places to cut back, like subscriptions

Having a financial cushion for life’s unexpected expenses is even more important when you have children. Here’s how you can build up your emergency savings:

• Open or add to a dedicated emergency savings account
• Aim to build it to 3-6 months’ worth of expenses
• Put aside what you can, even $10/week adds up over time

Putting pre-tax dollars into an HSA can help cover pregnancy and baby-related expenses. Here’s where to start:

• Open an HSA if you have a high deductible insurance plan
• See what your HSA includes as qualified expenses
• Contribute what you estimate you’ll spend on eligible items

If your work life changes while you’re raising your child, plan now so you can do what’s best for your family.

• Estimate your new earnings
• Reevaluate your budget if your income will change
• Factor in childcare and baby expenses
• Update your will and beneficiaries on investments

Use our college savings calculator to predict education costs and how much you’ll need to save.

• Talk to a financial advisor about investment and 529 accounts
• Deposit baby gifts into the fund
• Direct money from your paycheck into it