In order to be a good parent, you should always be prepared for the future. A large part of preparing for the future means having funds available for whatever may come your family’s way.
While some parents make the mistake of being too carefree, failing to think about the next chapter, others know that the best route is to always be prepared.
Putting money aside each month for a family savings fund is one of the best things that you can do as a parent. Here is what you might need it for.
Home Repairs
Since life has a tendency of sneaking up on us when we least expect it, whether our roof suddenly needs repairs or a pipe burst in the middle of a shower, there always seems to be something going on that needs to be paid for.
Home repairs are usually costly and time-consuming, often costing upwards of thousands. So having the peace of mind knowing that you’ve got the funds available to take care of it is worth its weight in gold.
Medical Emergencies
Getting injured or ill requires a trip to the doctor which never costs a small amount. If the injury or illness is quite serious it could cost even more. From time missed from work, paying for hospital time or even requiring surgery.
Even if you have good insurance, you’ll always have to pay something out of pocket. Therefore, putting aside at least $200 a month for medical emergencies is the smart way to go.
Unexpected Travel
Sometimes things come up which require us to travel last minute. Whether it be a family emergency or anything else which calls for our presence right away, it can leave us scrambling for making last minute arrangements which are often stressful. Since last minute travel is never cheap you should expect to spend potentially thousands.
Rather than running your credit cards into the ground, it’s much more convenient to have an emergency fund to draw from.
College
Putting aside money for your children’s college education is giving them a chance at a better future. Rather than letting them get into thousands of dollars of debt in college loans you can make deposits throughout their life so that they have a nice bit of cash to start with when they graduate high school.
If your child knows that they have money waiting for them to be able to help support their education, they’ll be more likely to be motivated to go to school after they graduate.
Not only will furthering their education make them more open-minded and intelligent people, but they’ll be more likely to pursue careers which fulfill them and offer higher salaries.