I see this all the time and it’s DETRIMENTAL to you and to your family’s wealth & future!
You need to start your financial journey off by taking care of you.
Yes. You.
It seems so counterintuitive because we are so programmed to take care of our families first, but when it comes to building wealth and in specific, the risk management part of your life (preparing for the unexpected financially), then you need to start making sure you have your financial priorities in alignment with your values.
So many loving parents are putting away hundreds of dollars a month for their children’s future – namely, their education or into their RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan).
And there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you’ve already taken care of you.
What do I mean by that?
I see so many families that are putting $100, $200. $400 per month away for their children, when they don’t even have their own financial basics in place, risk management basics.
Financial basics in place to cover death, disability, massive health care expenses. (Critical Illness Insurance would help cover those expensive treatments.)
And while saving for your child’s future is important, don’t let it interfere with you taking care of yourself first.
The reality for many of us is that we have to take responsibility and take care of ourselves first.
How are you going to help your family if you pass away, get disabled, or can’t work if you don’t have a proper risk management plan in place?
Is your RESP going to save you?!
HINT: No it’s not. You can barely touch that money anyways.
I only say this because I’ve seen this more than once in my career of 20+ years. In fact, too often.
Clients with money going into RESP plans before the parents even have their own savings thought about, or even a proper emergency fund established, or even basics like owning their own personal life insurance policy or critical illness or extended health care plans for drugs, dental, etc. (Do you know how much diabetes will cost you per month if diagnosed without a plan?! or Cancer Therapies?! That will rip through any savings plan very rapidly.)
I am the first to cheer you on in saving for your children’s future, however, don’t let that get in the way of making sure you can take care of your kids when the unexpected happens.
Food, clothing, shelter – those are far more important expenses to consider if something happened to you before you consider saving for college.
And here’s another thing… what about your retirement?
Unless you have plans that your child will be the one to go to university and become a doctor and save you financially, why are you not prioritizing taking care of you first?
The ol’ ‘put your oxygen mask on yourself first before your children’ rings true here.
Who is going to save you?
You must take care of yourself, put a proper risk management plan in place. It may only cost $100 or $200 per month to do so, but it’s extremely important to provide for your family in case of death or disability/critical illness (and don’t depend on your employer benefits because you never know when you will be laid off, fired, quit your job or if your employer simply can’t afford benefits anymore.. it happens…).
I value education too.
However, never at the expense of my family having no money or having to move or not afford food if I can’t work for whatever reason.
So I’ll ask again, are your investments/savings in alignment with your values?
Your RESP won’t save you.
~ Written by Lisa Elle, BMgmt, CFP, FCSI, CHS, CPCA, EPC, CEA, CCS, RIS
PS. If you want help with making sure your values are in alignment with investments/savings, I’d be happy to help. Book a FREE 15-minute call into my schedule HERE or go to financialbliss.ca and sign up and receive my FREE course: Financial Basecamp: Creating Your Unstoppable Unapologetic Financial Base!
