What will a baby really cost you? Let's find your number.

Whether you're thinking about starting a family or already have a baby on the way, the money part can feel like a big, scary unknown. Answer eight quick questions and see your first year line by line, based on where you live and the choices you're making.

Hey, I'm Jordan :)

My wife and I are planning to start a family, and I'm the finance nerd in our house. I'm that guy who likes to tinker with our bank accounts for fun.

So naturally, the first thing I did was look up what a baby's first year actually costs (big mistake). It was all scary headlines and national averages that had nothing to do with our real life.

Checking numbers used to be my day job, though.

I got my finance degree, spent two and a half years in the mortgage industry, then over four years as lead editor of mortgages and loans at Forbes. All while writing and marketing my book, You Deserve This Sh!t (100,000+ copies sold worldwide).

So I did what any finance nerd would do. I pulled the real data, checked it way too many times, and built the calculator I wished existed.

I hope it helps you breathe a little easier :)

Jordan

For planning, not financial or medical advice. See where my numbers come from

Your first-year breakdown

Line by line

Tap any line to see what it's built from, so you can swap in a real quote.

When the money leaves your account

The year doesn't arrive evenly. This is how it lands, month by month.

You unlocked a secret offer

You know the number. Now let's make it affordable.

The New Parent Money Plan turns this breakdown into exactly what to save, where to put it, and by when, so the big months are paid for before they hit.

Why not just save the same amount each month?

Your plan built from your numbers

Biggest month$0

Fits your paycheck?Yes, with room

Move every payday$620

Baby fund goal$10,500

Fully ready byMarch 2027

Your next 3 movesOpen two

Exactly what to save every payday, and where. Down to the dollar, so baby is covered and you still have money for a life.
Your parental leave, planned for. How much you'll come up short each month while you're home with baby, and how to save it before baby comes.
Your next three moves, step by step. Every money word explained in plain English, even if you've never opened a savings account.

$47$17Black Friday price

Black Friday pricing ends November 30, then it goes to $47.

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Build my plan for $17

30-day money-back guarantee. If it doesn't help, reply to any of my emails and I'll refund you, no questions asked.

Takes 5 minutes. Your numbers carry over. Works for paychecks and self-employed.

Built by Jordan Tarver, former lead editor of mortgages and loans at Forbes and author of a book with 100,000+ copies sold.

You won't find this plan anywhere else. It's only available to people who've run their numbers, which is why it's showing up for you now.

Moves that could lower your total

Chosen for your answers, with what each is roughly worth.

Want these turned into a real plan? The New Parent Money Plan tells you exactly what to save each payday, where to put it, and when you'll be ready, with every step explained.

$47$17Black Friday price

Build my plan for $17

30-day money-back guarantee.

That's your number. It's real, it's planned for, and it's a lot less scary now that you can see it.

As you get real prices from your daycare, midwife or hospital, swap them in. And hit reply on my email to tell me what surprised you most.

Rooting for you (and your bank account),
Jordan

Where my numbers come from

Birth: average out-of-pocket of $2,743 for pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care on employer plans, and $20,416 in total costs (2021 to 2023 claims). Newborn care: $475 out-of-pocket on average, $5,820 total. Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.
Out-of-pocket cap: $10,600 per person for in-network care in 2026 under the Affordable Care Act.
Plan types: high-deductible (HSA) plans use the 2026 IRS out-of-pocket limit of $8,500 for one person. Marketplace gold, silver, and bronze use the 2026 average deductibles of $1,722, $5,304, and $7,476 from Peterson-KFF. Choose "Enter my own" to use your plan's real number.
Home birth ($4,650) and birth center ($8,309) averages. Anderson and Gilkison, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021, via PubMed Central.
Childcare by state: Child Care Aware of America, 2024 Price of Care (New Mexico from the First Five Years Fund 2024 fact sheet, which uses the same data, and $0 for daycare under the state's universal program), adjusted to 2026 with the Bureau of Labor Statistics day care and preschool price index (up 5.2% and then 3.1% in the two years since). Nanny rate of $870 a week from the Care.com 2026 Cost of Care Report, scaled to your state's childcare prices, plus about 10% for employer payroll taxes and household-employer costs (our estimate).
Diapers and wipes ($86 a month), formula ($222 a month), clothing ($68 a month), and gear prices: BabyCenter's first-year cost research.
Our assumptions: a registry and secondhand mix covers 40% of gear and 30% of clothes; mostly hand-me-downs covers 70% and 60%. Cloth diapers are a rough estimate. Birth costs are split 30% before birth, 50% in month one, and 20% in month two for the timeline.
Doula: median birth package of $1,100 and typical postpartum rates around $45 an hour, from Bornbir's 2026 price data.
Child Tax Credit ($2,200 per child) and dependent care FSA limit ($7,500 per household) for 2026, per the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Not included: rent or a bigger place, a new car, life insurance, college savings, a NICU stay, a hospital transfer from a planned home or birth center birth, twins, or a second plan-year deductible. Tax breaks are shown separately and not subtracted from your total. Medical costs vary a lot by plan and provider, so ask for a written estimate. If you're paying cash, providers are required to give you a Good Faith Estimate.

Childcare is the biggest swing factor. State averages can run well below big-city prices, so if you have a quote from a real provider, trust it over my page.