Father’s Day guide to putting tomorrow’s needs before today’s wants

With Father’s Day around the corner, a lot of people are reflecting on the joys of having a good father to steer them through life, mending scraped knees and broken hearts.

“The job of a father is never done, no matter how old your children are. One thing that we know is on every parent or father’s mind is providing a financially stable home for their children. We at Standard Bank know just how important creating a financially stable life for their children is to fathers and we are dedicating this Father’s Day to give them a few financial tips,” Standard Bank’s Public Relations and Communications Manager, Surihe Gaomas-Guchu said this week.

She added that a lot of responsible fathers have a lot of family obligations which can stretch their money to its thinnest so the key is to make their money work for them by following a few guidelines.

“The first thing that every father needs is to draw up two very realistic budgets, the family budget which accounts for all the families’ expenses and a personal budget. A lot of fathers overlook making these two distinct budgets which can be detrimental to the pocket and cause a lot of overspending,” she said.

She stressed that the overspending comes as a result of issues such as having to pay for things such as having the car repaired, personal grooming/upkeep or paying for the home loan, which does not necessarily fall into the family’s day to day budget can result in overspending.

“Every parent needs to plan for a rainy day or for a day when they can no longer provide for their family financially the way they used to. We advise all fathers to set-up an automatic savings account for their children, which will come in handy when they most need it. In addition to a savings account, also have an emergency funds account, that way you do not have to dip into the savings account and have disposable cash in case of an emergency,” Gaomas-Guchu advised.

Fathers enjoying splurging on their children and sometimes are not aware of how costly that can be. Gaomas-Guchu advised that fathers find inexpensive activities that they can do to have fun, while saving at the same time.

“Additionally, father’s should put tomorrow’s needs before today’s wants, and that is only effective when they also teach their children about value of money and how to manage it responsibly for the benefit of themselves and their future families. This allows them to be understanding when you as a father are trying to cut down on costs and save more,” she noted.

In conclusion, she stressed that the overall important thing to remember is to spend less than you earn and never deviate from the budget to ensure that you can always provide for your family.

For more tips on savings for father’s day, visit your nearest branch, Standard Bank website at www.standardbank.com.na or on the bank’s Facebook page.