Welcome back to Don’t Retire… Graduate! In today’s Diary of a Financial Advisor entry, we’re shining a light on one of life’s biggest transitions: preparing—personally and financially—for starting a family. I’m thrilled to be joined by Cody Niedermeier, who brings both professional and personal insights to the table. Not only has Cody been a trusted advisor to countless families over the past six years, but he’s also about to embark on his own journey into parenthood with his wife, Erika.
In this candid and heartfelt conversation, Cody and I dove into what it really means to prepare for a growing family. We talked through how those early conversations with your partner set expectations and frame your future together, including important discussions about whether to have children, timing, and navigating shared dreams. As Cody prepares to welcome his first child, we unpacked all that goes into getting ready—from budgeting and nursery setups to making those often-daunting decisions about daycare, changing work schedules, and exploring school options. And because both Cody and I see parenting through the lens of financial planning, we addressed how being in this field shapes your preparedness for the unknown, the necessity of bolstering your emergency fund, reviewing insurance and estate plans, and leaning on professional help—even as an advisor yourself.
Beyond the numbers, we delved into the real-life side of parenthood: the flood of unsolicited advice, the emotional weight of new responsibilities, the importance of boundaries with extended family, and the evolving dynamic between partners. Cody shared how this chapter is already making him a more empathetic advisor, ready to relate to his clients in even deeper ways.
Here are 5 key takeaways from our conversation with Cody Niedermeier:
Start the Conversation Early: Cody emphasized the value of discussing family planning with your partner from the start—making sure both parties are on the same page about having children, lifestyle goals, and their shared vision for the future.
Financial Readiness is Ongoing: From daycare costs and household changes to adjusting work schedules, preparing financially for a family requires both planning and flexibility—plus an understanding that it might always cost more than expected.
Don’t Neglect the “What Ifs”: Expanding your emergency fund, reviewing insurance coverage, and updating estate documents are crucial steps every family should take when expecting a child, no matter how uncomfortable those conversations might be.
Leverage Your Network and Professional Resources: Even as financial professionals, Cody and I both agree on the benefits of seeking advice, collaborating with colleagues, and not hesitating to consult other advisors when preparing for major life changes.
Being Present Matters Most: As Cody put it so well, his ultimate career and personal goal is to be a present father who supports and loves his family—and that’s at the heart of both sound financial planning and a fulfilling life.
Join us for this open and inspiring discussion as Cody and I explore what it means to plan, adjust, and grow—both as a professional and a parent. If you’re considering starting a family or simply want to ensure your financial house is in order for life’s next big step, this episode is for you.
Don’t forget to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share the show with friends and family who are looking to better their own financial journeys. Stay tuned for our next diary entry, and remember: Don’t retire… graduate!
Eric Brotman [00:00:00]:
This is Eric Brotman, the host of Don’t Retire, Graduate, the podcast that asks you what you wanna be when you grow up so you can graduate into retirement with a purpose and a passion. Welcome to our diary of a financial advisor segment, where we interview financial advisors about their professional journeys and their passion for helping others succeed. Today, I’m pleased to be joined by BFG’s own Cody Niedermeier. Cody, welcome to diary of a financial advisor. Eric, it’s an honor to be here. So I need you to introduce yourself to our audience first and foremost, a little bit about you and a little bit about how you got to BFG, and and then we’ll talk a little bit about our topic today, which is planning for a family.
Cody Niedermeier [00:00:39]:
Yeah. So the our short and sweet version of this, Eric, is, you actually got me to BFG, and it was through a neighbor. So conversations just using the network that I had. I got an introduction to Eric, and we had a phone call where I believe the first thing you told me was we’re not hiring. And you gave me an introduction to the industry, which I appreciate. And from there, we were able to, have another conversation because I think once we got off the call, you said, you know what? Come on into the office. Let me show you around a
Eric Brotman [00:01:09]:
little bit. So you’re saying I should’ve stuck to my guns and said we actually, we’re not hiring.
Cody Niedermeier [00:01:14]:
I am saying that’s what? 6 years later now?
Eric Brotman [00:01:16]:
6 years later now. You made a
Cody Niedermeier [00:01:17]:
mistake, but, you know, here we are.
Eric Brotman [00:01:19]:
It’s good stuff. And so now you you’ve been with BFG 6 years. You have, you have a significant number of clients for whom you are, the relationship manager. You’re doing business development. You’re involved with so many of the different committees of the firm. You’re you’re a key member of the team. What do you love about what you do?
Cody Niedermeier [00:01:37]:
I love that every day when I get up and get into the office, I get the opportunity to help people. I get the opportunity to provide services to people that weren’t available to my family when I was growing up, and that’s something I’m passionate about of being able to provide those those resources to those that didn’t previously have that access.
Eric Brotman [00:01:56]:
So today’s topic for the diary entry is planning for a family, which is apropos based on the fact that you and your bride are expecting your first.
Cody Niedermeier [00:02:05]:
Yes, we are. And it’s different sitting on this side of the table.
Eric Brotman [00:02:09]:
Yeah. Well, first and foremost, congratulations. Thank you. And secondly, I’m not gonna ask you if you’re ready because no one’s ever actually ready for that. But planning for a family is something that young couples, need to need to think about. Is this something they wanna do? Do you wanna have children? Do you not wanna have children? And you can get as personal as you’d like with us here, but but how did that how did that come to be? I I know how it came to be. But how did how did that come to be that that you guys said, you know, we’re ready. Let’s start a family.
Cody Niedermeier [00:02:38]:
Yeah. So just like a lot of things we talk about in the office, it’s it started when we were dating and having those conversations of what does a future look like? Especially if we were going to go the marriage route and then, hey, do you want kids? Do I want kids? And, you know, luckily in that situation, the answer was both yes. And even more lucky, my wife said yes when I asked her to
Eric Brotman [00:02:56]:
marry me. We’re still not sure how that happened. I was for for for those of you watching, I was at the wedding so that they are in fact married. I did see that happen. It was a beautiful, beautiful afternoon. So you’re expecting your first. That means making changes to the house. That means making changes to the budget.
Eric Brotman [00:03:14]:
That means making changes to lifestyle and certain commitments and certain certain habits, and and a lot’s gonna change. And, of course, you don’t really know what you don’t know yet because this little package has not yet arrived. But, how are you preparing yourselves? Let’s start with financially. How are you preparing yourselves financially for what’s coming next? Because it is expensive to have children.
Cody Niedermeier [00:03:34]:
Well, financially in our family is I have a breakdown of what a nursery should cost, and I’ve been to Target 3 times this week. So we’re not sticking to that plan by any means. Mhmm. But a lot of the conversations, especially initially when we found out we were pregnant, were around the fact of, hey. What does day care look like? That was the first thing that popped in our minds of how do our schedules change as both full time working individuals and adjusting to what life looks like moving forward? So we’ve been having a lot of conversations around my wife, Neli, she is a nurse of adjusting her schedule from dropping some hours, still being full time, but being able to drop those hours and then looking at our different resources of, hey, what does daycare look like? And I think 99% of the people listening to this are gonna say it’s too dang expensive, and I agree.
Eric Brotman [00:04:23]:
Well, if you’re gonna spend money on something, spending money on your child, I think you’ll find is both, rewarding and sometimes, sometimes shocking.
Cody Niedermeier [00:04:34]:
Yeah.
Eric Brotman [00:04:35]:
You know, tuition comes down the pike. I mean, you’re, you’re gonna be thinking about college before you’re even, you know, learning how to diaper. It it’s one of those things. And as a financial advisor, you know, we think about the the financial impact of of children, which is one of the reasons why my wife and I only have one.
Cody Niedermeier [00:04:51]:
Yeah.
Eric Brotman [00:04:52]:
Is because we think of we know what that what that looks like. Now in terms of logistics, you said you’ve been to Target a bunch. You have to make the house sort of kid ready. What does that look like in in your household? Because we we did it almost 15 years ago. So, things have changed a little since then. So what did what did that look like for you guys?
Cody Niedermeier [00:05:07]:
I would, go on a limb and say things have changed a lot since you were getting into this business, but it’s it’s definitely, a lot of research, a lot of forwarded messages and articles from friends and family because everybody has an opinion. Oh, yeah. But most importantly, having conversations with my wife of what we want it to look like. So within those trips to Target, instead of the sharp corner coffee table, you know, we’re looking at rounded corners or getting things to help lock up the cabinets that are reachable on the ground. And we got some or we will have some time prior to the baby moving around a little bit, but we’re trying to be proactive in our approach and making sure the house is a safe place, not only for them, but for me.
Eric Brotman [00:05:48]:
Yeah. So there there’s, you’ll have if you have stairs at home, you’ll have baby gate. Absolutely. I I can tell you that I did at least once trip over said baby gate and slam onto the floor, which gave my wife a great scare because she thought it was our daughter. And when she found out it was me, it was perfectly fine. That’s true. Yes. At least it was me.
Eric Brotman [00:06:07]:
So you’re gonna baby proof the house a little bit. You’re gonna you’re gonna begin to make some changes. Have you guys thought about and I know that’s really premature because you don’t know what kind of learner your kid might be, but have you thought about how education, and and health care both, which become big expenses, day care, health care, and education are sort of the 3 big ones. Yeah. Have you thought about how you wanna handle that? Are you in an area where public school is an option? Are you looking at private school options? What does that look like for you guys?
Cody Niedermeier [00:06:33]:
Right now, everything’s on the table. We, we definitely have some influence in our office to a couple private schools. We have had friends and we’ve had some family go through homeschooling, and what does that look like? Mhmm. And again, to build on the day care side of things, I’m lucky enough to be in a situation where my mother-in-law is considering and I believe proceeding with the move to be around to help us out on both fronts, which I think we are greatly blessed to be in that situation because not everybody is. And then there’s still public school opportunity too. So I think we’re weighing all of our options and again, luckily we have some time, but we definitely have our whiteboard on the wall with the pros and cons of each. Now in putting your professional hat on,
Eric Brotman [00:07:12]:
as a financial adviser, you’ve worked with dozens, if not hundreds of couples and and families, and you’ve worked with folks who have, been surprised with twins or triplets because that happens. I think you’ve already ruled that out. Right?
Cody Niedermeier [00:07:24]:
Yes.
Eric Brotman [00:07:25]:
First question. Yeah. First question. Alright. Is there just one? But you you’ve seen those kinds of surprises. There certainly are are other medical surprises. Some some are not not great. And, obviously, we don’t wanna think about that today.
Eric Brotman [00:07:36]:
But, at the end of the day, there are challenges that come across that that may affect, the folks you represent. Yeah. How has being a financial advisor and working with clients helped you in your own journey to prepare for what’s coming next for you?
Cody Niedermeier [00:07:50]:
Yeah. It’s it’s definitely laid out a list of items to consider throughout the entire process as well, or that would include, you know, having a little bit more in our emergency fund for, God forbid, the circumstances where there’s some extra cash that’s needed for whatever be the case. Mhmm. And my wife’s favorite conversation’s around making sure we have the proper life insurance in place but also making sure estate documents are up to par because nothing screams, ‘Hey, we’re growing a family’ like having conversations around bad things happening.
Eric Brotman [00:08:19]:
Well, I mean, you you want to to you wanna prepare for the what ifs in life. Right? I mean and those those do take on a new meaning. I mean, you and you and your wife both are are wage earners and and and completely self sufficient financially in that regard. But once you throw a child into the mix, being a single parent in the event of a tragedy is is obviously a different animal. And so, yes, some of your employee benefits will change. Some of, you know, deciding whether to use his or hers or or all those various things in terms of health insurance for the little one and who has the better who has the better care and all that. Now, you know, you talked about how being a financial adviser helped you be prepared as a new parent or starting a family. And you may not know the answer to this yet, but how do you think being a
Cody Niedermeier [00:09:03]:
new parent will help you actually be a a better financial adviser? I absolutely have thought about this, and I think this is gonna be a wait and see approach. But, one of the things I imagine it being is I’m gonna be able to relate to the people around me a lot more. The peep the families that I’ve been giving advice to on, hey. You should be doing x, y, and z, and, you know, for lack of a better term, checking off these boxes to make sure everything is handled. I’m gonna be able to relate to them. I’m also gonna be a whole lot more tired. I’m trying to get all the sleep in that that I can get now, but being able to relate to people and build that rapport and those relationships, I think is key, especially in the industry we’re in.
Eric Brotman [00:09:41]:
My my wife says tired isn’t what you become. It’s what you are.
Cody Niedermeier [00:09:45]:
And Can’t wait.
Eric Brotman [00:09:47]:
You you know, and and quite frankly, and and, you know, I don’t know if she’ll see this episode or not, but I have to follow my own sword because most of the time she was sending me off to work and she let me sleep somewhat. So I actually got some sleep and she didn’t. I think I’m paying for that now in various ways, but that’s beyond the scope of this conversation. Literally. There are there are, there are a lot of factors here and and how you handle communication with grandparents and who wants to spend time and how you handle the holidays changes a little bit. Boundaries has been also
Cody Niedermeier [00:10:17]:
a keyword in our households.
Eric Brotman [00:10:18]:
Making making sure that that, that they don’t just show up unannounced or that they say, hey. Guess what? I’m coming for 3 weeks. You know, you you it takes a village to raise a child. It really does. And and it is better for the kids, I think, when they have, when they have the the different interactions with different family members, but it it can be a balancing act for you. You will get to know your in laws and out laws better than than ever before. And, so first of all, I I congratulate you not only on, on on marrying a terrific gal, but, starting a family. I’m excited for you as a as a sort of man to man.
Eric Brotman [00:10:52]:
And as a financial adviser, I’ve watched over the last more than half decade. I’ve watched you come into your own. I’ve watched you, take command of various situations. I’ve watched you navigate people through tough things. And it’s just been a pleasure to work with you over these years, and I’m looking forward to what’s next for you. Any final advice for folks thinking about starting a family?
Cody Niedermeier [00:11:12]:
I am currently working with another adviser at this firm to help work through the process, So do not hesitate to reach out and work with an adviser, whoever it may be, because it is different again when you are on this side of the table. You start looking at things differently, you start feeling about them differently. So I think one of the big things is don’t hesitate to use resources that are available to you. And on on the male side of things of just doing everything I can to support my wife, I think that’s gonna be a focus for everyone because you got to sleep.
Eric Brotman [00:11:42]:
I did. I got a little bit of sleep. She would say a lot. It felt like a little to me, but it was more than her. And, yeah. So sorry, honey. So I I can’t let you off of diary of financial advisor or don’t retire graduate with ask without asking you the last question, which is, what do you wanna be when you
Cody Niedermeier [00:12:00]:
grow up? I want to be a present father. I wanna be somebody who has given everything I could to my family and just provided them with the love and support that they needed to do whatever they wanna do. So I can’t wait to be a dad. Well, you’re about to find out what that, what that feels like and what it looks like, and and it is. It’s a
Eric Brotman [00:12:20]:
it’s a love you cannot experience any other way. It’s different. You cannot prepare for it. You can’t know what it’s gonna feel like. And as soon as it happens, it it is something lights up in you that just it it there it’s inexplicable. So I’m I know what’s ahead for you at least. I think I do, and I’m I’m happy for you. Congratulations, man.
Eric Brotman [00:12:38]:
You’re part of the you’re part of the tribe. Well, good stuff. I’d like to thank everybody for listening to diary of a financial adviser today. If you enjoy our show, please subscribe. Leave a rating on your favorite podcast platform. Share it with your friends and family so they can join you on your journey to financial freedom. If you’d like to send us a topic or idea we may discuss on a future episode or don’t retire, graduate, please post it on our Facebook page or tweet us at Brotman planning. We’ll be back next week with another engaging guest and in 2 weeks with our next entry in diary of a financial adviser.
Eric Brotman [00:13:09]:
For now, this is your host, Eric Brotman reminding you, don’t retire, graduate.
Unnamed Voiceover [00:13:17]:
Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC. Kestra IS, member FINRA SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra advisory services, LLC. Kestra AS, an affiliate of Kestra IS. Kestra IS or Kestra AS are not affiliated with Brotman Financial or any other entity discussed.
