Money
From the true first-year cost of a baby to choosing between a 529 and a UTMA, the money choices you make now compound for eighteen years. We turn each one into a clear number and a simple next step.
Tools
Baby Cost Calculator
Estimate your baby's first-year cost: adjust eight categories, compare feeding and childcare scenarios, and see the monthly figure.
Open tool →Nanny Tax Calculator
Nanny vs daycareThe true cost of a nanny: Social Security, Medicare, FUTA, and state unemployment taxes on top of wages, then a nanny vs daycare comparison that flips with the number of children.
Open tool →529 vs UTMA Comparator
Project what a 529 plan and an UTMA account would each be worth at 18, and see how they differ on taxes, control, and financial aid.
Open tool →Custodial Roth IRA Calculator
RetirementSee what a working child's custodial Roth IRA could grow to by retirement: small early contributions, capped at earned income, compounding tax-free for decades.
Open tool →529 State Tax-Deduction Optimizer
By statePick your state and see the state income-tax you'd save on a 529 contribution: deduction or credit, per-beneficiary caps, parity, owner-only, and April deadlines. All 50 states + DC.
Open tool →Kiddie Tax Calculator
UTMA taxEstimate the tax on a child's unearned income: the tax-free tier, the child's rate, and the amount taxed at the parent's rate. The UTMA's main drawback, quantified.
Open tool →College Savings Goal Calculator
Set a college-cost target and see the monthly saving required to hit it, with college inflation and growth on what you already have.
Open tool →HSA Contribution Limit Calculator
Prorate your HSA limit for a mid-year start: the safe sum-of-months figure and the full-year last-month rule side by side, with the testing-period trap and 55+ catch-up. 2025 & 2026 IRS limits.
Open tool →Guides
Is a Dependent Care FSA Worth It for Two Incomes?
Is a dependent care FSA worth it for two incomes? The break-even math, what it saves at different tax brackets, and why dual-income families rarely forfeit it.
Read guide →MoneyHow Much to Save Before Baby Is Born: A Pre-Birth Money Target
How much to save before baby is born, broken into four targets: the delivery bill, the unpaid-leave income gap, a bigger emergency fund, and up-front gear.
Read guide →MoneyDependent Care FSA vs Child Tax Credit: Which, and Can You Use Both?
Dependent care FSA vs child tax credit, untangled: what each one does, the credit that actually competes with a DCFSA, and how to coordinate all three in 2026.
Read guide →Money529 Plan vs Savings Account for College: Which Grows More?
529 plan vs savings account for college, compared on taxes, financial aid, flexibility, and 18-year growth, so you can pick the right vehicle (or use both).
Read guide →MoneyCan You Use a 529 Plan for K-12 Tuition? The 2026 Rules
Can you use a 529 plan for K-12 tuition? Yes, up to $20,000 per year in 2026 under new federal rules, but state tax conformity and compounding trade-offs matter.
Read guide →MoneyUTMA vs 529 for Grandparents: Which Gift Is Better?
UTMA vs 529 for grandparents in 2026: how each affects financial aid, taxes, control, and gifting, plus the FAFSA change that reshaped the grandparent 529.
Read guide →MoneyHSA vs FSA for New Parents: Which One Fits a Baby Year?
HSA vs FSA for new parents in 2026: how the three accounts differ, which you can hold together, the childcare FSA jump to $7,500, and how to choose for a baby year.
Read guide →Money529 Plan for a Newborn: Where to Start
How to start a 529 plan for a newborn: opening before the SSN arrives, picking the right state plan, how much to begin with, and what the money can pay for.
Read guide →MoneyDoes Having a Baby Increase My HSA Contribution Limit?
Having a baby can raise your HSA contribution limit by moving you to family coverage. Here is how the mid-year proration and last-month rule really work.
Read guide →The money decisions that matter most
A baby changes a household budget in two ways: a first year that commonly runs into five figures, where childcare is usually the largest line by far, and a set of long-horizon choices that reward starting early. Neither requires perfect planning; both reward knowing the real numbers instead of guessing.
The first-year question is about cash flow: what you will actually spend on delivery, gear, diapers, feeding, childcare, and health coverage, and which of those lines your own choices move. The long-horizon question is about compounding: a college fund opened in the first year has eighteen years to grow, and the account type you pick, a 529 plan or a custodial UTMA, changes the taxes, the control, and the financial-aid treatment of every dollar in it.
Our calculators put your own numbers on both questions, and every default is anchored to a primary source you can check.