Pregnancy comes with a whole lot of questions. About diapers, sure. But also about saving and budgeting and wills and life insurance. Interim Money host Adriene Hill is currently expecting her first child and wondering how in the world she and her husband are going to pay for everything. Certified financial planner Louis Barajas came to field of few of the crucial money questions on the minds of parents and soon-to-be parents.
“I think that once you have a kid, you should sit down with a financial planner right away, because there’s a lot of issues to talk about,” Barajas said.
Barajas said that unlike childless people, parents need to think about financial issues such as estate plans and life insurance, along with added expenses from diapers to college.
Two expecting parents, Sarah Boughton and Andrew Brin, had all their baby-related finance questions answered — including what to consider when purchasing life insurance and how to divvy up money between college and retirement funds.
Barajas answered their questions and also offered an important piece of advice.
“I want people not to be as much concerned about the money as more as sitting down and really taking a look at what their values are, prioritizing those values and creating goals from those value — and then deciding what’s more important,” he said. “I sit down and I’ll look at parents who are putting a lot of money away in a kid’s education fund, when they really actually should be spending more time with that child.”
Take a listen to the audio above to learn about how to prep financially for your baby.
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