It is known and established that children’s expense are needful and most times occur unexpectedly. This unbudgeted expense can sometimes be bigger than what a back up cash can readily cater for. As today begun, my daughter had one of those emergency needs, I was so happy that the financial plan we have in place for her could adequately provide for the need she required. The ability to cater for this emergency gave me a sense of peace and joy.
Saving for our children is important; it requires discipline and consistency to build a substantial savings. You don’t need huge amounts of cash to get your child an account. If you put aside small amounts of money each week or month, you will be surprised how much it will grow into. A good start is by saving the cash received at birth, holidays or other celebrations as gifts from friends and family. The motivation should be a futuristic goal like making our children financially independent by 18 or 21 years of age. This means that, at that age there is enough money in your child’s account to get her through college without you having to actively work for it. This is achievable and realistic as long as a fixed amount is transferred religiously weekly, monthly or quarterly to an account opened in their name; and withdrawals are strictly on emergencies.
Banks have different names for products that encourages saving for children. The beauty of this account is that withdrawals are usually regulated (e.g strictly quarterly withdrawals) and has a higher interest rate than the normal savings account. As the funds in our children account increases, it is wise to also invest a part of it in stocks, bonds or even properties. These also produce good return than the funds in the savings account.
It is also needful to instill the culture of saving in our children early – teaching them to set aside financial gifts for future purposes. This gives them a sense of responsibility and also lays the foundation for financial discipline.
Giving our children a comfortable start in life is very important, the Bible instructs we leave an inheritance for them. Do you have a financial plan for your child? It is better late than never!
Consciously have a financial plan for your child’s future.
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