Terri Ramsey Beavers You’re considering starting a family – congratulations! Building a family is your life’s masterpiece, a slow and loving process with huge rewards.
Starting a family –whether that’s getting a dog or deciding to have a child– can result in a lot of changes to your lifestyle. By planning, you can avoid any nasty surprises. As you begin to weigh up your options, it’s important to start small and work your way up to keep those stress levels to a minimum.
Dreamers – don’t be put off. Your wildest aspirations in life are still in the pipeline, but not without fixing the fundamentals firmly into place first. The smaller details will come after.
Building a house requires strong foundations, and the same goes for families! Everyone has different reasons for wanting to start a family and most importantly, how that materialises will be uniquely yours!
To start, some key building blocks will need to be in place;
Be Budget Smart
As you start to think about what your family might look like in the future, it’s important to sit down and work out the boring part – cash flow!
If money is not your strong point, noting down all of your outgoing’s in a note on your mobile phone is a great start. This can work up to a spreadsheet of all of your incomings and outgoings both individually and with your partner, detailing costs so you can see exactly where all your money is going.
Looking into the future for your family as it grows, important things to take into consideration include maternity leave, health care, and school costs. Take note of any other factors that may affect your budget as you go and estimate how much they will cost.
Once you think you have covered everything, you can compare the two and make adjustments as you see fit.
Communication is Key
Your relationship with your partner is the key to your family’s success. Realising whether or not you communicate well with your partner can be a make or break decision. This is the star player of your team that will help you to build your family relationships for the future.
Establishing boundaries and catching up regularly throughout this life-changing process will make it easier for everyone involved. Communication will foster an understanding foundation for your family that will trickle down into all aspects of the relationship you have with each other.
Feel Supported with Insurance
Looking into insurance policies will help you to quickly realise what it takes to start a family. This journey requires a lot of changes and investments in your life, a risk worth being insured for.
To save yourself the emotional burden of drumming up all of the hypotheticals that come with starting a family, talk to a health insurer or opt to work with a talented injury lawyer with a background in family planning to cover all bases.
When choosing an insurance policy, make sure that you have read through and completely understand all that is and is not included so you know where you stand in any form of emergency.
Think Carefully About the “Where”
Location, location, location!
When you start to think about relocating, being surrounded by friends and family and in a comfortable position between work, social opportunities and school are important things to consider when selecting a home for your family.
Taking time to find a real estate agent that understands your personal needs and wants will alleviate a lot of the stresses of your search. With a set budget in place, safety comfort and getting to know the area before you take the leap will help you to make a clear and conscious decision.
Health and Wellness
A healthy family is a happy family. For many, preparing for a family means getting friendly with your local clinic. Meeting your doctors and getting acquaint is the first step and don’t be afraid to look around to find the right practice for you.
Should you choose to start preparing for a child, consulting your doctor and having a conversation about the next steps to take comes first.
Throughout this whole process put the wellness of you and your partner first. Check-in on yourself regularly and don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
There is no grand master plan for preparing for family or predetermined outline for what the perfect family looks like. With careful consideration, you’ll find that your path to this exciting new stage in your life!
IFeatured image credits: Couple – Family