The Wall Street Journal. Financial Guidebook for New Parents

By Stacey L. Bradford

A practical approach to affording your kids from cradle to college. Bringing home your bouncing baby boy or girl should be an exciting time of celebrationnot cause for worry about how you're going to pay for feeding, clothing, and caring for your new bundle of expenses. The average family will spend between $11,000 and $16,000 during a new baby's first year, and more than $200,000 before a kid's eighteenth birthday. Unfortunately, a second child only doubles your costs, with little economy of scale for each additional baby. Before you start using these statistics as birth control, take a deep breath and know that you can have a family and make a comfortable future for your children while saving for your own important goals. The Wall Street Journal Financial Guidebook for New Parents shows you the way, with information on how to: Safeguard your child's well-being with wills, trusts, and life insurance Best weigh your child-care options and decide whether to go back to work Save on taxes with child-friendly tax credits and deductions plus tax-advantaged benefits at work Manage your family's health-care costs Save for long-term costs by setting up a college fund Spend smart and save money at every stage of your child's development Continue to contribute to your own retirement savings From maternity (and paternity) leave to flexible spending accounts to 529 college plans, The Wall Street Journal Financial Guidebook for New Parents provides all the information you need to meet your child's expenses while also protecting your family's financial security.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307407071
• ISBN13: 9780307407078
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Crown Business
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 0.6" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

witty, well written, and useful

When we had a son, my wife and I hired a professional analyst to help us save our financial lives. Had we only known about this book, we could have also saved plenty of time and money. Ms. Bradford decodes everything from life insurance to 529s in a concise, straightforward, and entertaining manner. There are so many challenges to being a new parent, that it is nice to have one solved.

An outstanding resource! I'm giving a copy to all my parent friends

I found this book after reading a good review on The Simple Dollar blog and I knew that the knowledge would be invaluable since I was starting out as a young parent. After ordering and reading it, I am impressed with how comprehensive the book is and how well written it is. Mrs. Bradford does a great job explaining the pros and cons of various issues you will face as a new parent and helps you tackle each one. Although some ideas were very basic, such as where you want to nest (city, suburb or exurb), it was still interesting to read and have my opinion validated. I appreciated the sidebars which made certain ideas stand out. She speaks from experience as a new parent and also speaks with authority because she's a reporter on personal finance. Plus, with the Wall Street Journal backing you, you know the product will be authoritative. I appreciate that the book is modern and includes relevant information such as the new home tax credit worth $8,000 and has 2009 tax figures for examples. I consider myself fairly well versed in personal finance but still found a lot of things to learn from this book. My copy is all marked up! I'm now going to create a will and a living trust, and also purchasing some life insurance to protect my family in case of an emergency. I'm confident that any new parent will benefit from this book. I'm giving a copy to all of my new parent friends! Well done Stacey Bradford.

A lifesaver for a new parent-to-be!

I am five weeks away from my having my first child and am so grateful to have found this book. Next to my bedside is a stack of pregnancy and parenting books -- Ms. Bradford's book is now on top! In a clear, compelling style, the guidebook outlines all of the financial issues that await me and offers helpful, practical suggestions. So often in these last 8.5 months I have felt overwhelmed by too much information, too many dos-and-don'ts. However, as another reviewer commented, this guidebook does not leave me in a state of panic. I now feel empowered to make the decisions I need to make for my family's financial health. I could not recommend Ms. Bradford's book more highly.

Easy to read and absorb, yet comprehensive

This book really brings to the forefront all the financial matters that I as a new parent have completely overlooked. It really helped me realize that I am not as disciplined financially and that my kid may suffer as a result. Yet, instead of walking away feeling guilty, I am now more confident that I can take care of myself and my family. This book showed me everything I need to know, little chunks at a time, without overwhelming me, with examples and stories to make the lessons sink in. This book is about finances for new parents. However, as the previous reviewer indicated, it teaches not only how to take financial care of your child or children, but also how to make smart financial decisions when making choices for yourself. While I am going to keep this book for reference when I need to make specific financial decisions, I think the greatest benefit of this book is that it made me "financially aware". As a result of reading this book, it is easier for me to connect financial decisions I am making now with the financial impact they will have on me and my family in the future. This new awareness alone is worth the price of the book. Contents Introduction: How the Fun Begins Part I: When Baby Makes Three Chapter 1: On Maternity (or Paternity) Leave Chapter 2: Kissing That Cubicle Good-Bye Chapter 3: Returning to the Grind Chapter 4: Who Says Uncle Sam Doesn't Care? Chapter 5: Where Should You Nest? Part II: No One Ever Said Kids Were Cheap Chapter 6: Finding (and Paying for) Mary Poppins Chapter 7: Avoiding a Health Scare Chapter 8: Paying for Harvard Part III: Your Contingency Plan Chapter 9: Yes, You Need a Will Chapter 10: Trusts: They Aren't Just for the Wealthy Chapter 11: Life Insurance: Better Safe Than Sorry Chapter12: Accidents Happen: Are You Prepared? Money-Saving Tips for Every Stage

Required reading for every parent!

No matter what the book is called, I don't think this guide's audience is limited to "new parents". Every parent should be following the advice Bradford lays out so compellingly in The Wall Street Journal. Financial Guidebook for New Parents. She made it easy to understand the fundamentally important topics most of us parents know we should be addressing but don't because the topics are either too daunting or hard to understand. Her step-by-step advice on topics ranging from maternity leave and child care (more appropriate for the "newer parents" in the title) to life insurance, wills & trusts, and college savings (critical issues for ALL parents) was hugely helpful for me and my spouse -- and we're finally taking care of all these things we've been putting off for too long. I highly recommend this book.