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If you’re a parent, you should read this.
Key points
- Orman has issued an important warning for parents.
- She believes parents are risking their own futures by not focusing on their finances until their children leave home.
Parents face many financial obligations as a result of having children. This can range from paying for food and clothing for 18 or more years to covering the cost of education or even helping kids pay rent or get a mortgage to buy their first home.
While providing for your kids is rightly a top priority after parents choose to bring children into the world, financial expert Suze Orman believes many parents are making a huge mistake when it comes to their own finances if they prioritize their kids when making financial choices.
She’s warned that waiting until children leave home to make your own security a top priority could end up backfiring and causing lots of problems. And these problems could harm both the parents and the very children they were trying to provide for.
Here’s Suze Orman’s warning for parents
According to Orman, many parents “tell themselves that once the kids are grown and out of the house, they will double down on getting ready for retirement.” But, unfortunately they fail to follow through on this strategy or they shift their focus too late and it becomes really difficult to save enough in an investment account for a secure retirement.
Orman pointed to a study from the Center for Retirement Research that supports her position. After referencing the data from the study showing that most parents don’t improve their financial picture once kids are grown, she went on to warn, “Parents that think they will get ahead on building financial security once the kids are grown, don’t seem able to pull that off.”
Instead of delaying retirement savings or other financial goals and potentially creating serious problems later, she said her “heartfelt advice” is not to wait but instead to begin working on their own goals ASAP. This includes taking steps such as saving for retirement, choosing an affordable school, buying an inexpensive car, and saving for a home.
Orman believes this strategy will work out better for both parents and children. That’s because it won’t become too late for parents to build the nest egg they need for their future if they focus on it throughout their lives rather than …….