Having a family is a blessing for sure, but it does come with a lot of stress along the way. How we handle that stress is essential as kids adopt their parents’ behaviors, so if we’re acting out in stress all the time, the little ones will adopt those behaviors as well.
In other words, our stress becomes their stress. So between the stress of work, paying the bills, health concerns, having time for you and your partner, and time alone for yourself, stress can creep into your life and affect your moods – which are all actions picked up by your little ones.
To alleviate stress about the future, creating a proactive plan that will help for future scenarios gives you confidence in those stressful moments. Planning for those college moments, your retirement, and the “what-if” moments will help alleviate the fear of the future for you and your family, taking away the stress and anxiety of the unknown.
College Savings Accounts
Opening a savings account that accrues interest over the lifetime of the savings account is a simple yet effective way to prepare for your child’s future. These savings accounts are known more specifically as 529 accounts. A college savings account is one that you can start as early as you want, has significant tax advantages, allows flexible use of funds at most accredited colleges, and offers age-based or customized plans.
Retirement Accounts
Retirement accounts are an excellent asset for you and your family as you get older.
There are a variety of retirement accounts to choose from, but let’s focus on three of the main ones and mention some out-of-the-box thinking on a couple more.
IRA – Roth
The benefit to a Roth IRA is that these are individual retirement accounts (IRA) that offer tax-free growth and tax-free deductions once the individual hits retirement age. In general, if you’ve owned your Roth IRA account for more than five years and are over the age of 59 ½, you may withdraw funds anytime you’d like without paying taxes on the money.
401K
With a 401K, you pay a pre-tax amount from paychecks toward investments that a third party manages. These types of investments are taxed upon withdrawal at current income status, meaning that you may pay more, or less, in taxes than when you made your initial investment.
Mutual Funds
Mutual funds are managed by a third party that collects money from a broad group of investors (hence mutual) and invests those funds into the stock market, bonds, and other investment vehicles. Profits are taxed at up to capital gains rates depending on the level of profits made, while losses are taxed accordingly.
Alternative Investments
In addition to the three main ways to invest and prepare for your family’s financial future, several alternative investment opportunities are to consider. These include cryptocurrency and real estate.
Crypto is a deregulated form of online currency and, as such, can see volatile gains and losses, making these “boom-bust” cycles an opportunity but with risk. Real estate is often called a hedge against inflation. Real estate allows for appreciative gains over time, leveraging debt to build equity and long-term wealth acquisition.
Term Versus Whole Life Insurance
Any plan for your family needs to include life insurance. It may seem silly to pay for something you’ll never use, but your family may need that lifeline someday. There are two primary types of life insurance, Term and Whole Life (sometimes called permanent). Term life insurance is a policy created for a set number of years, and the policy pays if something occurs during the length of the contract.
On the other hand, whole life is an ongoing contract but also allows the individual to build equity that can be cashed out at some point down the road. You can cross-compare rates between companies, such as Lincoln heritage life insurance company and others, to find the plan and rates most suitable for you and your family’s needs.
Will and Testament
The final step in planning for your family’s future is also the most crucial one. Creating a last will and testament is essential for your family to have some closure and idea of your wishes, but it is also a legal contract of your assets, debts, and more. A will and testament help your family speed up their sense of closure, whereas a lack of a will can lead to probate courts, asset disputes, and more.
Nobody likes to plan for when they’re not going to be around. But proactively planning for your family’s future will alleviate concerns and anxieties you all may have about a life without you one day and is a great way to take care of your family even when you can’t.