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Plan Ahead for Financial & Personal Health
If you and your partner are even mildly discussing baby plans then you should also be discussing saving extra money so that both of you can take leave when the baby arrives. Typically financial pros recommend you save at least 10% of your pay for rainy days, but you’ll need much more than that. If you’re only saving 10% of your take-home pay, after a year, you’ll likely only have enough for about a month of maternity leave and zero money in savings for emergencies. A better way to save is to decide how much maternity time you’ll need, figure out the amount of money you’ll need to cover bills during your time off, then aim to save that amount. Simply saving an arbitrary 10% or 15% may leave you lacking funds. You should also be planning goals that help you stay healthy. If you’re fit and in great shape when you become pregnant, you’ll have a better chance of having a low-complication, and thus, way lower-cost pregnancy and birth. If you’re overweight, ill or generally out of shape, you’ll be much more likely to need potentially dangerous and costly pregnancy and birth care and interventions. If babies are in your future, make sure to eat right, get plenty of exercise and see your doctor regularly. By the way, did you know that around 50% of U.S. pregnancies are unplanned? Even if babies are the farthest thing from your mind, it’s a good rule of thumb to open a savings account and start saving plus work on staying healthy, just in case a surprise bundle comes your way. Planning ahead is hard at times, but worth it once you have your baby in your arms.
+ Get great financial planning advice from Expecting Money
