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Those nine-ish months leading up to your baby's arrival are exciting and sometimes nerve-racking, thanks to all the questions running through your head. How am I going to afford all of this gear? Do I really need to start a college fund for my baby now? Protecting your child's financial future is a priority for most parents, and of course, there's an app for that. EarlyBird allows you to do the following:
- Accept cash gifts from family and friends (to help pay for all of that aforementioned gear)
- Manage a custom investment portfolio for your child, which can help them financially in the future
- Share videos and memories with loved ones — in a private, protected way
Plus, when you pair your EarlyBird account with What to Expect's Baby Registry Builder, you'll receive a free $25 to add to your cash fund.
What is EarlyBird?
EarlyBird is an app that lets you save money for your baby. It allows you as a parent or caregiver to make a custodial account — also known as a Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) account — that can benefit your baby in the future. Depending on the state you live in, your child can access the funds upon turning 18 or 21. This nest egg can go towards paying for college, buying a home, starting a business and more.
EarlyBird also functions as a digital time capsule to track all of the special moments in your baby's life. It provides a private platform to share photos, videos and anecdotes about your little one, and you can invite friends and family members to contribute their own memories through video or text responses. Later on, you and your child can look back on all of those moments together.
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If you create an EarlyBird account through What to Expect, you can also use it as a cash fund for must-haves like diapers, formula, a postpartum doula and anything else you might want. Family and friends can chip in to help cover all these costs, and you can then withdraw the money to pay for what you'll need. After your baby is born, simply add your little one's info and transition any leftover funds into a custodial account for your little one.
Pros of an EarlyBird account
You can roll your registry cash fund over into a custodial account
By connecting your EarlyBird account with your What to Expect registry, you can start a cash fund that can later turn into a custodial account for your child. When you sign up through What to Expect's Registry Builder, you'll also get a free $25 bonus.
It's easy for friends and family to contribute
With the EarlyBird app, you can seamlessly invite friends and family to contribute to your child's future via text. When you send the link, they can immediately send funds or share a video or written message — no app download is required.
A UGMA account has fewer restrictions than 529 plans
You might have already considered saving for your child's college expenses with a 529 plan. While 529 plans can pay for tuition, room and board and other education-related costs, a custodial account can go towards anything — not only college funds but also down payment on a home, a business start-up or any other big dreams your child has.
It can capture priceless memories of your little one's life
EarlyBird app allows you to post photos, videos and stories for the members of your inner circle (called the Nest on EarlyBird) to see and comment on. You might prefer sharing these personal moments with this small group versus bigger social media platforms.
Cons of an EarlyBird account
There are fewer tax advantages compared to 529 plans
529 plans allow your contributions to grow tax-free, but that's not exactly how a custodial account works. The money in a UGMA account is taxed, but at your child's income level instead of your own. Because of this, you could see major savings by contributing to a custodial account versus an account created in your name.
There's a monthly fee
It's free to start building a digital time capsule or cash fund on EarlyBird, but if you want to invest those funds, you'll need to contribute $2.95 per month for one child or $4.95 for an unlimited number of additional children. By chipping in this fee, EarlyBird will put together a diversified portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These funds are designed to help money grow over time, but do carry some risk.[1]
You don't get to decide how your child spends the money
A custodial account ultimately lets your child choose how to use the savings, which can open a lot of doors. This also means, however, that your child could end up spending the money on more risky or more frivolous investments.
How to create an EarlyBird account
- Download the free EarlyBird app for iOS or Android.
- Click on the "Get Started" button, and add your phone number. After that, you'll create a four-digit pin for future sign-ins. For extra protection, you can also enable Face ID.
- Add an optional profile picture (which as the app sweetly says, "Your child will want to remember what you looked like today"— aww) plus your name and email.
As you build your profile, EarlyBird will ask about your parenthood journey (such as whether you have children yet and how many). If you do, you can set up profiles for each with their names and birthdays. If you're expecting, you can add your baby's last name and expected date of birth.
The memory-collecting function activates immediately. If you're pregnant, you can upload sonograms and other messages for your child as your due date approaches. After your baby arrives, you can add more photos and write down special moments.
Before you start investing funds in the UGMA account, you need to pay $2.95 per month for one child or $4.95 per month for an unlimited number of kids.
How to link your EarlyBird account with Registry Builder
- On EarlyBird, go to the Gifts tab and copy the URL to your cash fund.
- On Registry Builder, click on the button that says "Create cash fund" and then "Link cash fund."
- Select EarlyBird, and then paste the EarlyBird link into the field that says "Paste Your Cash Fund Link".
- Tap the "Link cash fund" button.
How to use your EarlyBird account
Once you've created your baby's profile, you can invite friends and family members to the "Nest" on the EarlyBird app. Enter each person's name, phone number and relationship to your child, and then EarlyBird will send them an invitation via text in a group chat with you. Each person will then need to sign up before contributing.
If you want to share a link to your child's page, go to the Gifts tab to copy the URL and text it to your loved ones. You'll also get a text when they contribute or submit a video, photo or comment.
You can review each child's memories in the Nest section, and then head to the Invest area of the app to contribute or check in on your child's portfolio.
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