This past week was fairly monumental for the YMF family, as Mrs. Money and I welcomed Baby Money Finance into this world. It has been such an incredible, amazing week for us, and I thought I’d share a few reflections on being a Dad.

Overall impressions

I’m actually writing this post as I hold Baby Money Finance in my arms, while he is sleeping. Becoming a Dad has been one of the coolest experiences so far in my life (arguably right after getting married). It’s so cool to dream and wonder what they’ll be like for the 9 or so months while Mrs. Money was pregnant. We didn’t find out boy/girl until birth, which made the surprise all the better. It was so cool leaving for the hospital thinking, ‘Let’s go meet our baby’. Seeing Mrs. Money go through labor and trying to help as best I could was rewarding when he entered this world. 

Now that we’re home from the hospital, the feeling of joy and wonder continues. We’ve prepared our house for Baby Money Finance’s arrival, and had a chit chat with our dog regarding what was about to happen. It’s so cool to see our family grow, and working as a team to support each other. I find myself just staring at him while he sleeps, and love holding him. I know we’ve got a lot ahead of us, but for right now it just feels like the world has stopped and our family is the only thing that matters. 

Overall I’m just so thankful and feel so blessed for a healthy Baby Money and Mrs. Money. I’m of course a little nervous about the task ahead of us, raising a child, but am excited at the prospect of doing so!

How I feel financially

It wouldn’t be a YMF post without a little commentary on our finances, and how I prepared for having a kid. I reflect back on an interview post I did with a new Dad 3.5 years ago and how I was encouraged even then that it’s very possible to have and raise a child affordably. Mrs. Money has older siblings with kids, and they were gracious enough to pass along clothes and baby things that they no longer needed. Mrs. Money’s friends also hosted a baby shower for her, and we were once again overwhelmed with the generosity of our friends and family. Finally, a few of my guy friends threw me a diaper party, which I’m not sure if it’s a new thing or what, but we all got together, watched some basketball and they got me packs of diapers. We feel very ready to raise a child, in terms of having everything we ‘need’. 

I’ve also compared health insurance premiums to get a sense of how much it would be if we added Baby Money to my plan, or Mrs. Money’s plan. I have 30 days to add Baby Money to an insurance plan so will definitely make sure I do that. I’ve also looked into opening a 529 plan, which is a tax friendly way to save for Baby Money to go to college one day. I contributed to a FSA through work for all the healthcare expenses I imagine we’ll incur this year, as well as a FSA for childcare. If I don’t have to pay taxes on things that I will have to spend money on anyways, I’m not going to! Finally, I know that kids won’t be cheap, and plan to use part of my bonus (that should be coming soon) for general baby expenses. 

With that being said, expect some more posts related to having a child and maintaining financial stability with a growing family! And no, for the record, I’m not changing the name of the blog from “YoungMoneyFinance” to “DaddyMoneyFinance” or “OldMoneyFinance”. Still have the same mission of providing quality financial articles to young professionals!