Planning For The Future Of Your Family

It can be a difficult task to look after your family, juggling work, and social life. It can be tempting to get so wrapped up in the here and now instead of looking to the future. But at some point,  you will need to start planning for the future of your children, and here are some questions you will want to ask yourself:

I have assets and income, but can I live comfortably? 

When will I be able to afford to retire?

Have I enough to consider giving money to my children?

What impact would my death or serious illness have on my family and life plans?

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It is quite often a serious injury or illness that forces you out of work for a while that propels you to start asking these questions. However, you should be thinking about all of these things anyway, especially if you have children. Most jobs will typically have a period in which you are entitled to be sick and still get paid, and many people run out of money pretty fast when this period is up.

Before you do anything else or set up anything, sit down and take a close look through your finances. Write down your income for a month, and list any significant expenses, like your rent or mortgage, auto insurance, home insurance, and taxes that come out instantly. Whatever money you have left is what you have to spend on food, travel and anything else. Looking at this, do you have enough to maintain a comfortable lifestyle?

If not, there are things that you might need to think about.

First of all, you need to discuss whether you have plans in place to add to your family. While a blessing, children can add more financial pressure. If you know that this would make things difficult, a vasectomy will take away the worry. 

Can you downsize your home? If you have more rooms than you actually need, it may be worth selling up and buying something smaller. Not only will this be cheaper outright, but the running and maintenance costs are likely to be lower on a smaller property. 

Increasing your income stream may be another possibility. While that is easier said than done, if you have a bit of spare time and a good idea, you can make a fair amount of money around your regular job. Perhaps you are can play the piano and could offer piano lessons on the weekend, or maybe you are good with wood and can make items to be sold on Etsy? Think outside of the box and see where the opportunities lie!

Can you reduce your expenses? Shopping around for your utilities and insurance can save you money every month, as would cutting out unnecessary costs. Have you got into the habit of picking up a coffee on the way to work, or grabbing lunch in the office canteen? Cutting those out and taking them from home can save a considerable amount.

There are plenty of things that you can do now to improve your financial future and leave your family safe and secure.