Budgeting for Baby

Health Care Your first baby-planning step is to choose the benefits you need from your health care plan. A managed care plan, such as a health maintenance organization, can reduce out-of-pocket expenses over a traditional plan, which often requires you to pay at least 20% of care costs. The savings can be significant for families with children. For medical expenses not covered by your health insurance, find out if your firm offers a medical reimbursement account (MRA) or a health savings account (HSA). Your contributions can pay for items such as orthodontic care, insurance deductibles, and eyeglasses.

Child Care Fortunately, there are certain tax breaks especially for parents. The Child Tax Credit provides a credit (up to $2,000 per child in 2024) for children under age 17 at the end of the calendar year. Note that, unlike a tax deduction, a tax credit reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar. That means that a married couple with three children could potentially deduct up to $6,000 from their 2024 tax bill. Income restrictions and other rules apply, so check with your tax or financial professional for details.

An even better deal, if available, could be an employer-sponsored dependent care account, where you contribute an annual amount in pretax dollars to be used for qualifying dependent care expenses. But keep in mind that you must decide before the beginning of each year how much you will contribute, and you may lose what you don't spend.

Insurance Your child's arrival should also prompt you to protect against potential loss of income by obtaining or increasing disability and life insurance. With disability coverage, try to replace about 60% of your income. With life insurance, assume you will need coverage equal to 5 to 10 times your family's annual income. Employer-sponsored coverage is often the least expensive, so check to see if your or your spouse's employer offers it.

Legacy Planning It is important now to draw up a will designating a guardian for your child should you and your spouse die together. If you and your spouse die without a will (intestate), a judge decides who will be appointed your child's guardian. As a result, it could be someone you hadn't wanted in this role. Finally, your will should provide for guardianship that applies to both your current and future children.