4 Financial Planning Tools New Parents May Need

Parenthood is a joy, but it also brings new financial challenges. From childcare expenses to your child’s future education, you’ll have more responsibility to handle. It can be tough to keep track of all your finances when you’re busy with your new child. That’s where financial planning tools can help.

Below, we’ll discuss a few tools like calculators and apps to help new parents manage their finances more efficiently, along with strategies like borrowing against life insurance and tax strategies. Utilizing these tips and tools can help reduce financial stress and let parents focus more on their children.

1. Budgeting Apps

Budgeting apps help new parents manage their day-to-day finances by mapping their income and tracking expenses.

These apps often connect to your financial accounts at your banks, credit card companies, brokerages, and similar institutions. They may also let you add assets like your home or vehicles.

From here, you can set up budgets for each type of income and expenses. The budgeting app automatically tracks each transaction and puts it into its proper category to give you real-time insights into your personal finances.

Other features that some apps come with include:

• Bill reminders
• Investment portfolio trackers
• Goal setting
• Credit card recommendations

2. Loan Calculators

Loan calculators are invaluable for parents who need to take out loans for major purchases. There are different types of calculators for each loan type.

For example, mortgage calculators help parents estimate their monthly payments based on the down payment, interest rate, and total mortgage amount. Some may let you go in the reverse order, calculating your total home affordability based on your monthly payment amount.

Refinancing calculators are another example. These can help you calculate the potential savings of consolidating refinancing debts into lower-rate loans.

Take advantage of loan calculators whenever you’re considering any type of financing. Planning ahead can prepare you for any long-term financial commitments.

3. Tax Software

Tax software helps you navigate through the tax filing process and maximize tax benefits. The software starts by ensuring you report your income correctly. It then walks you through all your potential deductions and credits. As new parents, you may qualify for special deductions, such as:

• Child Tax Credit
• Dependent Care Credit
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
• Adoption Tax Credit, if you adopted a child
• Educational savings account contributions, such as 529 Plan contributions

If married, you may be able to file with the Married Filing Jointly marital status. This doubles your Standard Deduction and qualifies you for more favorable tax brackets, potentially saving substantially on taxes. Married Filing Jointly is required for many parental tax credits.

Many leading software platforms will help you find state-specific deductions and credits, too, to maximize savings and free up more money for your children.

Some software may also estimate your tax burden as the year progresses, adjusting the amount as your income changes. These can work well for self-employed parents with fluctuating incomes and more complex tax situations.

4. Life Insurance Calculators

Life insurance can help you protect your partner and children while potentially building wealth. Still, many factors go into determining your life insurance needs and the best policy type for you.

A life insurance calculator can help. These calculators use various pieces of financial information to calculate your estimated coverage needs and may recommend certain policy types to explore.

Additionally, these could help you explore how to cash out life insurance if you have a permanent life insurance policy. For example, if borrowing against life insurance, pairing a life insurance calculator with a loan calculator can help you estimate your borrowing expenses to get the most out of your cash value.

Try These Online Tools for Better Financial Management

Online financial tools can help new parents offload a lot of manual personal financial management.

Budgeting apps help manage your day-to-day finances and reduce expenses to live within your means. Meanwhile, tax software can help you file your taxes properly and maximize your deductions each year.

Beyond that are calculators for specific financial products. Loan calculators can help you determine how much you must borrow, whereas life insurance calculators can help you protect your loved ones at an affordable rate.

By using these calculators, you can save significant time and manage your finances more precisely, helping you progress toward your goals.

Aflac coverage is underwritten by American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus. In New York, coverage is underwritten by American Family Life Assurance Company of New York.

Juvenile Life: B61000: In Arkansas, Idaho, Oklahoma & Virginia, Policies ICC18B61JWO & ICC18B61JTO. In Delaware, Policies B61JWO, B61JTO. B60000: Term & Whole Life: In Arkansas, Oklahoma & Virginia, Policies: ICC18B60C10, ICC18B60100, ICC18B60200, ICC18B60300, & ICC18B60400. Q60000: Group Whole Life: In Arkansas & Delaware, Policy Q60100M. In Idaho Policy Q60100MID. In Oklahoma, Policy Q60100MOK. Q60000: Group Term Life: In Arkansas, Idaho & Oklahoma, Policies ICC18Q60200M. In Delaware, Policies Q60200M.

Aflac Final Expense insurance coverage is underwritten by Tier One Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Aflac Incorporated and is administered by Aetna Life Insurance Company. Tier One Insurance Company is part of the Aflac family of insurers. In California, Tier One Insurance Company does business as Tier One Life Insurance Company (Tier One NAIC 92908).

Final Expense: Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, & Virginia, Policies ICC21-AFLLBL21 and ICC21-AFLRPL21; and Riders ICC21-AFLABR22, ICC21-AFLADB22, and ICC21-AFLCDR22. Aflac Final Expense policies are not available in New York.

Coverage may not be available in all states, including but not limited to, DE, ID, NJ, NM, NY, VA or VT. Benefits/premium rates may vary based on state and plan levels. Optional riders may be available at an additional cost. Policies and riders may also contain a waiting period. Refer to the exact policy and rider forms for benefit details, definitions, limitations and exclusions.

Content within this article is provided for general informational purposes and is not provided as tax, legal, health, or financial advice for any person or for any specific situation. Employers, employees, and other individuals should contact their own advisers about their situations. For complete details, including availability and costs of Aflac insurance, please contact your local Aflac agent.

Aflac WWHQ | Tier One Insurance Company | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999

Aflac New York | 22 Corporate Woods Boulevard, Suite 2 | Albany, NY 12211

Z2401085                                                                                                Exp. 12/25

Contact Information:
Senior PR & Corporate Communications
Contact: Angie Blackmar, 706-392-2097 or [email protected]