Protecting Your Family's Future

Putting plans in place to protect your family’s future may be one of those things you keep putting off until another time. But now that you are single and the main provider, you need to address your situation as a priority.

 Understanding how to start is as simple as understanding your current financial situation. List all of your current assets (Super, property, cash, shares and bonds etc), income, all of your debts and living expenses – basically a statement of financial position.

 Most people rely on their income to pay their living expenses and debts but what would happen if you were unable to work for any period of time; it may be only one month or it could be 50 years due to illness or an accident. Your income stream may go, yet you would still have living expenses, a mortgage or rent to pay. How would you survive? What strategy do you have in place right now? How do you assist your children financially in the future with no income? Can you afford to go a month without an income?

 Seek Advice

We don’t want to panic you, only bring your reality to the front. It’s probably time you spoke to a financial planner. Despite public views, financial planners are for everyone, not just the wealthy looking to invest. Most banks offer obligation free initial appointments to discuss exactly what Financial Planning is in reference to your specific needs. A follow up financial plan may cost you something, but rather than saying “can I afford it?”ask yourself, “can I afford not to have this”? You should at least explore the options available to you and make an educated decision. Personal insurances break down into 4 basic areas – Income protection, Trauma, TPD and Life Insurance.

 Insurance

Everyone has an Insurance horror story. “They don’t pay out”, “I wasn’t covered and I thought I was”. The problem is that most people don’t read their policy schedule and don’t know what they are covered for. They don’t review their policies frequently and pay the lowest premiums in order to save money when the features of the policy that are relevant to them remain uninsured. Home and Contents insurances are the basics, but the requirements within the policy vary for everyone. Forget premiums and list the things that are important to you. Then compare apples with apples, shop around but don’t scrimp on premium – it will come back to haunt you.

 The Future

How do you plan to spend your retirement? What kind of lifestyle do you want? How are you planning on funding your retirement? Superannuation is the most likely way of funding retirement and the earlier you start giving it your consideration, the better your retirement will be. Start early – seek advice. Make additional contributions. Educate yourself. Plan. Put these important aspects of your life into play so you can confidently move forward to a stronger financial future.

This article was submitted by Joanne, a highly awarded bank manager and single mum who successfully combines full time work with raising two boys.