Planning ahead: The bottom line as the kids grow up

It seems many moons away, but the day that the kids up and leave home is one that's closer than what you might realize. It's something that sneaks up on us and hits us in the face and while there is obvious emotional impact to consider, today let's take a look at some of the more practical aspects.


There are countless reports around documenting the cost of having a child, with some of the figures beyond the extortionate. A lot of these reports only focus on the period where they are living with you at home, but if they were to span an entire lifetime we'd assume the costs would be beyond believable.

Taking the above into account, today's roundup is going to focus on the bottom line as the kids grow up. Let's talk about the main expenses that also creep up on us - yet many of us completely forget.

Your own costs

As a parent, most of us have succeeded with that super mom or super dad image. Unfortunately, it doesn't last forever.

Illness and all sorts of other elderly nasty's jump out of us and again, there might be huge emotional issues to deal with here, but these also stretch to finances.

You only have to look at the cost of elderly care to see how much it can strain one's finances. At the same time, funerals can leave families with bills stretching to the thousands, which is why prepaid plans are becoming the norm nowadays.

In short, the message is to plan for the worst. You might be lucky and you might be one of the few who isn't affected - but don't count on it.

The kids’ college costs

It doesn't matter where in the world you are, college costs are likely to enter the picture. Even if you are part of the country where the government takes care of the fees, the bank of mom and dad almost certainly comes into play at some point.

As we know, college fees tend to spread into the astronomical. For this reason, do the sums years in advanced to ensure that everyone gets the same opportunities.



The property cycle

Again, it's related to the kids. Even after they've graduated, additional fees are still likely to surface. Property tends to be the big thing here and in a bid to fund their deposit, your savings are likely to take a hit as well. Of course, this is by no means something that you have to commit to, but many parents do and it's one of those expenses that many don't think about.

The grandkids cycle

To highlight the scope of your financing, all of the above can come back to haunt you as well. Some grandparents get in on the act of helping their grandchildren out, especially when it comes to property. Again, it’s not something that you have to budget for, but in the art of planning ahead it’s something that you might want to be aware of.

*This is a sponsored guest post.