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Money After Marriage
What You Can Do to Plan for
Your Financial Future
Your Financial Future
By Megan L. Fowler
Also, if the couple has separate bank accounts, they may want to have their certified public accountant calculate how much of their total income tax expense is attributable to each of them, Webb says. "They can then allocate the expense between the accounts," she says.
Now that you have things settled between the two of you, having a baby will force you to re-evaluate all the financial decisions you initially made. But like everything else, you can begin this early on in life.
"By starting with a timeline of your big life goals, you should have begun to think of children before they come along," Knuckey says. "Basically you are going from two mouths to feed and two incomes to at least three mouths to feed and maybe only one income, so money will be tighter."
It costs an average of $167,000 to raise a child to age 18, and then there is college savings, so you will need to find other areas to trim back, Knuckey says. "The key is to refuse to run up extra debt," she says.
You already know that expenses are going to increase and that life as you know it will be over, Walker-Van Tress says. "Start figuring out while you're pregnant what daycare will cost, because this is a major expense," she says. "Even if you will be staying home with the baby, you should be realistic about daily needs that will put pressure on your budget such as diapers, baby food, pacifiers and clothes."
Anything that can be saved and invested will be a great help down the road, she says. "Maintain your focus on your own long-term goals," she says. "Don't sacrifice your own future security for [video] games and Barbie's dream house. You are responsible for your children's welfare, yes. But you're also responsible for your own."
