There is no denying that every parent wants to be able to provide the best for their children. This includes giving them the best start in life. Maybe you want to make sure you can support them through additional studying, traveling, bought their first home, or learning to drive. If you want to be able to do this you need to create a family financial plan now rather than later. 

Children can be expensive, and for many parents, the costs don’t stop when they move out and start working. More and more parents are now supporting their children to get onto the property market and, of course, paying for weddings. The good news, you can easily budget for these future expenses by using some planning. 

Let’s have a look below at some of the areas you may want to look at: 

Setting Financial Goals

The first thing you need to do is set family financial goals. Not every child will be the same therefore the saving goals may be different. You could even speak to them when they are older to see what would help them on their journey the most. When it comes to things such as getting on the property ladder, you might not be able to buy them a house, but could you help them to gather the deposit? 

Think About How You’re Going To Achieve Them

If your target is to save for a house deposit for their first house, how much are you going to need to save, and when? Saving just a small amount each month can really add up if you start early, plus the smaller amounts have less of an impact on your current financial situation then trying to save large amounts. A house deposit may seem like a huge amount but split that across 18 years and it suddenly becomes more manageable. 

Think About The Unexpected 

Although, no parent wants to think about struggling financially, however, it can happen. You could lose your job, become injured, and be temporarily out of work. No one can truly plan for these, however, you can help to protect yourself and your loved ones by making sure you have an emergency fund, details for personal injury lawyers, life insurance, etc. 

Budget And Keep Track Of Spending

If you are going to be saving a large sum, even if it is across 18 years or more, you need to write a family budget, stick to it, and keep track of what you are spending. Create yourself a family tracker and budget on a spreadsheet, and make an effort to keep it updated. Once you get into the flow of it, it will become second nature and it will keep your finances on track. Families that keep track of their spending and stick to a budget, are often the families that seem to fly through any financial problems. 

This short guide should help you to create a family financial play to help you support your children in the future. Is there anything that you are doing to make sure you are on top of your family’s finances? Please share some of them in the comments below.