Once you are a parent, it’s a lifelong endeavor. And the financial needs that accompany it will last — and change — throughout your life too.
After all, as your child grows, so will your obligations to help them with their financial needs. At the same time, you have to be cognizant of your own money demands — especially because your financial security is vital to theirs.
Here is a guide to the financial situations and challenges parents are likely to encounter.
Becoming a parent
Even before the new arrival arrives, there are ways to prepare.
- How to prepare financially for the birth of a child
- Insurance when pregnant
- How expensive is adoption? 5 financial considerations
- Younger moms vs. older moms: The financial implications
- Financial steps to take when you become a stepparent
- The changing notion — and finances — of a family
Then, once your child is present, you’ll need to implement changes to your family finances.
- How new parents can start budgeting for their kids
- The new parent financial checklist
- 7 financial secrets for new moms
Most important, you need to think about protection for your new loved one, especially if something happens to you.
- What kind of life insurance should a new parent get?
- Calculator: How much life insurance do I need?
- 4 times when term insurance may be the answer
- Why life insurance matters for both working and stay-at-home parents
- Is disability income insurance worth it?
- Calculator: What would a disability do to my finances?
- Whole life insurance coverage: What is best for families?
More likely than not, you’ll want college to be an option for your child. The earlier you start planning, the better off you will likely be when the time for college comes.
- 529 investment strategies: A primer
- Uncomfortable truths about college saving
- Your ultimate guide to college savings
But being a new parent doesn’t erase your own financial needs. You need to take steps for your own financial security as well.
- Why saving for your retirement early is important
- 5 financial mistakes and how to avoid them
- Don’t have an emergency fund? Get one
- Loan shopping – how to save money and stay safe
- How to manage, reduce, and avoid credit card debt
- How to shop for a mortgage
- How to pay off student loan debt
- How to prepare for you first meeting with a financial professional
As your child grows
As your child grows, different needs may develop. Indeed, you may have more than one child or certain circumstances to think about. So, financial planning needs for your family will change.
- How to make a financial plan for your family
- Budgeting for blended families
- 10 single-parent money challenges and solutions
- Grandparents raising grandchildren: Challenges and solutions
- Parents and LGBTQ kids
- 3 LGBTQ parenting financial challenges
- Finding family balance: Special needs vs. everybody’s needs
- Financial advice for special-needs families
Protection needs may also get more complex.
- 6 signs you may be underinsured
- How to ‘ladder’ life insurance with family changes
- Is group life insurance enough?
- The logic of life insurance for children
- Back to school insurance check
As you child enters school, there may be a financial boost. But there will also be questions about finances when it comes to education and activities.
- Paying for K–12 private school tuition
- High school and kids summer sports camps: Costs & curveballs
- Cost of youth sports: Dollars and sense
- 5 financial gift ideas for teens and kids
- Gifting life insurance for kids: 3 reasons
- Financial advice for hockey moms (and all sports parents)
- 6 tax breaks for parents
You will also need to think about ways for your children to develop their own money skills.
- 7 back-to-school shopping tips that can teach your kids to save
- Helping your teenager establish good credit
- Teaching children money skills
- 5 ways Halloween can teach kids about money
- Can video games teach kids fiscal responsibility?
And, as any parent knows, there will be issues beyond finances that children may need help with.
- Helping children cope with a loved one’s death
- The pandemic and financial lessons for kids
- Combating high school stress
As college age approaches, a new level of financial considerations will kick in.
- 4 forms you need when your child turns 18
- What to give your child on an important birthday?
- What high schoolers need to know about student loans
- Sending twins or siblings to college: Financial options
- Alternatives for the non-college bound
- Getting remarried and your child’s college financial aid
- Paying for college on disability
Your child becomes an adult
Many people breathe a sigh of relief at this stage. Still, there are situations and considerations that may need to be addressed.
- 7 gifts for college grads that will teach them to save wisely
- Parents supporting adult children: The good and bad
It’s also the time to start thinking about how your estate will be passed on to your children.
- What is estate planning and why is it important?
- Wills and the basics of estate planning
- Types of wills and their uses
- How to keep your heirs from fighting
- Guarding against problems for heirs
- Estate taxes vs. inheritance taxes
At any one of these stages, it can be helpful to seek professional financial advice. Since 1851, MassMutual has been focused on helping people secure their future and protect the ones they love. That purpose is why we have thousands of financial professionals to assist you on your journey through insurance, investing, retirement planning, estate management, and more. You can find a MassMutual professional with this tool or you can let us know you’d like to talk to one and we’ll have one of our financial professionals contact you.
Discover more from MassMutual …
8 tax breaks for married couples
Tips for talking money with your aging parent
The changing role of the caregiver
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