When it comes to having a baby, creating a financial plan and budgeting are a huge issue. A new survey from VISA finds that 76% of expectant parents considered themselves financially prepared without realizing what being financial prepared entailed. More than half of all new parents overspent on baby items. They also claimed that tension in their relationships created more stress for both parents.
One of the most costly aspects of having a child was for the actual delivery. Over a quarter of new parents shelled out over $2000 out of their own pockets for the delivery.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that an average American family will spend $184,000 raising a child and this doesn't include college costs. There is a new Baby Budgeting Calculator that can help parents predict the true cost of raising a baby.
Having a good financial plan and one that reflects reality is an important part of being able to put aside some extra money for your kids' education.
6 comments:
I saw the title and thought something else. My son fell in love with my HP12C calculator and if he sees me using it, he has to play with it. Good thing they make it so sturdy. Guess he's going to love numbers just like me...
Hi Margot,
Wondering if your Uncle would be able to enlighten me on I-Bonds. I am new to I-Bonds; purchased $1000 in I-Bonds last November. I've checked back at the Treasury Direct site, and found that since Nov. 05 to date, I've only gained $4 in interest!!
Margot, would you please ask your wise Uncle to enlighten me please.
Thanks! By the way, congrats on your awesome progress!
Had a chat with my uncle and he told me the following:
There is a three month interest penalty if you sell your I-Bond before 5 years. They way they take this into account is by leaving the interest off for the first three months you own the I-Bond. Therefore the interest that you are seeing isn't form November 5 - February, but starting from February 5.
If you keep the I-Bond for more than 5 years, when you hit the 5 year mark, you will have the interest from the first three months added in automatically (since there will no longer be a penalty).
Hope that explanation helped...it gets confusing for a little tike like me when my main concerns are playing, sleeping and eating (^_^)
Thanks Margot...and your resourceful Uncle!!
Please, you can never really figure out how much money it will take. You never know what can happen. For example, I wanted to be a stay at home mom when my second child was born. I was finishing the debt repayment when I went into early labor. Then she was born with meningitis and was hospitalized for a month after she was born. That depleted my savings quickly. Traveling back and forth to the hospital everyday, having to eat while there and the loss of the two months of income didn't help.
You just never know, you need to do the best that you can and pray for the best...
One more thing, I have 7 now. (That's an even longer story.)
Nice blog...
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