We love our kids, there’s no denying that. But how do we show them that we love them? Buy them toys? Affirming that we love them by telling them every day? Giving in to their whims and wants?As parents , we have different love languages. We communicate our love to them differently.
One way of showing we care for them is to provide them with security. We can show them how much we love them by preparing for their future. We want to create a legacy of love for them as early as possible. We don’t have to wait until we’re retired to give them that security.
How do we do that? Here are some steps you can follow to properly securing their future.
Step 1 -Set up a savings plan.
Open your children a savings bank account. One for each child. Usually when we create an account for our children, we don’t use it anymore and intended for them until they grow old. This will serve as an emergency fund for your children.
Step 2 – Investment plan. If the savings plan that you have accumulated is more than P100k already, you can invest it in a pooled funds or in the stock market so that the money will grow.
Step 3 – Life insurance plan (parents as the insured). Get a life insurance plan so that your children will have liquid funds to use if something happened to you. This is the best gift that you will give them because your children will still feel your love for them even if you are no longer around.
You can also use these strategies:
Pay yourself first. List your savings as a fixed item in your spending plan. It is unlikely that you’d spend money if you have already noted it as savings.
Use automatic savings. Ask your bank to set up automatic transfers from your accounts every month.
Use savings bucket. Or you can use the envelope system but label it for the savings plans that you have. Ex: things you want to buy, holiday trip, retirement, shopping
Start an emergency fund. Start with a reasonable goal, something that you can actually afford then build it up. Separate it from your other savings. Use it only during emergencies and make sure to replenish it once you’re back on your feet.
At the end of the day, what you are willing to do for your children matters. Here are some questions that can help you determine your savings goal. How much do you want to save? How do you think you are able to achieve those goals? What actions are you willing to do? What things are you willing to let go of?
These are actionable steps and easy to follow. If you want to start creating sound financial decisions on creating a legacy of love to your family, contact me.