Our lives are complete with expenses, house, car, monthly bills, weekly groceries and regular coffees or lunches with friends, all cost money. However, our biggest expense will probably be our children, hence the reason why we should be starting early to save for their present and future. The sooner you start saving, the easier life will be later on.
Children are expensive. By the time your child turns 18 it is likely that the average parent will have spent close to a quarter million dollars, this is counting food, health, clothing, education and everything that comes in between. That’s a huge sum to comprehend but it’s real even if you give or take fifty thousand. Of course, the more money you earn, the more money your children will cost you.
So what is a soon to be parent do? Start saving immediately. The ideal thing to do is to start saving before the baby is born. Once you start planning for a baby, make sure to plan your finances too. Even before the baby is born you need to be thinking about your health and fitness, maternity clothes and doctor visits. Now’s the time to open a bank account for your newborn and start putting money away regularly.
If you already have children, than it’s never too late to start saving for their future. Education seems to be the most important thing to save for, and paying for elementary and secondary school, as well as college and further education does get expensive. Start saving early. It doesn’t have to be a huge sum of money, even 10% of your income will make a difference to their future.
When your child receives gifts for birthday or Christmas, talk with them about the importance of savings, and make a deal that fifty percent will go towards their future savings, and the rest they can do whatever they want with. This way they can buy what they want, but not the entire amount is being wasted on useless items. If you’re child thinks that amount is a little harsh, discuss the issue together and reach a compromise.
Once a year many individuals receive a tax return, sometimes we get a windfall or an inheritance. If you have children, it’s a good idea to take a percentage of this extra income and put it away for their future. Because it only comes every now and again you won’t even miss it, and it might come to good use later when you or your child really need it.
By starting to save for your child’s future early, you are taking preventative measures in case your finances might be tough. No one can predict how the employment situation will look like tomorrow let alone in ten years time. The more savings you have, the more secure and confident you can feel that your child will have a good future ahead of them.