As a mother, worrying about the future of my little one comes naturally to me. All I want as a parent is for my child to have a safe, secure and healthy life. Along with this, financial security is an important aspect that I want to secure for the present and future of my little one. I am sharing a few points that I believe are vital for my financial planning –

Make Savings a Habit –

With the arrival of the baby, our whole dynamics have changed for the good. I have no way of predicting what the future holds, but all I can do is prepare for the unknown. Education, wedding, holidays, home, car and retirement are some of the expenses that we all know are going to come up. To prep for this, I have started putting away every month in different buckets to meet these future expenses. Saving isn’t something that will happen overnight, I have to work towards it and have made this a habit now. As I get a hike or a bonus, I will increase my monthly savings.

Fund for College –

Education is the most important and valuable asset I can give as a legacy to my child; hence, saving for a good education is very important for me. With the cost of education constantly on the rise, saving for it early on is important. Many investment options also provide tax benefits which is a win-win situation!

Life Insurance for my child and me –

Life insurance for my child offers not only life protection but also can provide a cash reserve for the future. In the future, if my child wants, can opt to cash out the policy or can continue to maintain it and also can increase the coverage based on the circumstances at that time.

In the same way, life insurance for my spouse and me is important. This is necessary as I said earlier, life is unpredictable. One never knows what googly life can throw at us! God forbid, if my spouse and I are not around, this life insurance will give my child the much-needed financial support at that difficult time.

Have a Will –

With the new addition to the family, I felt it is necessary to have all the papers in order. A Will is going to ensure that all our assets will be distributed according to my spouse’s and my wishes, this will be updated now to include our child. I would urge everyone to create a Will for themselves irrespective of how big or small their wealth is as it will avoid unpleasant situations among family members later on.

Pay off Debt –

Debt is worrisome as it is and with the arrival of the little one, all the more so. I did not want any burden on me when the baby arrived. I wanted to enjoy motherhood without any stress, hence I tried clearing off as much of the debt that I had as I could. This way, I started motherhood on a happy note. The ideal situation is to not have any debt at all! But at times that isn’t possible, then take as little as possible.

Emergency Fund –

Apart from all the savings that I did, there was an emergency/contingency fund in place. We may have all grounds covered with our savings but trust me, there are times when I will need cash immediately. At that point, liquidating my funds may not be easy, just for this kind of situation, I have the emergency fund in place, where liquidating it is easy, though it may not give greater returns.

As a parent, this is one of the foremost responsibilities that I have to fulfil and this will give my children the freedom to choose the opportunities that they want. With these suggestions, I hope I have been able to help you prepare for your child’s financial security. You can also seek the advice of a financial advisor who will guide you on how to secure your child’s future efficiently.