How We’re Planning for Our Kids’ Futures

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How to feel less stressed about planning for your kids' future

Truth time. Kids are expensive. Like, really expensive. Not to get you down or anything, but I just Googled “how much does it cost to raise a child in 2017” and it seems like the consensus is about $233,000. And that’s until age 17! So if you want to also send your kid to college, you’re not nearly done yet. But we’ll get to that in a second. I have good news there.

When we were talking about having Baby #2 (who you now know as Miss Maggie Mags), one of our serious concerns was whether we could afford it. We didn’t want to have a second kid and find ourselves in a pickle when it came to things like childcare, or health insurance (because we both own businesses we pay individual), or sending them to school. And obviously you know how the story ended, because we’re now a family of four. But you better believe we’re watching our finances like hawks, and we’ve already started saving for both of our kids’ education.

When Henry was born, we had some wonderful, kind relatives ask us about contributing toward his future. They asked us about giving him bonds, which was something we wanted to avoid, just because bonds don’t… do anything. They don’t accrue interest, and the money doesn’t have a specific purpose once the kid has access to it. We did some digging and discovered a much more preferable idea for us, which was a 529 plan. A 529 is a savings plan that you can add money to with the specific purpose of using that money for college once the kid is 18. And it turns out California has its own 529 plan called ScholarShare. It accrues interest, provides great tax breaks, and it guarantees the person gifting the money that it’ll be put toward school and school-related items. It’s literally contributing to a child’s future.

So with all that in mind, we started a ScholarShare account for each of the kids. That way, the money that’s dog eared for each of them stays dedicated to their education. We encourage family and friends who are asking how to contribute to toss a little money in the 529s when they feel like it. We also have automatic deductions coming from our accounts into each of theirs monthly, to get them both off the ground.

I know they’re little, but it still doesn’t feel too soon to start saving. Time flies and even though it makes my breath catch to say it, Henry will be off to school in the blink of an eye and Maggie will follow soon after. It takes a little pressure off to know that we’re already making steps to help them through school. Ryan graduated college with some major school debt, and just knowing the stress and pressure it put on him makes me want to avoid that for our kiddos.

If you have kids, does this stuff stress you out as much as it does me? It’s hard to come face to face with it but taking things one step at a time always makes me feel better. This was a perfect first step for us. I’d love to know your thoughts, and how you tackle planning for your kids’ futures! xoxo

This post is sponsored by ScholarShare, California’s 529 College Savings Plan. All opinions are my very own. Thank you for being supportive of the partners who help keep Lovely Indeed rocking!

How to feel less stressed about planning for your kids' future

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7 Comments

  1. Yep, saving in registered accounts that accrue interest is so important. We have an RESP in Canada. It’s a Registered Education Savings Plan. You contribute a certain amount per year and the government matches your contributions. It’s not tax deductible, but the matched savings is huge. We also do monthly contributions as well. But my mom (she’s a financial planner) always says take care of yourself first. Make sure you have a decent retirement plan before saving for your kids future. So we have RRSP’s and we both have work pensions as well. The money stuff is hard, but it feels so good knowing it’s looked after and working hard for you!

  2. This is a great idea, but I have reservations…what happens if your child decides not to attend a four year college? For example, if your child want to go to culinary school, what happens to the savings?

    1. Hi Angela! Thanks for your question. A ScholarShare 529 account can be used at any accredited university, college or vocational school nationwide — and many abroad. Basically any institution with a student aid program qualifies.

  3. Before planning children’s future, we must make sure that we are making the right choice for them. My kid chose the cloth, classes and books on his own. For example, he loves Oliver Twist even though he went to college, and recently with the help of https://happyessays.com/free-essays/oliver-twist/ site he analyzed the novel and got the prize in literature competition. So here is my point, we should let our kids be whoever they want to be.

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