AD Collaborative Post: When you’re a parent there’s a lot on your plate. You need to take care of your child and take care of yourself as well.
Part of taking care of your child is ensuring that you secure their financial future. The best way to do this is by making sure that you are making wise financial choices that will benefit them in the future.
If you’re ready to dive in and start making good choices, here are some of the major keys to get you started.
Lay the Foundation
The first thing you’re going to need to do is lay the foundation. You can do this by setting goals.
Make your goals as modest as you can. You don’t want to be hanging your basket so high you can’t reach it, so to speak. You must set realistic financial targets that won’t leave you crying and feeling like a failure if you can’t hit them.
Imagine that you are in the future with your child and think about all you want them to have. This can help you to decide how much money you should be spending now and how much you should be putting aside for future use.
Create a road map that shows how you want to navigate all the goals you have for your child.
Start Saving Early
You probably guessed that starting to save early is a good move. Loading up that piggy bank from early is always a good idea. This is what you should literally be doing to help teach your child financial strategies.
You should encourage your child to work for their money at a very young age. It’s still fashionable to have a lemonade stand or offer to babysit or cut someone’s lawn.
All of this can be great ways for them to line their pockets with some cash while learning all about financial freedom.
You can then have your child tuck some away because when it comes to getting your child off on a firm financial footing, saving is one of the best ways to do this.
The good thing is that they start when they are very young. Compound interest over time will help to increase the amount of funds your child has.
The bottom line is, that you don’t always have to be the one who is dropping into the piggy bank. Let them learn how to count and save their coins as soon as possible.
Save Smartly for Tertiary Education
If you are like most parents you want your child to go to college or at least have access to some form of higher level education. The trouble with this is that it costs a lot of money in many places.
In order for you to make sure that they get to live out their dreams of studying where they want to, you’re going to have to dig up a lot of cash.
The best way for you to make sure that their dreams become a reality is to invest in education plans that are directly geared towards making sure that any investment you put in grows at a good interest rate that can assist with tertiary education.
Adapt as Your Child Grows
As your child grows, you are going to need to adapt your financial plan to match your goals. There may be periods where you have to throw everything that you have previously done out the window.
You may be required to rack your brain and think outside of the box in order to come up with money for one reason or the other.
Be prepared to adjust to anything that comes your way and get help from financial advisors if possible.
Rainy Day Money
There’s a lot to consider when you have a child and you want to save money for their future. It can feel as if the weight of the world is on your shoulders.
You can expect times when there will be more money flowing like water through your hands, then at other times, it may slow down to a trickle. When it is flowing you should try to save as much as you can.
By understanding the seasons and the times that you are in when it comes to your finances you can better prepare for your child’s needs.
You always want your child to be sailing down the path to success. However, for this to happen your financial ship needs to be rock solid and you must reduce the chance that it will sink.
Always have a firm anchor in terms of your financial stability. Investing correctly, and teaching your child financial literacy as well.
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