With National Parents Day this month and Grandparents Day coming in September, we recognize that more older adults are raising grandchildren or other young relatives. These CFPB tools can help with finances and raising kids.
Here are five actions older adults raising kids can take to evaluate their finances and plan for family goals.
- To begin with, get a clear picture of monthly income and expenses. You may be rethinking your budget if you’re raising kids on a fixed income. Use CFPB’s income tracker to see where money is coming from and the spending tracker to see where it’s going.
- If your household just got larger, you probably have added expenses. Find out if federal, state, or local assistance programs can help. Go to Benefitscheckup.org to find benefits that could help with food, health care, housing, utilities, and transportation costs.
- If you’ve had to take on new debts, use CFPB’s debt log to total how much is owed. You can also track interest rates, choose a debt reduction strategy, and prioritize payoff goals.
- Also, talk about money choices with the kids in your care. Visit CFPB’s Money As You Grow resource page to find age-appropriate activities and conversation starters to help build children’s money skills, habits, and attitudes.
Whether raising kids or not, it’s a good idea to plan, set money goals, and start saving. Use CFPB’s planning tool to consider major life events and set savings goals for large purchases, such as buying a car and paying for college.
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