Family planning is financial planning

In 2007, a now-iconic Gallup poll reported that Americans, on average, believed the “ideal” family size to be 2.5 kids.

Over time, those 2.5 kids have come to signify an outdated vision of the American dream — in fact, a widely memed tweet declared, “The millennial version of 2.5 kids and a picket fence is six houseplants and no roommate.”

A lot has changed since 2007: our timelines for parenthood; new fertility solutions; policies around child care (or lack thereof); what a typical American family structure looks like; our cultural attitudes toward having children (or not having them); society’s expectations of women (mothers and non-mothers); and on and on and on.

The American dream no longer looks like a Norman Rockwell painting. Maybe it never has. But there is still a dream.

Maybe you don’t know what that looks like for you yet. You may be one year out from having your first kid, or ten years out, or still not sure if you want to have any at all. Maybe you already have a kid, or two, and want to plan for more. Maybe you’re thinking about egg freezing, or adoption, or IVF, or surrogacy. Maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t know if I’m in a position to pause my career to build the family I want.” Or maybe you’re thinking, “I’m happy with my six houseplants and no roommate.”

No matter where you are in your journey, we believe in giving Future You the freedom to make the choices she wants to make. Family planning is financial planning; and financial planning is how you give Future You options.

Because planning for a family comes with a lot of unexpected costs — and not all of them financial. Whether you’re building a family of two or 12. (They are not, in fact, cheaper by the dozen.)

While you can’t plan for everything, you can plan for life's milestones: kids, career pauses, health emergencies, college tuition (or not), a family home with a white picket fence — the list goes on.

That’s why we paired up with the women’s health experts at Maven to bring you a free, 60-minute workshop with a live Q&A on the costs of family-building — and how you can prepare. Sign up today (or tell your friends) — this is a one-time-only event.

“Before I had my first child, I had this expectation for how my finances would go. But child care costs are so much more expensive than I ever budgeted for. And that [impacts] the disposable cash I expected to have, to do things like go out to dinner.”

‌— Stork’d host Julia Karol on her pre-birth money miscalculations. (Our financial planning sessions will help you plan dinner out at your favorite restaurant and child care.)

🔗 Linkin’ up

• 🔌 POWER UP WITH A PRENUP: Why not having a prenup means you forfeit power over your financial future. (Thanks to the team at HelloPrenup for this one.)
• 🛟 BABY BOOMER BUOYANCY: How the wealthiest generation of retirees is keeping the economy afloat.
• 🫄 BUDGET FOR A BREAK: Ready to put a pause on your career? Here are some tips from some financial experts, via Mother Untitled.
• 😰 “CAN I CARE FOR EVERYONE AND MYSELF?”: Amil Niazi ponders the new “millennial midlife crisis,” which is about money — not motorcycles. (Our financial experts are here to help you answer that question, btw.)
• 🐎 CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP, JOAN: Joan Payden quit her job and emptied her 401(k) at 52 to start her own money management firm. Now, at 92, she’s one of America’s oldest money managers and one of its richest self-made women.
• 💰 NEW SALLIE INTERVIEW JUST DROPPED: Ellevest CEO Sallie Krawcheck talked to Fast Company about the feminization of wealth, loneliness in leadership, and the risks that didn’t pay off.

Dial into your future. Schedule a complimentary call with a financial expert.