Baby or Bust Financial Planning for New Parents and Parents-to-be

Mother-of-four and personal finance journalist Nicola Field takes parents and parents-to-be on a step-by-step journey that covers every aspect of funding a family. Baby or Bust tackles the key issues faced by parents today, including:

• deciding when to have children
• managing the extra costs
• living well on one income
• taking parental leave
• working out which government benefits you are entitled to
• saving for your child's education.

With lots of easy-to-follow tips and plenty of good, sound money advice, this entertaining and informative book is a must-read for anyone about to start a family. You may not be able to stop the baby from waking at 3 am but at least you won't be lying awake worrying about the family finances!

Acknowledgements v

Foreword vii

1 Ready or not? Knowing the right time 1

2 Can we afford a baby? 15

3 Forward planning 33

4 Nine months … and counting 61

5 Paying for everything 81

6 Maternity leave and beyond 93

7 Penny-wise parenting — surviving on one income 109

8 Living well on a budget 127

9 Bibs, bottles, briefcase 139

10 Saving for schooling 159

Notes 177

Index 181