5 Financial Tips For When You Start a Family

If you are planning on starting a family soon or just have had a baby, you might be considering the changes in your financial situation. You might be anxious about how this could affect your finances and budget. Rest assured that many families feel the same way as you and can relate. Consider the following tips, which can help you financially when starting a family.

Creating a college savings account

Many parents choose to do this when their child is just a baby. A college savings account will be accessible when your child is eighteen and ready to start college. The advantage of starting when they are a baby is that you have more time to save more money. Depending on your financial situation, you can choose what amount you want going into the account monthly. Even if you put a couple of hundred dollars in a month, you can have thousands ready for your child when they graduate from High School.

Health Care

After you have your child, you will want to ensure that they are covered under health care. You do not want to consider the worst, yet it is essential to have this prepared in case of a medical emergency. As long as you are a resident in Ontario, you can get a health card for them. First, you need to go through the required process and fill out documentation, then wait for Service Ontario to mail out the card to you.

Eat at Home More Often

Before having children, you may have been used to eating out with your spouse quite often. After having children, going out as often can shockingly increase the bill quite drastically. Although going out is a nice thing to do with your family, it can start to affect the bank if you make this a daily habit. To avoid spending a ridiculous amount on eating out, try making a habit of eating at home. This may be a big adjustment for you, yet there are easy ways to make this easier to adapt to. There are many easy recipes you can find online, which are inexpensive to make. There are also food companies that ship food with instructions directly to your door. Not only does this make cooking fun, yet it also can save you hundreds in the long run.

Wait to Move

Many who just started a family chooses to move right away. Although this has worked for some people, this can be a mistake for many. Not only can this be a stressful process, yet it can be costly. A regular move on its own is expensive, yet when you want to buy a larger house, this drastically raises the amount required. This can cause large debt and lower your credit score. Although it could be tight living with your family in a smaller space, it may be financially wiser to wait even a year. You can wisely examine what space you need for your family and what you realistically can afford within the year. You can also save within this period and look at different lender rates and products for a mortgage.

Know Your Expenses

When you start a family, your expenses are bound to increase. If you are not careful, you can overlook this and lose track of your monthly payments. This can be a dangerous situation since you can get yourself into debt quickly. Being aware of your finances is crucial when you are starting a family. You need to examine all the areas you are spending in, such as mortgage payments, food, and necessities. Even if you are struggling with the new expense amounts, you can be more prepared to face them if you know about them. Then, you can sit down with your spouse and figure out a budget to save money.

Starting a family is an exciting and memorable time for you and your spouse. However, when you can apply a few financial changes to your lifestyle, you can be sure that you can remain financially stable.

If you have any questions on other financial tips when starting a family, please contact us!

Sources

-Sokunbi, Bola (2021). 10 Financial Tips For When You Start a Family. Clever Girl Finance. Retrieved from https://www.clevergirlfinance.com/blog/financial-tips-when-you-start-a-family/

-Layton, Julia (2021). 5 Financial Tips For New Families. How Stuff Works. Retrieved from https://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/budgeting/5-financial-tips-for-new-families.htm