You’ve taken the pregnancy tests, made the big announcement and you’ve probably caught a glimpse of your baby on a sonogram. Congratulations! You’ve got a bundle of joy on the way and the one thing you’re probably not prepared for is the bundle of money it’s going to cost to raise that little one.
In Babies: How to Afford Your Bundle of Joy, writer Lisa van de Geyn leans on financial experts to help parents save a few dollars and get the most bang for their bucks before and after their new additions arrive. While there doesn’t seem to be one specific amount of money experts agree on, raising kids costs a pretty penny. The good news is that there are trade-offs expectant and new parents can make to their lifestyles to make having a baby — and the price tag attached to it — more manageable.
This guide will ensure you’re well-versed in everything from the benefits of seeing up a registered education savings plan and what maternity and parental leave means when it’s tax time, to the payments you’re entitled to from the government after you deliver your baby and advice on getting on employment insurance. We’ll walk you through budgeting and offer plenty of tips and tricks from parents like you who are so wrapped up in the sheer excitement of pregnancy they forget to research what a baby will mean to their bank accounts.

Lisa van de Geyn is a National Magazine Award-, COPA- and FOLIO Award-winning journalist, an experienced editor, writer, editorial packager and nearly twenty year veteran of the Canadian magazine industry. After graduating from Ryerson University’s School of Journalism in 2002, she quickly joined the business and has held positions on staff at House & Home, Chatelaine and Today’s Parent. She decided to freelance full time after her second daughter was born in 2010, and has spent the last decade as a contributing senior editor and/or feature writer for dozens of the country’s top consumer and professional publications. Some of the magazines she’s worked with include Chatelaine, Today’s Parent, House & Home, Canadian Living, Style at Home, Best Health, CPA Magazine, Walmart Live Better, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, ParentsCanada, Professionally Speaking, Reader’s Digest, Living Luxe and CAA Magazine.

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Vivian Leung, CPA, CA, is currently Senior Principal, Taxation at CPA Canada. Prior to this role, she was Program Director for Tax Education where she was responsible for developing and implementing the strategic direction of CPA Canada income tax education, creating or re-designing tax courses and programs, and overseeing their delivery. Leung also works to advance the tax aspects of CPA Canada’s Lifelong Learning initiative for our members. Vivian joined CPA Canada from Ernst & Young (E&Y), where she managed the editorial review and ensured the technical accuracy of income tax titles in CPA Canada’s Tax Reference Series and contributed to other CPA Canada and E&Y publications.

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