Having a Baby
Plan the next 18 years of financial life with one extra family member
Your situation
Months of one income temporarily lost. Set 0 if both parents return immediately.
Financial impact
Includes delivery, year-1 essentials, daycare (years 2–5), schooling (years 6–17), and your family insurance top-ups. Excludes higher education — see the goal below.
Cumulative cost over 18 years
By age 18 you'll have spent roughly ₹43.5 L raising your child — *before* higher education.
Recommended emergency fund
₹6.6 L
9 months of post-baby burn. You're ₹4.6 L short.
Term cover (each parent)
₹1.8 Cr
~15× annual income — protects spouse + child if one parent dies.
Education SIP from today
₹ 9,323/mo
Builds ₹25L (today's ₹) for higher-ed by age 18 at 12% return / 6% inflation.
Your Action Plan
Top up your emergency fund to 9 months of post-baby expenses
You're ₹4,61,500 short of the recommended buffer.
Add the baby to your family health insurance immediately after birth
Family floater ₹10L+ is the standard. Expect roughly ₹18,000/year added premium.
Buy term insurance: ~₹₹1.8 Cr coverage per parent
Pure term plan (no return-of-premium variants). Run quotes from 3+ insurers before locking in.
Start a child-education SIP — ₹9,323/month
Equity-heavy mutual funds for an 18-year horizon. Even ₹5k/month now is materially better than ₹15k starting at age 5.
Daycare costs hit hardest in years 2–5
Roughly ₹22,000/month in your tier. Plan whether one parent will go part-time or you'll outsource.
Don't withdraw from PF/PPF for delivery costs
These compound for 30+ years. Use emergency fund or a short-term personal loan first.
Don't buy ULIPs or child-plan endowments
Insurance bundled with investment loses on both. Term insurance + mutual funds dominates child plans by every metric.
Calculators that help with this