As parents our key role is to be the nurturer and provider of our children’s needs. We want to equip them to live happy, fulfilling lives. You can do this by providing a quality education that opens up career opportunities and increases their future earning potential.
But doing your absolute best for your children’s future doesn’t mean you should neglect your own.
“By empowering your children, you are setting them up to gain financial independence one day. But if you don’t prepare for your own future, you may be forced to rely on them in your old age,” says Karabo Ramookho, Strategic Retail Marketing Manager at Old Mutual.
She adds: “With proper planning, investing conscientiously and with the support of an accredited financial adviser, you can have the best of both worlds.”
5 tips to help you save for the future
1. Keep learning
Education is a life-long need and goal. By continually enhancing your own skills and knowledge, you make life more interesting. You also make yourself more marketable, which increases your income potential. This makes saving for your retirement and their education easier.
2. Chat to your children about their options
Discuss your children’s options with them. If they are performing well academically, they could qualify for reduced school fees and later for a bursary or even a full scholarship. This would help to ease the financial burden.
3. Set a great example
How you manage your finances can impart valuable lessons to your children. If you rely heavily on credit to get by every month, your children may assume this is ‘normal’.
Teach them how to manage money well. The sooner they understand financial fundamentals, the better the chance they will grow into financially responsible adults.
4. Give them the gift that grows
Instead of giving your children expensive gifts, opt to give them smaller presents and top up their education savings or unit trusts with the rest.
Share the growth of the investments with them and draw comparisons between a toy that can break and a gift that will set them up in the future.
5. Get expert guidance
Enlist the help of a financial adviser to draw up a proper financial plan. They can look at your holistic financial needs and recommend solutions to enable you to achieve your goals.
Get in touch with an accredited financial advisor here
Disclaimer
The material is not intended as and does not constitute financial or any other advice. The material does not take into account your personal financial circumstances. For this reason it is recommended that you speak to an accredited broker or financial adviser to consider all your options and draw up a plan to achieve your financial goals.
