Life starts relatively simple and then seems to hit a “point of no return.” Post-college life, job, career, marriage, and then kids! Having a family amplifies the hectic-busyness of everyday life by quite a bit. When family life picks up, work-life and other aspects do not simultaneously slow down. Running on only a few hours of sleep, managing a cold, and sourcing a plumber all at the same moment is par for the course. All the while, you’ll still have to manage work deadlines and make important decisions. This pace of daily life is not uncommon when you’re a parent. Raising a family is no easy feat.
But, no parents want to focus on the turmoil and would rather enjoy the precious time as it happens. It is so important to be present in the moment because it all goes by very quickly.
My wife and I spent eight months researching car seats, strollers, natural birth doulas, and everything else imaginable before our first child. I like to say we earned a Google PhD. I still have a picture in my camera roll of a disgusting diaper my wife sent me asking, “Is it supposed to be this color”?
Parents Understand Parents’ Concerns
There’s nothing quite like being a new parent, everything experience is new, and you have to adapt and continue pushing forward. It’s some of the most stressful and yet beautifully fulfilling times in anyone’s life.
For many new parents, guidance with finances is more needed than at almost any other junction in life. There’s so much to be learned about being a parent that sometimes financial focus and planning can take a backseat.
It’s no wonder why so many people struggle with balancing all of the responsibilities that come with raising a family and maintaining a clear picture of their financial obligations and goals.
A few very common financial worries for parents include:
- Life insurance
- Budgeting new expenses
- Private school expenses (if they don’t “win” the public-school lottery)
- College savings for the kids
- Paying off your student debt
- Retirement
- Daycare
- Nanny
- Extended Maternity Leave
- Life savings
- Mortgage
The list goes on. This shortlist doesn’t even account for all of the other basic obligations parents need to keep track of– like buying diapers, groceries, and fuel. And now, many families have the additional concern of having to reduce their needs to adjust for one full-time income.
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Building a Stable Financial Framework for the Future
Easing the Stress of Family Financial Planning
When trying to balance all the stresses of life with financial concerns, many people find themselves asking questions like:
- How do we start saving?
- Where do we start?
- How am I supposed to reach our long-term financial goals while also balancing my current needs in the present moment?
- Where do we stand on reaching our financial goals and saving for our kid(s)?
If you find yourself asking these questions, don’t worry! You are not alone. If you don’t find yourself asking these questions, don’t worry! You are certainly not alone either.
Even as a family financial planner and financial advisor, I had faced my fair share of struggles with properly planning my finances when I first started my family. Thankfully, I have been able to apply my experience and the knowledge I’ve gained to my own life and share those insights with clients who are in a similar situation.
It’s my goal to ease the minds of families by helping new parents form a plan and gain some clarity around their financial goals and obligations. Like anything in life, the unknown is daunting, scary, and hard to comprehend. But, I can say with confidence, planning for the financial well-being of your family’s future becomes much more approachable when you have clarity, organization, and a plan of action.
When you have a plan in place, you should not feel guilty about focusing on keeping your head above water now and catching up once the very expensive baby-preschool years are behind you.
As a family financial planner, I have learned what “works” for each family will be very different from the next. Through my own experience and the experiences of the many families I have had the opportunity to work with thus far in my career, I have learned how to customize the financial plan to align goals with reality.
Operating as a fee-only financial advisor, I’m only interested in suggesting financial adjustments that collectively help families prosper. I find deep satisfaction in helping families because no family should be steered down the wrong path.
Please reach out with any questions you may have.
If you found this piece informational, please see my blog: How To Protect Your Kids From Reddit, Robinhood and Other Social Media Sites Encouraging Reckless Trading.
