Organising finances includes budgeting, saving and setting up support payments such a Centrelink. Preparing to become a parent comes with a vast array of financial considerations. These considerations need to be planned out before the birth of the dependent to satisfy their overall wellbeing. Budgeting needs to take place in order for parents to cope with changing needs of the dependent in different situations. Parents may need to consider saving money well before dependent’s birth as this will enable them to have adequate amount of money to take care of their dependent while not working. Newly parents may need to investigate the potential costs of nursery equipment, hospital fees, clothing etc to have a realistic picture of what they should do to prepare themselves in becoming parents. The high costs associated with raising a dependent mean that parents benefit from formal support payments. Due to these benefits from formal support payments it has positive impact on the overall wellbeing of the dependent as through this financial support the parents are able to meet the needs of their dependents’. However if parents don’t access financial support services it can have negative impact on their dependents’ wellbeing as the services don’t come to the parents, parents have to make an effort to access these services.
When individuals prepare to become parents they need to consider the expenses attached with their dependent. As the dependent grows older there are different expenses associated with them. Hence there are many financial support services such as Centrelink payments that allow an individual to prepare in becoming a parent as through these services they are able to satisfy their dependent’s needs. Newly parents can apply for Parental Leave payment from Centrelink, where this service financially support a parent up to $657.00 per week before tax for 18 weeks to allow them to take time off work and care for their newborn. Parents can also make a claim for Family tax benefit where Centrelink financially supports a parent with the cost of raising children. However parents must prove to Centrelink that they provide care for their child at least for 35% of the time. The amount of money a parent receives from a Family tax benefit depends on the family income and how many children they have and the age of their dependents.
Centrelink as a financial support system has a positive impact on the physical, economic, emotional and social wellbeing of the dependent as it allows a parent to organise their finance to satisfy their dependents needs and wants. For example through the money received from the service a parent can buy nutritious food such as dairy products or formula milk that helps with their dependent’s growth development which satisfies the dependents physical wellbeing. Parents can use the money to buy equipment such as baby beds, or books and for their 5 year old which has positive impact on their economic wellbeing as they receive the necessities they need. The parental leave payment enables a parent to stay with their dependent and put their concentration on them which satisfies their emotional and social wellbeing due to quality time spent. However if parents don’t access these financial services, it can negatively impact their dependent’s social, emotional and economic wellbeing. Parents will be too busy working to earn money than spending time with their dependent which prevents them from satisfying their dependents social and emotional wellbeing and not buying necessities for their dependent due to the lack of money.
Additionally, for individuals who are preparing to become a parent it is important to budget their money, as even though they receive money from Centrelink they won’t be able to use it effectively to satisfy their dependents needs. Smartphone application such as “HomeBudget with Sync” is a great tool as it allows the individuals to see how much within a week they have spent or saved to adapt to changing needs of the dependent. With having a record of their expenses and savings due to this applications it enables the individuals to prepare to become a parent as they can predict how much they will save or how much they need to cut down their expenses to fulfil their dependent’s needs to satisfy their wellbeing. This application has a positive impact on the dependents economic wellbeing as through this application a parent can see how much they have saved within a week or month and can reduce their expenses if it’s too high to allow money left over to buy their newborn dependent’s clothes, food, bedding equipment. This not only satisfies the dependent’s economic wellbeing but also fulfils the dependent’s specific need of adequate standard of living. However if a parent fails to budget their money it can have negative impact on their dependent’s economic wellbeing as not being able to have a record of where and how they spend their money prevents them to save which reduces the chances of them buying equipment, food and clothing necessities for their dependent.