This isn’t an article about how you should discipline your child or what are the right foods to give them but an article about what ALL parents should do for their children. It doesn’t matter if your child watches TV all day or plays in the fields, whether they only eat organic food or pizza every other night.
At Herecomethegirls we believe that there are some rather boring but very important things we should all do for our children which require little if any financial commitment.
Set up a pension
My husband set up pensions for both our children when they were born. I have to admit I fall asleep when there is discussion about pensions or investments but as a self employed person with not nearly enough set aside for my retirement it is a great way to give your little ones financial security in the future. It won’t matter whether they want to be an artist, accountant or float around the world, they will have a bit of something for when they retire. Rather than savings this is a form of investment that can grow very slowly over many years. They are flexible too so you can start and stop contributions depending on your own circumstances. We have added lump sums too when we can. The cash is locked away which may be an added bonus as it can’t be frittered away.
Write a will
Having a current will is especially important if you have young children as it can determine who cares for your children if the worst happens to you and your partner. You can write your own will but if child custody is involved I would recommend going to a solicitor. Most will only charge a small fee for writing simple wills. For us it was worth a small fee for the peace of mind of knowing the girls will be financially secure and well cared for if the worst happens. We have also left letters with the solicitors for our girls and their guardians should they be needed.
Get Life Insurance
This is vital. It will ensure that your children are financially secure if anything happens to either you are your partner. We don’t want to think about what may happen and to read about how to keep your family healthy take a look at our article about healthy habits. We pay a small monthly fee but this will mean that should anything happen to either one of us then there is enough money to ensure the house is paid for, there is money for the girls education and a bit to ensure the surviving partner doesn’t have to work for a little while too if they don’t want to. One company we looked at were Future Proof, although we didn’t use them they offer a range of products including critical illness, income protection and life insurance,
Good money habits
When I was at school I vividly remember the local building society coming to school and giving us all a lovely money box! Free stuff is always awesome but I also remember every week the lady from the bank coming for us to pay in our 10p savings and writing it in our little books. I also remember going with my grandma to the post office for her to pay a £1 from her pension into my account. Those little bits of savings paid for my rail tickets to travel Europe when I was 18 and gave me a bit of spending money. It showed me that saving even the smallest bit adds up.
We visit banks far less and I am certain they don’t go into schools on a weekly basis anymore so what can we do.
We started pocket money, not very much I hasten to add! Our 3 and 5 your old get the equivalent of £1.50 each a week on a Friday. They are given half to spend and half goes into their money box with a little note book which we write in each week to show how much is adding up. We have encouraged them to choose something that they can save up for, Sylvanian families are the favourite right now! They don’t understand the value of money but they are stating to learn about coins, maths and delayed gratification. All good lessons in life!
If you choose to do one or all of the above then you will hopefully be providing skills knowledge and security to your children. See also our article about preparing financially to become a parent.