While the nation settles after buying Mega Millions lottery tickets and indulging in extra sweet fantasies of winning, we at PTVN are reviewing some excellent posts from our valued guest bloggers on family finances and planning. In today’s economy, people around the globe are taking new actions to ensure their pennies are well spent. We’re seeing more families turn their attention
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by Travis Mann
One question am frequently asked by my clients is when they should hire help to do their taxes. Although I am not an accountant or CPA myself, I am usually very good at identifying clients or situations that need a tax professional’s help. Here is a quick guide that may help you decide what to do this year:
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by Travis Mann
My wife, Chelsea, and I are proud first-time parents of our six-month-old newborn, Henry. We are also both in the finance world. I am a Financial Planner and Chelsea is a bookkeeper. Anytime we get to talk about both families and finances we are happy campers, particularly for other parents starting out.
Although many would consider us both financial experts, we were NOT perfect at preparing financially for Henry. However, I’d like to pass along six simple things we did learn (or should have done better):
1. Save, Save, Save.
Babies are expensive. While everyone knows this age-old truth, I would argue that your bundle of joy is the least expensive part of being a parent.
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by James Richards, Our Guest Contributor about “Money Matters and Family”
A lot of great parenting moments come when you least expect them. One morning, around 5 am, I was about ¼ awake, unshaven, in my robe, sitting in an armchair waiting for my first sip of coffee to make its way to my brain. I was not what you might call “game ready”.
Ben, age 6 comes out of his bedroom, jumps in my lap and says “Dad, did you used to smoke? How come you don’t anymore?” I did not see that coming! In the end, adrenaline did its magic and I managed to come up with a coherent answer, but that wasn’t really how I envisioned our first conversation about smoking!
Kids ask for your wisdom at the moment they want it. They do not give you a memo a week in advance saying please prepare for this topic. You just have to be ready when they ask. So how can you possibly be ready all the time?
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Jeanne Faulkner, Contributing Writer
Just how much does it cost to raise a child these days? The answer: It all depends on how you raise them.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a baby to adulthood has risen by 40 percent in the last ten years. They estimate that a child born in 2010 will cost a middle-income, dual-career family $226,920 dollars to get them through to 18 years of age. That total does not include college. On average, you can expect to pay between $8480 and $13,380 (or more) annually for various child-raising expenses.
What do you get for that price?
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