Your Family and Financial Planning
A lot of people fall to the misconception that a proper financial plan is only a luxury for the rich and famous, and this is reflected in the statistic that only 31% of financial decision makers in families say that they have created a proper financial plan either on their own or with the help of a professional. By the standards of the survey, a comprehensive financial plan includes the following:
• savings and investments
• planning for retirement
• education
• emergencies
• major purchases
• financial goals
• insurance needs
Ironically, your average worker with a family probably needs this added support more than a person with a lot of wealth, seeing as over half of Americans have no form of budget at all. Let’s take a look at some of the practical reasons why you want to start financially planning now.
Family Costs of Living
Matt Becker, certified financial planner and founder of Mom and Dad Money explains that “Everyone knows that child care is expensive, but it’s hard to understand just how big the cost is until you’re faced with paying the bill every single month. It’s a real struggle for a lot of parents.” To put that cost into a quantitative perspective, a Department of Agriculture report said that the cost of raising a child from birth to age 17 is roughly $233,610. This doesn’t include the cost of a college education, which is rapidly rising in cost. Many young people are able to get by without a formal budget or financial plan because they are by themselves, and can simply cut down on certain expenses. With a child and family, many of these expenses can’t be circumvented. There’s no way around buying diapers, the higher cost of groceries, or some sort of childcare if both parents are working. In addition, financial planning may show areas you are spending too much on that can be diverted to childcare.
Planning for Life… and Death
Another way that financial planning helps your family is in the situations that no one wants to talk about—like sudden death or disability for you and your spouse. No one can predict these kinds of things, but it is possible to mitigate the financial impact by acting early. For example, if you have a physical job, and disability would render you unable to work, a financial planner may recommend getting disability insurance. This way, you would still be able to collect and have some money coming in while you think about what to do next.
Financial Planning as a Federal Employee
Even as federal employees, who enjoy a unique set of benefits compared to the average worker, it’s essential to have a plan for the future. This is why you want to partner with Secure Choice (866) 477-3211 in order to supplement the benefits you get and create a proper financial base for your loved ones. By working with you to create customized financial plans, we can make sure that you’re prepared for whatever financial issues may pop up. We also help analyze your benefits to guide you to the right course, and offer basic training to help you grow and protect your retirement fund.
