Children come with tonnes of financial demands, but with a proper financial plan and mindset, you can navigate the experience well and adequately take care of your retirement.
Saving for your retirement will also ensure that you do not use your children as a retirement plan for your future, thereby gradually eliminating the financial burden known as the "black tax" in our African society.
You can consider the pointers below to help you with parenting and planning for your retirement journey.
Working with the end in mind means deciding where you want to be within a specific time frame and establishing a plan that will get you there.
Have proper retirement goals and remain focused on that. What kind of retirement do you desire to have? Do you want to retire in the village, stay in the city hustling or travel the world after retirement?
Whatever you desire should be well captured in your vision and broken down into milestones and actionable steps that you can take to achieve that. Have a proper pension plan which will help you save towards your retirement.
Start off on the right foot
Have a plan of when and how you will start having children. It is ideal to prepare for the children even before you get them; get ready mentally, financially, physically and emotionally before the children arrive. Have a strong financial foundation, enough to cater to the medical costs, feeding costs, and any therapy you may require.
You must acknowledge that children will require your time, so you must plan how to allocate time to make money and raise the children. Learn from those who have gone ahead of you on good parenting and inculcate the lessons as you plan for the children.
Have a budget
Budgeting ensures that you match your goals to your income without sacrificing your present needs. Your budget should be informed by your income and the quality of life you desire to give your children.
When raising children, it is essential to understand where you are financially and choose what you can reasonably offer your children.
Align your income with your family's basic needs, the school system you want the children to attend, the entertainment they will have and any other initiative you may have for them.
You need a proper financial structure that you can diligently follow as you raise your children. This structure will give you a sense of organisation and control, allowing you to manage your finances effectively and provide for your children's needs.
Grow as the children grow
The cost of living has also gone high, and you will need different levels of resources to raise children now. Although having a budget and a sound financial plan as you begin raising children is good, work on your mindset, too.
As the children grow, you must be willing to adjust your habits to accommodate their growth. For instance, the school fees you need in kindergarten is different from what you will need to pay in junior secondary.
So, how will you ensure that you can comfortably afford that? Constantly update your skills and actively pursue better income-yielding avenues so that child-rearing will not come as a shock to you as you progress through life.
Live within your means
One of the things that is likely to impact your parenting negatively is failing to be authentic and constantly competing with others.
You should not use your children as a status symbol and to seemingly command respect from strangers. Avoid keeping up with the Joneses and live within your means.
Although you will grow and become a better person over time, understand where you stand financially and offer your children what you can comfortably give now.
Take your children to schools that you can afford and live in neighborhoods that you can manage to pay for easily. Remember, as you raise your children, you instill life values, so have financial principles worth emulating.
Open an emergency fund and have a long-term savings plan
Sometimes unexpected expenses come up when raising children, so it is crucial to have an emergency fund to cater for that. You can lose your job or suffer other financial setbacks that could deplete your resources.
Ensure that your emergency fund can cater for 3-6 months of your total expenses so that you do not struggle as you raise your children.
Constantly update your emergency fund with the changing demands of parenting so that you align your finances at every stage you are in.
Remember also to have a long-term savings plan that will cater for unforeseen expenses and give you a proper cushion in your parenting journey.
Raising children has financial demands, but that should not come at the cost of your retirement goals. With a well-structured budget and a long-term view, you can support your family without compromising your financial independence in your sunset years.
