生寶寶前,你需要和另一半談談這些事

1. Can we afford a baby?

1. 我們養得起寶寶嗎？

Babies are expensive. There are up-front costs like nursery furniture, and ongoing costs like diapers, formula and daycare. Health insurance premiums may increase, and there may be emergencies that require you to pull money from savings. Compounding the problem is the fact that your household income may decrease because maternity and paternity leave may be unpaid.

生寶寶非常耗錢，包括嬰兒傢俱等前期費用，尿布、配方和日託等日常費用。健康險費可能增加，還可能發生突發情況，需要從儲蓄金中取錢。更復雜的是，由於產假和陪產假期間，公司可能不發薪水，你的家庭收入也可能隨之減少。

If you are considering having children, both partners need to be transparent about their income, assets, expenses and spending habits. You should work with your spouse to come up with a monthly budget for the combined household income and expenses.

如果你們正考慮要寶寶，雙方應使各自的收入、資產、開支和消費習慣透明化。你應該與另一半共同制定出家庭的月收入支出預算。

2. What happens if one or both parents die?

2. 如果一方或父母雙方都去世了，怎麼辦？

While most people know they should have wills and advance medical directives, most people do not think about what their surviving spouse would need immediately in the event of their death. If the spouse who typically pays the bills were to pass, then the other spouse needs to know which bills need to be paid, have access to online accounts to be able to pay them, and have access to bank accounts from which these bills are typically paid.

雖然大多數人都知道要立遺囑、安排預先醫療指示，但大多數人並沒有考慮到，在他們去世後，他們尚存人世的另一半會需要什麼。如果負責支付固定賬單的一方已朝不保夕，他/她應該告訴另一半需要支付哪些賬單，賬單的支付賬號和密碼、以及支付賬單的銀行賬戶。

Life insurance for both parents is also a must. While many primary breadwinners have life insurance, it is equally important for a spouse who does more childcare to also have life insurance, because if that spouse were to die, then there would be increased childcare costs. I recommend talking to a certified financial planner to know just how much life insurance is needed. Finally, you need to talk to your spouse about who you would want to take care of your children in the event that you both died, and then draw up legal documents memorializing this decision.

父母雙方必須繳納人壽保險。雖然很多家庭的養家人都有人壽保險，但對於將精力更多地集中在育兒方面的另一半而言，繳納人壽保險也同樣重要。因爲如果養家人去世了，育兒成本也會隨之增加。我建議向持證理財規劃師諮詢具體的保險數額。最後，還應該聊聊雙方均去世的情況下，希望孩子由誰撫養的問題，然後起草法律文件紀念這一決定。

3. How will household chores be divided?

3. 家務活怎麼分配？

Because babies and small children require around-the-clock care, tasks like cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, yard work and pet care can become overwhelming. You need to talk to your spouse about how these tasks will be divided after the baby arrives. Both spouses need to be involved in childcare, and both spouses need to do household chores.

因爲嬰兒和小孩子需要全天候的照顧，所以打掃、購物、洗衣服、做飯、庭院勞動和照顧寵物等家務活會讓人感到無所適從。你需要和另一半聊一聊--生完寶寶後，這些家務活該如何分工。夫妻雙方都應照顧寶寶，也都應參與家務。