When you have a family, they mean everything to you, and there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do for them. We think about creating amazing memories, adventures, late-night hot chocolate, and ice cream. Ensuring that they make the most of their education, so as they grow, they will have more opportunities too.
Protecting Your Family
In fact, we always want our children to have more than we have – no matter how much that is. And, when it comes down to it, once you impart what you know about love and compassion, what is right and wrong, and how to care for other people selflessly – what is left is usually money.
Even if you haven’t ever had the kind of money you dream of, you can still take steps to make sure that what you do have, you can make a difference with. Big or small, here are some suggestions to help you along.
Protecting what you already have is a step you can take. You never know what is going to happen, and in the age of social media, millions of people post when they are out of the home on holiday. Or that they are out for a few hours. Unfortunately, that gives opportunistic thieves the time to plan. So while you might want to share those holiday photos while you are still away, you’d do well to wait until you get back instead.
There are also natural disasters to contend with, depending on where you live, they could be anything from floods to fires. Home insurance is a minimum. So if anything does happen, you can be sure that you can replace any material items.
Other things that you should look to have installed a home security set-up. Cameras at your front and back doors are just a starting point. A security code alarm is also a great idea.
On face value, it sounds so simple, but setting a budget actually takes a few months to really get sorted. Financial security is the backbone of protecting your family. Of course, jobs change, the cost of living rises, and sometimes there are unforeseen costs too. This all has an impact on your ability to keep on top of your cash.
For a few months, you should look at what goes in and what comes out. Be sure to keep a close eye on the spends that randomly appear. This might be the odd coffee, a magazine of replacing the kids’ shoes. Whatever it is, it is essential to know that it is there. This will help you prepare a more realistic budget.
When you look at your budget, always write down the ‘must pay’ first. Rent and mortgage should always be a priority, followed by utilities and food. No matter what you have left, 10 cents or 1000 dollars, put 30% of that into a separate account and leave it. Even pence and cents stack up over time.
Education
It gets expensive really quickly, and while there are a lot of options in terms of grants and scholarships, the competition can be fierce. Almost every child that goes to college or university will need some financial help and are likely to need a job. Books, travel, and accommodation if they aren’t staying at home. As mentioned in the earlier paragraphs, education is one of the main things that you can give to your children, and one of the biggest things that you can support.
Starting college fun as early as possible, even before birth is something that can help massively. The trick is that you should always consider no matter how big or small an amount you put in each week or month anything is better than nothing. You should make this part of your budget.
This point goes for you too. If you have space in your week to study, then it might be time to put your brain and skill to use and either improve on the job you currently have or maybe you want to change careers or head back into the workplace. If you have the time and perhaps some cash then improving your own education will enhance your future prospects and bring more money into the house too.
So if you don’t have children yet, or they are small, now is the perfect time to get that fund up and running.
Talking
You don’t have to share money worries, or the in and out of your finance with your children, but it would be worthwhile to talk to your children about money. Earning money via chores is an excellent way to start laying the foundations for how money tends to work in the real world – work for your money. And rather than give them access to bank accounts too early on, learning the value of the cash in your hand makes a significant impact. For example, spending 5 on a card makes it feel not like real money, but if they have to count out their coins, they begin to grasp the true value.
If you work hard and have an abundance, it is essential to get that across. You work hard for what you have. And, when they inevitably ask for something that is outside of the budget, then explain why too.
This is setting them realistic expectations for when they grow up and will aid them in their own financial management. Although everyone will make their own mistakes having a real understanding of cash will help.
Insurances
We touched on home insurances earlier, and that helps protect what you have should something happen. But insurances for you like health and life insurance is a long-term form of protection that will keep everyone safe should the worst happen. If you became ill and were unable to make certain payments, the pressure can stack up, and many people are at risk of losing their homes when this happens. Having the right insurance can mean that their home is protected during the worst of times and that some of the costs associated with illness and death are covered.
You’ll need to do some research into which insurances are right for you; the best option is to speak to an insurance specialist. They will be able to give you all your options and find what will work for you and your family.
Wider Family
Family dynamics can be complicated and intricate. Some people just don’t see eye to eye, and that is fine. You don’t have to like everyone, and not everyone has to like you either. However, you should try to make sure that your children have an extensive support network. That support network doesn’t have to exclusively be blood relatives. Sometimes it is the next-door neighbor that you spend a great deal of time with and would consider family. Knowing that in tough times, or in an emergency, you have people that can help you or your children is very important.
There are a lot of forms of protection. In terms of looking after your family. Having good people around them, and you. Showing them love and how to take care of themselves and others. Understanding that sometimes rules and boundaries are there to protect them, and you.