So wife peed on three sticks, all three came back positive. Can't officially confirm until early december during the first Doctor's appt via ultrasound.

I'm not really freaked out or anything, but am curious about what steps to take now while there's still time?

• Start a 529?
• Thought about getting Aflac (but they won't help pay for pregnancy until 10 months after effective date, which we wont be)
• Getting life insurance (had started this before we found out, but want to get in before they find out about the baby on the way)
• Probably need to set up a will....

Just curious if there is anything else I should be trying to accomplish now?

Additionally: Can anyone here recommend ways to limit the bonus tax of 37% and maximize ways to keep as much as possible while avoiding the 401K route? I'd rather have the extra cash now with the kid on the way vs using it when I'm 65.

tap the brakes Dave Ramsey, a 529? Worry about your wife right now. Don't start socking money away that you can't touch for darn near two decades. Hell by then college may be "free".

I'm a father of two with a miscarriage in between. Most of my friends wives had at least one of not multiple miscarriages while having children.

My point is maybe wait on this stuff, like the poster above says. I'd give it to at least 12-14 weeks along.

ABATTBQ11 said:

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Sleep.

My hang up on the 529 plan is that it comes with a withdrawal penalty plus taxes if not used on approved expenses. Approved expenses beyond tuition and fees, like room and board, come with strings. There's also no telling what the tuition and fees will look like in 20 years.

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Vanguard estimates at $240K for 4 years. I'd probably just do a 529 to pay for tuition and fees, while paying for housing out of pocket.

Many thanks to the wise words on this board. I recognize I am probably getting ahead of myself. My goal is to just utilize as much time as possible to help prepare (in the event that a child does materialize). I guess that's just the Boy Scout in me.

If it's still open enrollment for y'all, make sure your wife has short term disability set up.

ABATTBQ11 said:

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Sleep.

My hang up on the 529 plan is that it comes with a withdrawal penalty plus taxes if not used on approved expenses. Approved expenses beyond tuition and fees, like room and board, come with strings. There's also no telling what the tuition and fees will look like in 20 years.

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I think it depends on your tax bracket today and projected at retirement.

We contributed to the gift tax limit this year for our 11 month old. But I'm considering directing our taxable investments and converting some taxable equities to superfund her 529 next year.

I think if:

• You're already maxing all tax advantage space;
• and there is an appreciable difference between your current and projected retirement tax bracket;
• or you're looking to leave an estate.

Then stashing every drop you're allowed to in a 529 makes sense, regardless of how much you'll actually spend on education. You just have to compare the value of tax free compounding growth against the penalty and deferred income tax.

I'm in the same boat and 18 weeks into my wife being bred. We've both discussed getting a will set up but not really sure where to look or what type of professional we should be contacting for this. Can any of the folks that have commented provide any recommendations for someone in my situation? Also, any ballpark estimates on what it cost to get a will simple formulated by a professional?

Congrats! Sleep and enjoy the time together having a social life. Once you have a kid, those are the first 2 things to go away.

And regarding the life insurance...pregnancy won't prevent her from getting coverage with most carriers. She can be 8 months along and assuming there aren't any extenuating circumstances she could probably get covered at the best rate.

I'm with the other guys: take a deep breath, start wrapping your brain around being a father and get excited about what's coming. Most of these other things can have their box checked at some point along the way and don't have to be dealt with during the first trimester.

Congrats!

While I applaud your thinking about things so early in the process, I wouldn't go bat **** crazy over the financial stuff. While it should not be ignored, in my mind there are much more important things to be dealt with for you and for her and for the baby.

Life changes when a new one comes along and though you know that I'm sure, the changes will be in ways and/or in magnitude way more than you suspect. Your wife will change some and if you love her and like her you will be watching for those changes. And the baby will bring you such joy in your life. Balancing life, new responsibilities, and all that goes with parenthood will be like nothing you have ever experienced. Enjoy the journey, find a way for you and she to spend time together, it will be good for both of you. And time for you and the child as well. She will appreciate the break!

All three of mine are grown and have three grandchildren now. Time passes way faster than I realized. Lost time and lost opportunity at some point can't be made up. I didn't do the things I am suggesting perfectly so perhaps I am preaching a bit.

Being a dad is just the coolest. You get to be a hero every day and don't even need a cape.

Best of luck to you and she and the new little one.

Congrats!

On withholding not sure there is much you can do on bonus tax. Suppose if you knew it was a for sure thing you could adjust your regular paycheck withholding to make sure your final amount withheld wasn't too much and you weren't getting a large tax refund. Uncle Sam wants his money up front, not a check from you in April the following year.

First and foremost, congratulations.

Next, buy stock in Huggies.

Put away more money than you have now in savings

Make sure you're contributing to HSA

Reevaluate your life insurance (consider how many kids you will have and your income in 5-7 years and what your debt situation may be)

Understand how much of a priority college funding is between you and the Mrs

Go shop preschools like...yesterday. Good ones have LONG waiting lists and good ones are absolutely worth it

That's weird how that works out.

The best preschools where we were had 9-12 month waiting lists. Once you had one kid in it was a lot easier for the second (or more) to follow but getting the first in a good one was a bear in our area.

And Regularly buy VTSAX

LOYAL AG said:

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Sleep. You're not going to get much once the baby is born.

Sex. You're not going to get much once the baby is born.

The rest can wait.

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This. We just had our first three weeks ago. He's still in the NICU so we're soaking up as much sleep as possible. But the second statement is holding true.

My advice: take care of your wife, enjoy the next nine months of it just being the two of y'all. Go on trips, go on dates, and spoil yourselves a little. When the baby comes, get the medical bills/insurance arguments/etc. out of the way (we're not even there yet). Once all of that is taken care of and you both have settled into parenthood and figured out the new norm, then reevaluate your financial position and see what you can do to start saving.

Congrats!

jaggiemaggie said:

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And Regularly buy VTSAX

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Already ahead of you!

Rice and Fries said:

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ABATTBQ11 said:

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Sleep.

My hang up on the 529 plan is that it comes with a withdrawal penalty plus taxes if not used on approved expenses. Approved expenses beyond tuition and fees, like room and board, come with strings. There's also no telling what the tuition and fees will look like in 20 years.

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Vanguard estimates at $240K for 4 years. I'd probably just do a 529 to pay for tuition and fees, while paying for housing out of pocket.

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That seems insanely high to me. I just don't think that kind of growth in tuition and fees is sustainable from a market standpoint. As long as they outpace inflation, at some point people will be unable to afford it, even with loans.

Ask your HR department what kind of legal assistance benefits you have. My company offers free will creation and other discounted legal services through one of our benefits providers, and we're not exactly big. You might be surprised what you have access to.

I'm maxing out my tax advantages, but I'm also contributing heavily to an ESOP. The advantages of that make a 529 kind of silly for me to do. If I stay here long term, the dividends will likely fund a sold chunk, if not fully, of yearly tuition and fees.

get the will done, because if something happens to both of you there will be a plan in place that you made the decision as to where your kid ends up rather than the government.

After that -setup the 529 but don't worry about it immediately - just have it there, send the info to family/grandparents and let them put some money in. since you showed so much thinking ahead and planning they might respect that and start funding it.

After that - everything else already said. In hindsight, with one infant - we should have gone out more. All the kid does is sleep so if you can sneak in a few hours between feedings and get out of the house - do it.

Loosely related.

Look to do any necessary work around the house now, and I'm not specifically referring to babyproofing the house, which doesn't need to be done for a while.

Anything that involves hammering, cleaning, fixing up, do it now. Not suggesting a re-model, but you probably won't have any solid blocks of time to use any power tools in short future.

Also, with the sex....hopefully those pregnancy hormones work in your favor...because...well...things change for a while.

Financially, about 2x what you think you might need in term life. Worry about the rest later.

RangerRick9211 said:

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Then stashing every drop you're allowed to in a 529 makes sense, regardless of how much you'll actually spend on education. You just have to compare the value of tax free compounding growth against the penalty and deferred income tax.

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Since 529 contributions are post-tax money, and the advantage of contributing is tax-free distributions for qualified expenses, then how does paying income taxes + 10% penalty leave someone better off than investing outside a 529?

Thank you sir!

Iowaggie said:

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Loosely related.

Look to do any necessary work around the house now, and I'm not specifically referring to babyproofing the house, which doesn't need to be done for a while.

Anything that involves hammering, cleaning, fixing up, do it now. Not suggesting a re-model, but you probably won't have any solid blocks of time to use any power tools in short future.

Also, with the sex....hopefully those pregnancy hormones work in your favor...because...well...things change for a while.

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I don't think this is only loosely related at all. Due in 2 weeks and this is my suggestion as well. I'd add to that to make sure any projects that will interfere with her ability to get baby's room ready, make sure they're wrapped up by about 32 weeks. Our project went past that and it was brutal for me to feel like time was wasting while baby shower and furniture stuff just sat in the garage begging to be assembled and sorted through. And now at 2 weeks out the guest room still isn't put back together completely (we had to box up and move out of nearly the entire house) though it's usable but these days after work and trying to stay active I'm just out of energy to do anything else at this point.

If youre already in a good place financially then just keep on keepin' on for now. Figure out what her pay will be like while she's out and if you need to prepare for that then do so. We haven't changed anything yet but will while I'm out on leave. A trust and will and changing beneficiaries is definitely on the to do soon list.

As mentioned above, max out an HSA if you have access to one. Pregnancy and delivery ain't cheap.

Dollar Tree Prego tests work just fine. FYI.