{"id":22153,"date":"2016-03-14T10:00:08","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T15:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=22153"},"modified":"2016-03-14T03:11:57","modified_gmt":"2016-03-14T08:11:57","slug":"frazier-allen-baby-proofing-your-finances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2016\/03\/14\/frazier-allen-baby-proofing-your-finances\/","title":{"rendered":"Frazier Allen: Baby-Proofing Your Finances"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Review this checklist and prepare for parenthood with open eyes and special financial care.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" title=\"F&amp;M Investment Services - Raymond James - Clarksville, TN\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/FM-Investment-Services-Raymond-James.gif\" alt=\"F&amp;M Investment Services - Raymond James - Clarksville, TN\" width=\"130\" height=\"122\" \/><strong>Clarksville, TN<\/strong> &#8211; So, you&#8217;re going to be a parent. Exciting? Yes. Scary? Certainly. While finances may seem to be a daunting part of your new, more fiscally responsible life, this is just the beginning of navigating all that having a child brings.<\/p>\n<p>No doubt, you want to be debt-free with a solid retirement plan in place and the ability to take care of college costs.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_189878\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Frazier-Allen.jpg\"  class=\"thickbox no_icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-189878\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-189878\" title=\"Frazier Allen\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Frazier-Allen-480x360.jpg\" alt=\"Frazier Allen\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-189878\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frazier Allen<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!--more-->Don\u2019t be afraid to ask for help from a professional to put a plan in place designed to reach your goals \u2013 the best way to overcome fear is to acknowledge concerns and make a plan to address them.<\/p>\n<p>The first year of baby\u2019s life is hectic \u2013 checkups, first smile, first teeth, first steps \u2013 so it\u2019s a good idea to get as much done as soon as you can. As time goes by, and your to-do list is checked off, you\u2019ll thank yourself for baby-proofing your finances.<\/p>\n<h3>Making the Decision to Have a Baby<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pay down debt and save<\/strong>. Strive for a cushion of three to six months\u2019 worth of living expenses.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Prepare your post-baby budget.<\/strong> This can include everything from a larger home or safer car to anticipating new costs such as baby supplies, and unplanned or uncovered prenatal through delivery expenses.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Check your benefits. <\/strong>Look at paid and unpaid maternity and paternity leave options available to you. Fill out the FMLA paperwork as soon as you know the estimated dates of leave and return.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get savvy about insurance. <\/strong>Review the life insurance offered by your employer, then consider supplementing it with a term or whole life policy. Disability insurance is also a good idea.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Consider additional needs.<\/strong> For couples who want to legally adopt their partner\u2019s birth child, there are significant costs and other necessities to plan for such as having a domestic partnership in place.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Using those Nine Months Wisely<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Explore childcare options. <\/strong>Investigate what you\u2019re comfortable with as well as what you can afford. Can a family member care for the baby while you work, or can you share a nanny with another couple?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Plan for the unthinkable.<\/strong> Work with your financial advisor and qualified estate attorney to make sure your will is updated and all your bases are covered, this includes naming a legal guardian(s) in the event something happens to you or your partner.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get real about the gear.<\/strong> Talk to other parents to see what you need. Save money (and the environment) by buying some things secondhand, but always do your research and check for recalls.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Practice new ways of spending.<\/strong> Put your post-baby budget into action as soon as possible to help ensure you\u2019re on track when baby arrives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Planning with Baby at Your Side<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Plan for your child&#8217;s financial future. <\/strong>But don\u2019t lose sight of your own. It\u2019s important to save for your retirement first. Consider a 529 savings plan, Coverdell Education Savings Account or other educational savings plans and deposit cash gifts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Add baby to your plans<\/strong>. As soon as possible after birth, you should update any necessary beneficiary information in a current estate plan, wills, and health or dependent care documents.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Consider a trust<\/strong>. Setting one up allows you to determine how your assets should be managed and distributed to your beneficiaries.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Continue to track your spending<\/strong>. Stay ahead of any potential concerns and keep that emergency fund intact for true emergencies.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enjoy the tax break<\/strong>. Before you can claim your new dependent, your child needs a Social Security number. Make it easy by applying during the birth certificate process at the hospital.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Download the complete checklist to ensure you are prepared for your new addition: <a href=\"http:\/\/raymondjames.com\/pointofview\/resources\/images\/planningwell\/2610\/2610_baby-proofing-your-finances.pdf\"  target=\"_blank\">Baby-Proofing Your Finances<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Review this checklist and prepare for parenthood with open eyes and special financial care. Clarksville, TN &#8211; So, you&#8217;re going to be a parent. Exciting? Yes. Scary? Certainly. While finances may seem to be a daunting part of your new, more fiscally responsible life, this is just the beginning of navigating all that having a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[27804,825,20402,3065,235],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4xGYI-5Lj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22153"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22153"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22154,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22153\/revisions\/22154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}