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New Life,  New Joys—and New Responsibilities
Whether you're starting or in the process of raising a family, make sure you have a financial strategy for the future.

When you've got kids, there's a lot you need to consider when it comes to financial planning—for yourself and your dependents. You're looking at ways to save for college while planning for your retirement, for example. 

Fortunately, you don't have to come up with a strategy on your own. Use this checklist as a guide for helping to secure your family's financial future.

Start a College Savings Plan

As a new parent, you can expect to pay a total of $140,956 to send your child through four years at a public, in-state institution 18 years from now.¹ Planning for your child's future educational costs may be the most important thing you can do, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune!

While money can be tight for new parents, you can easily begin saving for college through a 529 college savings plan with an automatic investment of as little as $25 or $50 a month. Calculate the cost of sending your child to college and learn more about 529 college savings plan options.

Buy or Adjust Life Insurance Policies

Your biggest asset, financially speaking, isn't your house, your car or your investments. It's your lifetime income potential. In the coming years, you and your family will rely on your income to cover not only the cost of living, but also the costs of healthcare, education, and eventually retirement. Help protect your family from the impact of premature death with a life insurance death benefit to help replace lost earnings.

It's worth taking a serious look at both term and permanent life insurance. Compare the costs and benefits to determine the best coverage for you and your family and select the option that works best for you.

Create or Update Your Will

It's important to identify who should care for your child if something happens to you. Check with your employer to see if a will-preparation service is part of your employee benefits plan. If your employer has The Hartford's group life insurance, you have access to a free, online will-preparation service. The service allows you to create a custom, legally binding will with the support of licensed attorneys.

Balance College Savings with Retirement Savings

You don't have to choose between sending your child to college and funding your retirement. Make sure you're enrolled in your company's 401(k) plan or the equivalent if you're self-employed. If you invest $5,000 per year (less than $420 per month) beginning at age 30 and earn an average of 8%, you could have $1,010,352 at age 65.² Start saving now!

Also, talk to your financial professional about other retirement savings vehicles, like individual retirement accounts and annuities. Earnings in these vehicles grow tax-deferred, so the money you would have otherwise paid in income taxes can stay in the account, working hard for you.

Make Your Home and Car Safe-Insure Both!

The birth of a child is a good time to review your auto insurance and homeowners insurance limits. You may want to consider whether your current limits are adequate, and how increasing or decreasing your deductible will affect your premium. Our Coverage Guide can help you determine how much coverage is right for you.

Having a baby doesn't necessarily affect your auto insurance, but having a teen driver certainly does! The good news is you may be able to save money if your teen is a good student or takes a driver training course. Learn more about our auto insurance discounts.

Talk with Professionals

You do have to start planning, but you don't have to do it alone. A financial professional can help you put together a strategy that helps your family become more financially secure and better prepared for the future.

Also, talk with an insurance agent so that he or she can help you determine what type of coverage makes the most sense for you and your family. Find an agent near you now.

¹ Source: Trends in College Pricing 2007, a survey of more than 3,000 U.S. post-secondary institutions conducted by The College Board, a not-for-profit scholastic organization.

² Assumes current principal of $5,000, annual additions of $5,000, and 36 years of annual compounding and does not reflect the actual performance of any particular product. The effect of taxes is not shown.