Expecting Money: The Essential Financial Plan for New and Growing Families [Paperback]

Erica Sandberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2008

No matter how much you earn, own, or owe, you can create a secure financial future for your family.

In her engaging, down-to-earth style, nationally known credit and money management expert Erica Sandberg provides no-nonsense strategies on how to overcome the challenges every parent faces, from raising a family on a reduced income, to the practicalities of debt repayment, to managing expenses over the course of a child’s life.

Indispensable and easy-to-use, Expecting Money offers you the tools to:

Maximize employer benefits—during pregnancy and after the baby is born;
Manage the cost of new baby expenses;
Conquer financial challenges, whether you’re a one- or two -income family;
Shop smart and use credit to your family’s advantage;
Plan for the future—including childcare and education costs from pre-school to college.

Erica’s heartfelt wit and wisdom will encourage and empower you to develop an effective financial budget—your family’s roadmap for true and lasting security.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In her introduction, certified credit counselor Sandberg writes, When I became pregnant with my daughter Lillian, I was caught off-guard by how little I—someone who has been in the personal finance field for over a decade—knew about the monetary aspects of pregnancy and new parenthood. This book is Sandberg's response to that uncertainty, a compilation of the advice that she craved for herself. Sandberg opens with familiar chapters like The Meaning of Money and The Dangers of Debt that prepare readers for an uncluttered financial picture going into familyhood. The different needs of different families are addressed in chapters like On the Double: Partner Issues and On Your Own: Single Solutions. Most valuable of all, Sandberg costs out what new parents need to spend on the average (U.S.) baby's clothing, child care and other basic needs, even going so far as to compare the costs for different birthing options. Later she compares types of day care and analyzes different ways of meeting long-term needs. These concrete details are what make this book most valuable and helpful for new parents who need real numbers and facts to plan out their family's financial future. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Erica Sandberg is a prominent money management authority with more than a decade of experience advising consumers, businesses, the media, and in courts of law. Through her work at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of San Francisco, she has helped thousands improve their financial standing. She is the on-air expert for KRON and other Bay Area affiliates, and provides comment for such national news outlets as NPR, PBS, Money magazine, MarketWatch, and BusinessWeek. She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley's personal financial planning program, a certified credit counselor, and a member of the Financial Planning Association of San Francisco. She lives in San Francisco with her family.

Product Details

• Paperback: 242 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing; Original edition (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1427795940
• ISBN-13: 978-1427795946
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,557,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely helpful- and easy to understand, March 25, 2008

By 

Melissa Johnson "humor writer" (san diego ca usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Expecting Money: The Essential Financial Plan for New and Growing Families (Paperback)

This book includes every aspect of finance that couples face. I am expecting my first baby in June and am so glad I did this review before my baby is born- I am going to avoid some unexpected problems! Erica's writing style is really easy to understand, unlike a lot of financial books, and her own experience really comes through. The worksheets are easy to complete, and again, make the picture a lot clearer!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Such valuable information!, February 5, 2008

By 

Baby "Bearing" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Expecting Money: The Essential Financial Plan for New and Growing Families (Paperback)

Thank god I found this book! It really helped me and my husband sort out all the must dos, have tos, and should haves when planning for the birth of our baby. There's so much baby marketing thrown at you when you're pregnant, it's very confusing and over-whelming and I was already confused and over-whelmed just being pregnant. This book was easy to read and a big help in guiding what to buy, what not to buy and what we should be doing with our finances. I found it invaluable.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book to have on the shelf, May 9, 2010

By 

K. Farone - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Expecting Money: The Essential Financial Plan for New and Growing Families (Paperback)

This book went into a lot of details, some I didn't need but I'm sure some of the details others really do need to read. So I'd recommend this book to everyone. Some parts you may want to skim over, but the good thing about that is that everything is included!And it's your option if you want to skim over it or not. I REALLY enjoyed the chapter on registering and buying for baby. It reminds you to keep to the basics, does a baby really need a $40 wipe warmer?