“Go through it with a fine-tooth comb and then make the most of it,” she said of the health plans.
In addition to health insurance, life insurance is essential for both parents, says Andrea Spatz, a certified financial planner in Los Angeles at Lewis M. Wallenksy Associates, Inc.
“It’s not just optional, it’s being responsible,” Spatz said.
For example, even in a family where the husband has a high-paying job and the wife is a stay-at-home mom, both parents should be insured. Spatz has counseled many families on this issue and encountered several cases where high-powered husbands became widowed unexpectedly.
“They don’t realize how much the wife contributes,” said Spatz, citing the cost of child-care for starters. “There is no way they could continue those careers, or at least not at that pace, if they were suddenly widowed and had to take care of their kids.”
While budgeting and buying life insurance certainly aren’t as fun as browsing for baby clothes, they are important steps toward keeping your finances and your marriage sound.
And there’s another very important thing to put on your to-do list: start mentally preparing yourself as a couple for the major life change you are about to experience. An important part of planning for the baby is realizing—and accepting—that your life will be dramatically different after your little one arrives.
Spatz recommends that couples cut back on more expensive forms of entertainment and find less costly ways of enjoying time together.
“You’ve entered a new stage. It’s important to understand that you can’t keep doing everything you did before,” said Spatz. “Maybe you are going to spend your free time getting to know people at the local park instead of taking safaris in Africa.”
