Baby boy.
Picture: thinkstock source: the supplier came early on Sunday morning and I was sitting in the hospital with a cold cup of coffee and a notebook in my hand.
Today, I'm learning how to be a parent, which obviously takes only six hours
If you select "accelerate" prenatal class.
It's not a big deal at birth.
After all, we learned this week that there are now 23 million people in Australia.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics told us that a baby was born every 44 seconds.
At the other end of the scale, someone dies every three minutes, 32 seconds.
Welcome to life.
For the next six hours, our teacher was a midwife who started the lawsuit during the chat: midwife: "How many hours did you sleep last night?
Well, I think I have about eight.
She turned around and scribbled "8" on the whiteboard ".
She asked another father, "How many hours of social activity did you spend last night ? "to-
Be, it looks a little dusty (my guess -too many).
In the next 10 minutes, she asked more questions and wrote more numbers on the whiteboard: time to sleep, time to socialize, time to eat, exercise
When she was done, she stood up, stared at the numbers on the whiteboard, and then jumped at her well class --slept parents-to-be.
"You don't know what you're doing," she thundered.
I had a cold cup of coffee.
Then she ended my eight-hour sleep dramatically on the whiteboard. "that's gone".
Then she began to cancel social, television and (
Quite amazing)
Most of us spend two hours a day eating.
If it was an inspiring conversation with a prenatal parent, she failed.
During our lunch break, the topic turned to how expensive it was to have children.
Thankfully, having worked in the financial industry for more than ten years has given me more confidence in what's ahead --
Well, at least in terms of money for giving birth.
To be honest, there are many similarities between finance and family formation: both have a lot of industry support that makes money through manipulation.
Both grab your heartstrings, take advantage of your fears, and play the "knowledge gap" that smart people have when solving new life skills ".
For the baby boomers, when they (finally)
Start thinking about funding their retirement: they face a lot of consultants, fund managers and other financial types trying to market their unique solutions. For soon-to-
Mom, starting with their first hospital appointment, they left with display bags full of stuff: diapers, lotions, wipes, a bunch of coupons and a free trial, used for everything related to the upcoming small tax cuts.
It continues throughout the pregnancy (
Okay, it's really going on for the next 18 years)
: A stroller more expensive than my first car (
Claim to be safer and more reliable)
Expensive pills (
You can never be sure that the vitamins your baby is getting right now, can you? )
Expensive baby clothes, blatant disregard for the basic economy (
A clothing that can be comfortable with tea is the same price as ordinary adult clothing).
Then it really took off.
According to a study released last month by Paul Henman, associate professor at the University of Queensland School of Social Work and Human Services, the cost of raising a child in Australia is close to $300,000.
In the past, the way I left me specifically mentioned the Australian Scholarship Association (ASG)
This is the country's largest education savings program with more than 180,000 children's accounts on the books.
If I choose a company to package the marketing manipulation my parents have received, ASG will be my gold medalist.
Please avoid this group of people.
They have photos of lovely children in doctor's uniform in their ads, with emotional headlines saying, "How will you fund their education?
"The problem is that their products are smelly: they are very expensive and they have to pay a lot of money.
If your child decides to be a highincome-Income (
Or the founder of the next Facebook)
Don't go on to college or get a higher education, you will lose any investment gains you have made over the years.
A smarter idea is to abandon ASG's manipulation of information and do one of two things: low investment
Cost listed investment company (LIC)
Such as the Australian fund investment company (AFIC)
Or Argo Investment (ARG)
, You buy in your own name and designate your child as the beneficial owner.
It's a good, low
Fuss options, especially if you check the box, add their dividend reinvestment plan.
Or, if you want to invest regularly on a monthly basis (
Or did Grandma and Grandpa)
You can open up what is called an investment bond, which is provided by insurance companies like AMP.
Investing in bonds is a tax.
Effective way of long-term investment
Your child's tenure in the stock market.
After 10 years of contribution, you can withdraw the money completely from the taxfree, and (Different from ASG)
You don't have to spend money on your child's higher education.
It can be used for their first home deposit, traveling overseas, helping them start a business or whatever you like.
The last stop of our prenatal class is the delivery Tour.
When I walked into the Hall of public hospitals with classmates of different ages, incomes and races, I felt an overwhelming sense of wealth.
Our baby is a member of the lucky sperm club.
They do not know that they are about to be born in one of the richest countries on Earth.
The medical facilities that will surround them are state-of-the-art and worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
And it's free.
So, although soonto-
There are a lot of things to worry about, prepare and give as parents, and it's important to be true.
On a global scale, we are the equivalent of the child of Reinhart: very rich and have the opportunity to have children in other countries (
Including the United States)
Can only dream.
This week, as our population increases to 23 million, it is worth remembering that for billions of people around the world, we are
Or, more accurately, we are 0. 32 per cent (
Population of the world).
When the midwife was right
We really don't know what we're doing.
Billions of parents are willing to exchange our questions for their problems.
Take your own way!
When contacting Scott Pape barefootinstor.
Com or barefootinstor @ Sun Herald. com.