If you are pregnant, you've probably started to think differently about your finances. How much will it cost to raise a child? Can I stay home, or will I have to keep working? What about sports, proms, college, weddings and grandkids?

Here are 6 issues you can start thinking about now that can help you financially as you travel down the marvelous road of raising children.

Although money will not replace a lost parent or spouse, every parent should be insured for the sake of the surviving dependents. Contact a reputable insurance agent for help with determining the correct amount and type of life insurance and the kind of coverage, beneficiaries and contingent beneficiaries available.

There are two basic kinds of life insurance: term life and whole life. Both are similar to your auto policy in that if you don't pay the premium, the coverage expires.

Term life policies are only good for a certain term, such as 10 years. Whole life policies never expire (unless you stop paying the premium). The difference may seem subtle, but it is important. A term policy is fairly cheap for a 20-year-old non-smoker, but when it expires, the insured is 10 years older and has to apply for a new policy. At some point in a person's life, term insurance can be prohibitively expensive or even unavailable.

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