Baby
The Financial Checklist Before Having a Baby
Having a baby costs $12,000-$15,000 in year one alone. Here's the complete financial checklist to prepare -- from insurance to childcare to the will you've been putting off.
Parental Leave Runway Calculator
How long can we afford to have [partner] stay home? Models income loss, savings drawdown, and return-to-work timeline.
Parental Leave Runway Calculator
How long can you really afford to stay home with your new baby? Let's map it out.
$
$0$50,000
Total take-home for both partners
$
$0$30,000
This is the income you'd be pausing
$
$0$200,000
Savings you'd be comfortable drawing from during leave
Your leave runway is about 1 year and 1 month — it'll be tight, but doable
Here's what I'd tell a friend
You could stretch to 13 months, but it would drain your emergency fund. I'd suggest targeting 2 months of leave and starting to save aggressively now. Even $390/month extra over the next 9 months would add meaningful runway.
Comfortable leave
less than 1 month
How long you can stay home while keeping a 3-month emergency fund
Maximum leave (before $0)
1 year and 1 month
Absolute max — but leaves no safety net
Current emergency fund
2.2 months
Below the recommended 3 months
Monthly burn rate (unpaid)
$1,300/mo
How much savings you'd drain per month with no income from leave-taker
Total income loss
$105,300
Lost wages during the leave period
Savings drawdown
$14,200
How much savings you'd use during leave
Paid leave coverage
1 month
Receiving $8,200/month during this phase
Unpaid months on savings
12 months
Drawing from savings to cover the gap
The Money Friend
Your leave runway is about 1 year and 1 month — it'll be tight, but doable
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