Planning a Family? Make Financial Plans Too

The role of marriage is not only to love and cherish till death do you part. The role of marriage is, perhaps above all else, to procreate: to have children, and to raise them well.

No need to state the obvious: a pretty expensive proposition.

Except it shouldn't be too stressful if you know how to plan ahead.

How to do it? Make sure you know such important details as how to save money without suffering unduly, how to budget, how to apply for maternity leave and benefits, and, generally speaking, how to plan ahead.

This helpful site is the brainchild of experts at the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, and it's well worth taking in.

Here's the list of topics the site covers:

• Preparing financially for baby;
• Maternity and parental benefits – how to apply and how much you will receive;
• Income tax and your maternity and parental benefits;
• New parent financial checklists;
• Saving money on baby expenses;
• Costs of child-care options;
• Reviewing your family's insurance needs; and
• Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs).

And here's what you're going to learn:

• What's life going to be five years down the road? Will you need a new (and bigger) home? How about a new car? No, not a sports cabriolet, a minivan would be better. Where do your parents live? On the other side of the country? How about planning to save money for trips to see them?
• What are the things you can live without? (You won't believe how many there are.) From this moment onwards, diapers, baby gear and child care are your priorities.
• From now on, you're responsible not only for yourself to yourself. It would make perfect sense to have a close look at your insurance.
• While the majority of new mothers return to work as soon as possible, the trend seems to be reversing itself and a growing number of new mothers (or fathers) stay at home for at least the first several years of their child's life. Some psychologists will applaud their decision. Financial analysts will calculate that while they avoid child-care costs, at the same time, they're losing out not only on their wages, but also on valuable pension contributions from their employers. Besides, this may also endanger their own contributions to their Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP).
• Education will be one of the most important things your child need in the future. Except, you can hardly expect its cost to go down. So, start saving now. One of the most painless ways to do so is to take any government benefit you get for your child (Universal Child Care Benefit is a typical example), and put it into a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) upon receipt. It may not be too much at first blush, but even the smallest amounts add up to significant sums with time.

If you child will ever need proof you've always loved her or him, this will be it.


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