Motley Fool Answers, March 12, 2019 episode
Grandparents, richer relatives, the best baby gift is to help new parents find and pay for a financial planner.
Summary
Kids cost an average of $250,000-$300,000 total, from birth-age 18, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Update your will and estate plans
Choose a legal guardian to take care of your kid and a different person to manage the kid’s money who gets along with the legal guardian.
Life insurance
- 20 years of term life insurance
- $500K-$1 mil. costs less than $200/year
- update your beneficiaries
Health insurance
Add the new baby ASAP
Revisit emergency reserves
Take care of yourself FIRST, think retirement.
Don’t overspend
Baby grows out of stuff fast. You need less than you think. Accept hand-me-downs.
Other resources
UPromise: cashback on purchases can use for college
Use a budget tracker to keep spending inline with plan
Work with a fee-based financial planner
Listen or read the podcast yourself. Hope I didn’t miss any of the main ideas. Good luck!
Thought Ripples by Wendi 
Great post 😁
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