Ten weeks after having my first child, the 'baby changes everything' cliche has turned my life upside down. Before you have children, it sounds trite. After Baby arrives, it sounds so profound that it could have been handed down by the Buddha himself.
One of the biggest changes is that now I have a little voice in the back of my mind that repeats one phrase over and over:
What if... what if... what if...
My anxiety level is at code red. I worry constantly about whether the baby is gaining enough weight, if she's too hot or too cold and if putting her in daycare is the right decision. I wake up in the middle of the night worrying that the baby monitor is broken and I can't hear her crying. I worry about the sun, and I worry about the rain.
Then there are the financial concerns.
Not only do I have to worry about my own financial security, but now I also have to consider the legacy or burden my child will inherit. What if... the market crashes? What if... I get sick and can't work? What if... my baby's accepted to Harvard but doesn't qualify for financial aid?
What if... what if... what if...
The bad news -- as my mom constantly reminds me -- is that the worrying will never stop. Whether my baby's an infant or a grown woman, my 'what ifs' will never go away. Life is uncertain. That much is obvious.
But what may not be so obvious is how to mitigate some of those financial risks.
Successful investors don't rack up win after win because they're the smartest guys in the room. They have simple, smart rules they stick to every time.
Now that I'm investing for myself, my children and even my children's children, it's more important than ever to follow a few simple guidelines for creating (and preserving) wealth.
I've been focusing on five areas since my new baby came to town: Savings & Budgets, Credit Card Debt, Insurance, Home & Mortgage and Stock Market Investing. If you're looking to cut out some of the uncertainty in your life, here are some of my favorite articles from each category:
Credit Card Debt: The Fastest Way to Increase Your Credit Score
Insurance: How to Pick the Life Insurance That's Right for You
Home & Mortgage: 5 Secrets to Surviving the Mortgage Process
Stock Market Investing: Warren Buffett's Golden Rule of Investing
