Securing her future-with a bank account, insurance, shares and property

Every day, you sweat it out to lay a strong foundation for your children’s lives and secure them a bright future. By investing and growing your money, you will not only retire in comfort, but also set your children on a strong footing to establish themselves as financially independent adults. Below are some of the investment options to consider:

Life insurance

Many people prefer to sweep any thoughts of dying prematurely under the carpet. However, life insurance is one investment you must consider, because of the unpredictable nature of life. With a life insurance, you can rest assured that should anything happen to you, your loved ones who depend on you will remain secured financially.

Life insurance would ensure your children continue with their education and your spouse has money to pay off any debts you may have incurred as well as cover your family’s living expenses.

The stock market

In the long term, buying shares in companies listed in the stock market will grow your money better than keeping your money in a bank account. The money you make over the years can, for example, be used to finance your children’s higher education.

Shares may some times take a nose dive and lose lots of value, but this mostly happens in the short term. Normally, the market recovers within a couple of years, and that is why it is advisable to consider buying shares as a long-term investment.

Another advantage with shares is that you get dividends (a share of the profit) which are mostly paid twice a year.

Unit trusts

Often called ‘funds’ or ‘collective investments’, unit trusts pool many investors’ money together to buy shares. You don’t own the shares, but are allocated units in the fund. You can open a unit trust account in your child’s name. Because the costs are divided up among all of you, it’s usually cheaper than buying individual shares. The biggest advantage is that your money is spread out over a number of shares, instead of putting all your money on one share.

Savings accounts

Start putting aside money for your children in an account that will allow it to grow with time as early as now if you haven’t started. A savings account provides high security and a low interest rate (about 10 per cent a year).

A minimum deposit will be required to open a savings account, though most banks exempt children, who often have a savings account as their first bank account. Savings accounts carry less risk and therefore lower returns. Shop around for those with higher interest rates.

Property

Investing in carefully selected and well managed real estate, such as commercial or rental property may provide a steady stream of income for your family. Real estate has been regarded as one of the safest investments.

In Kenya, for example, demand for properties to rent continues to grow as the in rent rate continue to grow as well.

However, before you build or buy any property, you need to be well informed. Read about real estate investments and be familiar with the important details.

Get in touch with real estate and finance professionals who can help you protect your interests.

Write/Update your Will

The importance of being cautious can never be emphasized enough. If you haven’t planned your estate, do it now. You need to be sure that if anything should happen to you; your family will be provided for and not subjected to nasty battles over your assets, or worse, lose the property you have worked hard to acquire over the years.

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