Having a child is a joyous yet costly experience in your life. The endless supply of diapers, toys, cute onesies, and childcare add up to a startling $12,680 in the first year alone. WebMD’s recent publication reveals this.

The financial costs of parenthood are dissuading many Americans from embracing parenthood. A survey disclosed that approximately half of couples are delaying having children due to economic reasons.

Bringing a life into this world is expensive, but you can take proactive steps early on to ensure a stable financial future for your growing family. If you plan to start a family soon, here are some tips to help you get your finances in order.

#1 Explore Your Contraceptive Options

Sexually active women who don’t use contraceptives are at an increased risk of unwanted pregnancy. Unplanned pregnancies strain a couple’s finances due to medical expenses and lost wages of the mother.

There is no foolproof way to prevent pregnancy, but you can lower your risk of conceiving by using contraceptives. Unless you’re financially ready to have a baby, it’s essential for you to use contraceptives. This will give you time to prepare financially for a baby.

Condoms– male and female– are 98% effective in preventing pregnancies. Another affordable option to prevent pregnancy is to use oral contraceptive pills. These pills contain hormones that keep you from getting pregnant. When taken regularly, birth control pills are 99% effective in preventing pregnancies.

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are also popular among women who want to delay pregnancies. Healthcare professionals insert these devices made of plastic and copper or progesterone hormone inside women’s uteruses. Once inserted, these devices can prevent pregnancies for up to ten years or even more.

In regard to intrauterine devices, opt for any but Paragard. Though long-lasting, Paragard IUDs are drawing complaints from thousands of users because they can result in severe injuries.

More than a dozen lawsuits have been filed against the manufacturer of Paragard, Teva Pharmaceuticals. Plaintiffs in the Paragard lawsuit allege that the manufacturer failed to warn customers about the device’s potential to break or fracture during removal.

Qualifying injuries, TorHoerman Law explains, include uterus perforation, excessive bleeding, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), and complications from an ectopic pregnancy. Instead of Paragard, you can go for Kyleena, Skyla, Mirena, or Liletta IUDs.

#2 Start Saving

A recent release of The Wall Street Journal discloses that raising a child costs over $300,000. That’s a whopping sum.

If you’re planning to start a family within a year and a half, you should start saving money right away. The idea behind this is to ensure you have sufficient funds to meet your child’s expenses once they arrive in the world. By starting to save early, you will be better prepared for the financial responsibilities of parenthood.

Assessing your current financial condition will help you determine how you can save for your child. Track your spending using budgeting apps or tools. This will help you identify the areas where you can cut back on expenses.

You must also prepare a budget and stick to it, regardless. It will prevent you from spending more than what you should. Avoid unnecessary debts and try paying off your current debts.

#3 Find Out How Much Maternity Pay You Will Get

There is no national policy for maternity leave in the US. The country has left it to the states to determine their own policies regarding paid maternity leaves.  

Eight states in the US offer paid maternity leaves. These include Oregon, Washington, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California.

However, UK residents are eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). You will receive SMP if you have been working in the company for no less than 26 weeks and are still working the expected week of childbirth, i.e., the 26th week of pregnancy. On average, you will receive at least £123 every week in the eight weeks if you’re paid weekly or two months if paid monthly.

Whether you reside in the US or the UK, you must find out if you’re eligible for maternity pay. This will help you plan your finances for the period accordingly.

#4 Sell Your Junk to Make Space and Money

Once you start trying for a baby, declutter your space. You can sell all items lying in your storeroom or garden shed and make some dollars.

Apps like Ziffit allow users to sell CDs, DVDs, books, and games online. If you’ve got bundles of DVDs or books, put them up for sale on Ziffit or related apps. You can also sell clothes that you don’t like, wear, or fit in. Depop and thredUP are two apps where you can sell your clothes (even used) and make money.

Handbags, shoes, furniture, and fitness equipment are other items you can sell online and earn some money.

Wrapping it up, the financial aspects of raising a child cause many parents to delay parenthood. However, you can alleviate your worries and embrace parenthood confidently through careful planning.

The tips mentioned above will help you get your finances in order, allowing you to provide for the needs of your growing family. Be sure to start early, though. Early financial planning will guarantee not only success but also peace of mind when you embark on the new chapter of parenthood in your life.

When a small business gets it right, and things start to fall into place, it is critical to have an expansion plan at the ready in order to promote and support business growth. Of course, it takes finance to be able to expand any operation, which means finding a finance company that promotes expanding businesses. Incorporate LLC can provide small businesses with personal liability protection and a more flexible tax structure, helping them thrive in a competitive market.

Commercial Finance

You might need business asset finance in order to acquire heavy equipment, or perhaps you want to automate your warehouse; this is a time to seek out a leading Australian commercial finance provider, an organization that will help you to fund expansion over the years. You should formulate a 3–5-year expansion plan, and your finance partner can help with this.

Commercial Finance Agreement

If you enter into a Commercial Finance Agreement, you can instantly invest in the following:

• Commercial vehicles
• Commercial equipment
• Earthmoving equipment
• Construction equipment

The finance company understands the needs of small businesses and offers a range of repayment options to suit your situation. Whether you’re looking to start or expand different types of businesses—such as a construction firm, transportation service, or retail shop—accessing the right financing is essential. There are also specialized funding programs, including Hispanic business funding and options for other minority-owned companies, that can provide additional support for entrepreneurs seeking growth.

Finance Leasing

This is when the finance company acquires the asset, and you lease it from them, which many business owners prefer. This allows you to manage a large fleet of vehicles and pay monthly, which doesn’t involve using your capital.

Many small businesses simply do not have the capital to buy vehicles and equipment, and not being able to acquire essential assets could seriously impact the organization. If business is booming and you are in need of additional commercial vehicles/equipment, you don’t need to wait; taking out a leasing agreement enables you to get the equipment you need right now rather than having to wait.

Novated Leasing

Using this option, you can buy a new car for business or personal use, and a monthly repayment is deducted from your salary. Your employer signs a novation agreement with the finance company, and they take over responsibility, deducting the repayment from your pre-tax salary. Click here for information about financial planning.

Benefits of novated leasing:

• Terms ranging from 12-60 months
• No annual fees
• Running costs included
• Options include tax, insurance & vehicle maintenance
• Deferral options available

If you would like to learn more about novated leasing, search online for a leading Australian finance company and see what they have to offer.

Create a Business Expansion Plan

Funding is a critical aspect of business development, and if you are in need of business expansion funding, search online for a leading Australian finance company and see what they can do for you and your company.

The number of crypto users continues to grow by the day. More and more users have started to warm up to the idea of adopting cryptocurrencies in plenty of their financial dealings. In addition, Earnity states that there are more than 20,000 cryptocurrencies in existence, with nearly half of them being active or valuable.

A study on crypto was conducted in early 2022 by a software company. In the survey, 53 percent of the 2,000 American respondents deem cryptocurrencies and other digital assets as the future of finance. The younger generation is unsurprisingly more bullish about the outlook of cryptocurrencies, as 68 percent of the respondents who belonged to the 25-34 age group hold that belief.

 There are various reasons to believe that crypto plays a key role in the future of finance

First, cryptocurrency holds value in several ways. It can be used to make transactions without the need for a third-party firm. Even individuals with little to no access to traditional banks due to geographic or other limitations can enter the world of finance through digital access or ownership of cryptocurrencies.

As time passes, crypto is becoming a more acceptable financial system in both the private and public sectors. With institutions such as technology-focused corporations and even central banks starting to recognize and incorporate crypto in their operations, new policies and regulations are being developed and implemented, allowing more users to enter the crypto space.

 According to Earnity, crypto has several transactional and banking benefits

For one, it allows for increased privacy. Since different cryptographic techniques power the system, anonymous transactions can be facilitated. Additionally, data protection is ensured, preventing private information from falling into the wrong hands.

Another advantage of crypto is that transactions using the financial system cannot be changed or forged because transactions are done in highly secure networks.

Due to these reasons, it is not unsurprising to see why countless people have started to believe in the concept of crypto and the role it plays in shaping the future of finance.