Savings, wills and life insurance - have you thought about them?

Afternoon all, we're doing a feature in PPP about how you can plan for your family's financial future. Now before you nod off, I was wondering if you've set up a savings account for your little one, drawn up a will or thought about life insurance?

We don't have will etc as yet but since last year we have focused on clearing debt so we can give the girls a more stable future and can start to put more money away. They have their £250 trust Fund which I did a bucket load of research into the types of accounts before opening. At the mo we are set to clear just over 10k of debt in 2.5 years then we can start paying into pensions and savings for the girls. Also, my parents put a least £5 each away for them for when they turn 21. (I got my savings from family and I blew it in seconds) I think it is so important to plan your finances and if I'd been a little more mature and sensible a few years ago I probably wouldn't be paying this debt off now. We will be getting wills sorted out but not sure when but I think it's important at the very least to say what you want to happen with your kids if anything should happen to you. It is very gloomy to think about but after a health scare last year it certainly made me think that I needed to have a plan so if anything happened I didn't leave my family in a position were they wouldn't be able to cope. I'm a bit of a spreadsheet nerd too and I find it easier to know what I've got and who is taking some of it so I have all our outgoings for last year, this year and next year on a spreadsheet, including how much is coming in and how much gets filtered to debts. The Trust Fund accounts I did find interesting. A lot of the investment accounts lose the money at such a quick rate. There was an error setting up a savings account for one of my girls and in 20 days they lost 5%. Imagine if I just left that for the first year and didn't check. I know it's money for nothing but it's still money for my little girl. I lot of the companies offering investment accounts show if they are making a profit or loss in general with these type of accounts and it is quite surprising that most  show you wont see the money if you leave it for 18 years. But anyway, long waffle over, I think it is very important to plan your finances. Also, when your kiddies get old enough to understand it bit more, it's nice for them to see a good example set and hopefully when our girls leave home they'll know the value of money and be capable of saving rather then I measured money by how many pints it would buy that night at the pub.

Both of mine have a saving's account which we put ??20 into a month plus any birthday money etc into, i would rather put more away but thats all we can afford at the minute whilst clearing debts. They also have their ??250 trust funds gaining interest on its own. As for a will i dont have one of those just yet but i think its important to have so the kids guardians are set however i've just sorted out my life insurance so if anything was to happen to me it would pay of my mortgage and leave a large sum to both the children, so in the event that one of us passes the kids should be set up to at least have a roof over their heads and some money to support them in their future be it university or just getting their foot on the property ladder

me and my partner both have a will and life insurance policeys, dylan who is 8 months has a trust fund what we pay £80 in a month a savings account for his child beneift he has a savings account wha this nan puts in £20 a month and then he has account for all his odds and sods to spend on everyday stuff 

We have level term life insurance (the 'pay out' stays the same the entire duration of the product) - the cover finishes when we retire. As parents we feel like we have a safety net for if the worst happens. It's been one of the best things we've ever purchased. Please don't be put off, it's quite simple to set up and isn't expensive (ours doesn't incl critical illness which adds the pounds on) our policy is only about ??10 a month! Cheap for peace of mind!

Thanks mums! Really appreciate your feedback. Sounds like you've all made some very sensible decisions indeed.

Sorry, I sort of went on one. Lol.

Hello all. My name is Nicola I work for a company called OpenLife (www.open-life.co.uk) who specialise in family protection (life insurance, trust funds, illness cover etc) working with Legal & General, Aviva, Bupa, and many other companies we specialise in providing FREE advice on family protection. Its fantastic to see you are thinking about the 'what if's' in life and have made provision for your childrens future although..

In my experience even those who have taken steps to provide some protection for their children rarley have the various situations 'covered' especially when it comes to trusts and ensuring monies are paid to the right people at the right age. Also many people have very little protection in place or are paying over the odds for what they do have.

We are currently working with a midlands based Will writing company called Dunham Mccarthy who provide FREE professional advice on protecting your family - they are also work with various councils and Birmingham Childrens Hospital and are also offering a FREE Will writing service! (although I should note they do charge for the storage and insuring of the Will documents). If any of you mums are interested please take a look at www.Dunham-McCarthy.co.uk/#!__free-will or email Enquiries@Dunham-McCarthy.co.uk.

Together we have helped hundereds of families review/implement family protection and organise FREE Wills. For every family taking an hour or two to look at the options available is a must. I hope this helps some of you.

Nicola