How to Build A Secure Financial Future for Your Child

How could having a new baby affect your finances? Now, new babies are adorable. We all know that. But they can also be a source of financial anxiety to parents who feel unprepared. So how can you get ready financially for a new baby? Having recently become a proud father of a gorgeous little one, I know firsthand that while the joy is immense, the financial stress can be significant. So a solid financial plan that is realistic can help to reduce the stress and ensure a smoother transition to parenting. Wanted. So in this episode, I'll share the steps we took financially to prepare for later. 1. These are practical steps, are easy to implement even if you're not so much into personal finance and don't have millions in the bank. So let's dive in. All right, I'm gonna let you in. We've got a quick update. We've got some seriously powerful financial insights coming your way regularly every week, and trust me, you don't want to miss out. But here's the kicker. Only 25% of you watching this are certain to get this golden nuggets when we drop them on the podcast. Why? Because 75% of you have not subscribed yet. So if you're in the 25% club, thank you. You're the real MVP and we appreciate you. But to the 75% who are watching regularly but not subscribing, let's change that quickly. Or tell me in the comments why haven't you subscribed? Come on, let's do it quickly. Hit the subscribe button to make sure you don't miss out on the content. That way you're doing yourself and even me a favor because then it lets YouTube know that we're doing something right. Alright? So join the club and never miss another episode filled with financial wisdom, tips and fun. Hit the subscribe button. Let's make sure you're always in the know. Alright, let's jump right back into the video. Thank you. Welcome to Moneywise Doctor Channel. I'm Dr. Andy Eguim, founder of MoneywiseDoctor.com XY GP, entrepreneur and investor here. Our mission is to help doctors and healthcare professionals to make smarter financial decisions and to avoid costly mistakes. If you haven't already, Visit the website moneywisedoctor.com for valuable financial resources to support you on your financial journey and subscribe to our weekly newsletter full of useful tips and insights. You can find the link in the description in the video. So before we delve into the steps that you can take, let's look at four key facts about financial prep for your little one. Number one, this is not a surprise. So pregnancy, new baby. It's not a surprise having a new one. Newborn. Most pregnancies come several months ahead. Even if you plan to adopt, it still takes a few months before things work out. So use the time to prepare financially. Even non planned pregnancies are still a few months, so take your time to work on it. So number two, new babies, new bills. Having a child is a source of joy, is a gift, but there's going to be increased bills. Think about medical expenses, housing, push chairs, seats, bouncers, cot beds, nappies, baby food and more. And of course further down the line like education and stuff like that. Yeah, and obviously it depends on your circumstances. For instance, if you live in the uk, probably get access to the nhs, the National Health Service. So you might not be spending that much more except you go for private health insurance. But think about all these things. Obviously if you're going private or you live in a place where you have to be out of pocket, consider the option that you might have a longer hospital stay after delivery. Number three, income deep. Your household income might reduce during pregnancy, delivery and parental leave. Self employed individuals or those running small businesses may not make as much money when they have less time to dedicate to work. Contractors, consultants who receive hourly pay may be particularly vulnerable to this factor in the sort of potential dip in your plan. And number four, expense deep. The good news also, there might also be a drop in your expenses after delivery. I mean this depends on your lifestyle before delivery. If you like to entertainment, travel, dining out, you might spend less in these areas because you're mostly home now with the baby. Now that I've got that out of the way, let's look at 10 key preparation steps that you can take to prepare for your new one. Your baby of course. So start with number one, a budget. So a budget doesn't have to be elaborate spreadsheet, a simple outline of expected cost will guide you be realistic and done on the budget. It's better to over budget, include cost for expected changing scenarios. Consider things like are you going to go private? Are you going to have a surgery like caesarean? Section 2 reduce your personal debt as much as possible. If you can cut down your personal debt, it helps you to reduce the stress and it helps you to reduce the worries. Even if you need to pick up a side hustle or something to do before you have your little one to help you get in extra income to cut your personal debt. And it's a good idea not to sign up new credit cards. 3. Set up an emergency fund. We've talked a lot about emergency fund. A lot of information about it on the channel is mostly three to six months worth of your living expenses saved up in an account that you can assess. So save that up as an emergency fund. Number four, activated monthly automatic saving systems. That's a mouthful, but it's a mass. In short is to set up automatic direct debits of a portion of your monthly income and deposit it into a designated account. You can build up savings that you can invest for your baby even before they are born or even after they are born. That way you don't need discipline. It goes automatically. Number five, you can start investing and saving for the future. Obviously if you combine the amass, the automatic system of sending the direct debit, you can start saving money. And when you accumulate some money, you can start investing. This might be stock market investing or real estate. Some people buy a piece of property for their little one and it sort of grows with them. And some other people just buy index fund or invest in a junior ISA or something like that. But do your due diligence, understand what you're investing in. 6. Hunt for deals Start shopping for baby products early. Take advantage of deals, discounts, promotions. Buy seasonal items off the season to save some money. 7. Get it for free. Look for freebies. There are lots of giveaways for expectant moms. Many companies offer gifts as part of their marketing strategies. An online search can help you find available vouchers, giveaways, discount. So get it for free. 8. Government program so depending on your location or circumstances, you might be eligible for maternity leave, pay or some sort of government funding. So research online and speak to other new moms, expectant moms learn how you can assess these benefits. Number nine is a good time to review your estate. Having a baby is a good opportunity to review your estate plan. Ensure your resources are allocated according to your wishes. Consider updating your will, getting life insurance, income protection. Maybe it might be a good time to speak to a financial planner, especially now that you have another dependent. And number 10 gifts. So if you're not too proud and you're not too shy, you might receive gifts from friends and family colleagues. While it's not part of your active financial planning, this gift can help offset some cost. Now the truth of it is that having a child is a deeply personal and important decision that requires careful consideration. You might not feel fully prepared, but a little planning can go a long way to help you to prepare for a little one. So if you're preparing for a little one. If you're expecting a little one, tell me in the comment. Or if you just had a newborn or you've had one in the past, tell me in the comment. Which of these did you do? Which of these did you find useful? Are there any other strategies that you'd recommend that someone preparing for a newborn, whether they currently have had a newborn already or they're on the way? If there's any sort of useful suggestions or pop them in the comment. And if you've got any questions around these issues, I'll be happy to answer as well. If you check the description, I'm going to pop in links for any useful sources for expectant parents so that you can look at useful sources, maybe sources of getting free stuff, sources of getting useful information so that you can also access this and it can be useful for you. So good luck with your little one. And of course, if you like to get more content like this, if you'd like to be notified whenever I release useful personal finance information for doctors or personal finance videos, check the link in the description and sign up for our newsletter@moneywisedoctor.com subscribe. All right then, till next time. Bye bye.