Parents’ Financial Decisions | Child Behavior

Becoming a parent is a beautiful life changing experience which every couple wishes to have at least once in their life. But a small baby brings along the huge responsibility of future planning which involves efficiently managing current expenses and building a stable investment portfolio. An additional member means an increase in expenses at the same income level. Hence sound financial decisions have to be made today in order to secure children’s future and encourage responsible financial behaviour in them from an early age. A child features prominently in parent’s every decision and they also want the best for the child, be it in the sphere of education, experiences, facilities or most importantly their place of residence.

A couple will adjust within a rented accommodation but they would want their child to grow up in a luxurious home with green landscapes and dedicated space for playing with peers. Parents should be concerned about where the child will grow up because locality, friend circle, neighbours also influence the upbringing of a child. Kid Centric Homes deliver on all those aspects and more as these townships are built with child-centric facilities and infrastructure. It is a worthy investment because the safe environment promotes the child’s holistic development and happy childhood filled with amazing memories. They have a live & learn programme which fires up the passion and drive in children and makes them confident enough to pursue their dreams with dedication and perseverance. The age appropriate activities build character and team spirit among peers. The extra-curricular activities develop their mind by stimulating their cognitive thinking and encourage skill development.

When it comes to finances, parents need to have a balanced approach. A child brings so much joy in a parent’s life that indulging the child’s every whim and fancy becomes second nature to them. Such behaviour is detrimental for the child as they become frivolous with money and don’t develop the maturity to handle it and save it for the future. Parents can’t support the kids forever; kids have to eventually move out and make a career and have a family of their own. Their irresponsible financial behaviour will eventually hurt their offspring. Being too thrifty can also have a negative impact on kids’ psyche. They become too aware of their limited means and become frugal which may hurt their interpersonal relationships.

It is acceptable to indulge kids once in awhile especially when they’ve achieved something in academics or extracurricular. Practicing good financial habits with kids and involving them in the process of saving money will teach them to be responsible adults. They should be given pocket money for the month, rewarded with money when they complete chores or achieve something and then they should be encouraged to invest it in their piggy bank.

Following are good financial habits which must be practiced by every parent and taught to every child:

• Make a budget every month to keep a track of earnings and expenses and stick to it.
• Be aware of incidental as well as intentional spending habits.
• Try setting a daily spending limit for yourself based on your budget.
• Use credit cards wisely because credit card debt can build up scarily fast, thanks to the often-exorbitant interest rates.
• Take advantage of tax breaks.
• Explore work allowances which one may not be aware of like transport allowances, overtime etc.
• To be truly financially responsible, it helps to familiarize oneself with some basic terms and ideas like: money orders, trust funds, tax tips, check writing etc. The more financially literate one is, the more in control of money one will feel. 
• Negotiate your salary and understand if you’re getting paid a fair amount for your skills and experience level and how your earnings compare to others in your industry. If there is an unfair disparity, one should definitely take it up with the management. If unfortunately negotiation attempts are futile, then one should look for another job. Conversely, your salary could be fair, but just not enough when leveraged against your expenses and/or debt. In that case, you should become more strict with the budget and let go of superfluous expenses till all debt is paid-off.
• Most importantly, start saving for retirement from today onwards. Retirement comes sooner than later and if one wants to live comfortably without any financial troubles then savings needs to start now.