Kids cost money. Everyone knows that. Whether you have a 5-year-old, or a 15-year-old, costs are involved. Jason over at WorkSaveLive, brought up the topic of being financially sound before having a child and making sure your savings can adequately provide. While I agree that having a sound financial plan before having children is a great idea, that’s not always how it happens. One can save until the cows come home, but most parents can attest to the fact that long after your kid turns 18, you’ll still be spending money on them.
In some cases, the kids start racking up fees the minute they enter the world. Yup, right at birth. See, my previous employer did provide health insurance which was awesome, because let’s face it: not all companies do. But, because of some florally arranged verbiage, aka super tiny fine print, any hospital stay requiring surgery and/or procedures, rendered us employees to cough up an extra $1500.
No that’s not a typo. $1500 smack-a-roos. Need your appendix out? $1500. Delivering your baby naturally or by c-section? $1500. Doesn’t matter why you’re in the hospital; you will be charged. And they want their payment as soon as you get home from the hospital. Along with the cards and flowers and well-wishes I received upon the birth of my daughter, I also received a bill. From my health insurance provider requiring immediate payment. For $1500. I was like, really? Right now, right this minute? I mean for crying out loud, I’m still changing bandages on my incisions over here.
The good news is that this payment requirement was made known to me enough in advance that we could sock that money away for that wonderful day when the pretty bill arrived in my mailbox. But my point is, even though I knew in advance to pay for that, once these babies start growing up into actual kids, you never know what you are going to end up paying for.
Are your kids going to have straight teeth or will they need braces? Will they be into ballet or are you going to be a soccer mom? Are they going to stay home and go to the local college, or will they be swayed by the bright lights of a big city college? These are things that as parents you just don’t know, until the question really presents itself. You never know what you will be paying for monetarily, until you are in the moment.
So parents, new parents, and soon-to-be parents, yes by all means, save your pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. If you are not yet a parent, don’t worry. Life has a way of working out and you’ll be fine. You’ll soon understand what you should spend money and what you shouldn’t. Oh, and read the fine print when it comes to your health insurance. Don’t let a ginormous hospital payment sneak up on you!
I think that planning is good…to a point. Some people become so obsessed with planning and saving that it takes the fun out of having a baby.
That said, you make an excellent point about reviewing your health insurance plan as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. You need to know what is covered, what isn’t, and where there might be a co-pay. We got lucky that we only had a $200 max co-pay for my hospital stay and c-section but with my gestational diabetes, there were a ton of expenses we did not expect. That was fun.
You are right, one does need to review their health insurance plan up close when it comes to extended stays in the hospital. I’ve known some people who didn’t know about the fine print in their coverage and were taken aback when a bill arrived.
I do agree with Jana that you can go overboard with planning…but I’m a retirement planner so it makes it difficult for me NOT to plan.
I’d rather be overly prepared (financially) before having a baby then not prepared enough. Also, for us it comes down to our desire to have children. If we REALLY wanted kids, then we’d just have them. However, it’s not at the top of our priority list right now.
$1500 is a bunch of money, but it’s nice that you knew about the cost before-hand. As you mentioned though, preparing for life and the unexpected costs of being alive aren’t as black and white. The reality of planning financially means that you have to have an emergency fund and try to be ready for the unexpected. You have it with kids, with retirement, and with your own life (with or without kids). You can’t prepare for everything, which simply makes it important to do the best you can, while you can.
What really helped us medically wise with the whole money situation, was having an FSA. I cannot stress enough, the importance of having one. It was so helpful to have during and after my pregnancy.
You are 100% right when you said “The reality of planning financially means that you have to have an emergency fund and try to be ready for the unexpected.” That is so true and once you have children, the reality of your statement becomes even more apparent.
I have trouble taking care of myself let alone a child and the costs that come with it. I’m sure you want to be prepared as possible, but as a person who just takes care of myself, I even get unexpected expenses all the time. But I’m sure that lil girl is totally worth everything!
Unexpected expenses crop up all the time. Whether it’s kids or adults, the unexpected happens! That’s why I am so glad for pf blogs and the hammering home of the importance of emergency funds.
And yes, my little girl is worth everything
Someday I’ll tell her about the 30 plus hours of labor she put her mommy through 
[...] 1500? Oh Sure, I Got That [...]
[...] received after having my daughter. We had medical insurance but it’s the kind that required a $1500 co-payment. So we paid that, and thought the matter was [...]