Kids are Scary
Kids are scary.
No, I’m not talking about the kind of scary when they silently creep into your room in the middle of the night and stare at you until you wake up. That brief moment of panic quickly subsides.
The kind of scary I’m referring to is the relentless, nagging worry about their health, safety, and future.
The fear starts almost immediately after pregnancy is confirmed and, from what I’ve been told, never ends. In our case, because my wife’s first pregnancy was twins, it was doubly terrifying.
In addition to health and well-being concerns, for many parents their finances are nerve-wracking as well. The immediate needs often supersede planning for the future. After all, who has time to think about retirement when the diapers are running low?
That would be an ideal time to rely on a trusted third-party to guide you through the process, right? Unfortunately, most parents in that phase of life are stuck in limbo. The don’t have the time – or energy, frankly – to formulate a plan themselves nor do they have the investable assets to meet the minimum required by many investment advisors.
Helping young families became a passion of mine when I lived through the early years of parenthood. I was fortunate that my prior experience of helping clients guided me through the daunting task of planning for retirement and college while still dealing with the financial realities of day-to-day life, but I know that’s a background most parents don’t have.
A couple of years ago, I formalized that passion into a portion of my business designed to help young families. Instead of an asset minimum, I have what I call an “attitudinal minimum” – a willingness to be responsive, answer questions thoughtfully and honestly, and commit to a plan. Based on the information provided and some give and take, I create a plan that gives a realistic roadmap to achieving financial goals.
My goal is to make financial worries less scary, taking some of that burden from parents.
When it comes why he’s been really quiet for the last 20 minutes or where she’s going with the scissors, though, you’re on your own.
Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash
