Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Category:
Consolidation
According to Coventry Building Society, there is a ‘stark contrast’ between parents’ expectations vs. reality when it comes to providing their children with financial support. The building society is therefore highlighting the importance of taking ‘simple steps’, such as setting money aside on a monthly basis, to prepare for significant events in their children’s lives.
Findings revealed that parents with children between 18 and 30 years of age said that they will spend up to £43,189.85 on ‘milestone events’ in their children’s lives – such as university fees, a wedding, and a property deposit. In contrast, it was also found that the average parent with children of school age or younger is expecting to pay a maximum of £29,060 - £14,000 short of the required sum.
In terms of savings, the research uncovered that just 37 percent of parents with children between 18 and 30 years of age had set money aside for ‘their children’s future’ whilst they were growing up. Furthermore, 21 percent of parents with children under the age of 18 reportedly have no money set aside for their children’s future, whilst 62 percent have saved £1,000 or less for this reason. The research revealed that 40 percent of parents with children between 18 and 30 years of age admit that they wish they had commenced making provisions for their children’s future earlier, which was also found to be the case for 70 percent of parents with children under the age of 18.
Head of Marketing at Coventry Building Society, Rachel Haworth, commented: "It is easy to think that children will grow up and be able to support themselves, but in today's society it is likely that they will need some help. Higher tuition fees, rising house prices and overall increases in living costs all make it harder for young people to achieve the standard things which appear on most people's life checklist.
"We would encourage all parents to get into the habit of putting money aside every month to help prepare for the big events in their children's lives. Even taking simple steps such as saving child benefit payments into a high - interest savings account, such as our Family Saver account can make a big difference in the long term.”
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Homeowners who would like to set money aside each month but are unable to due to multiple monthly debt repayments could consider taking out a secured loan to tie them all up. One of many finance options available, a secured loan for
consolidation could allow borrowers to reduce several monthly debt repayments down to just one. What’s more, this single monthly repayment could be even lower than the sum of existing outgoings – thereby freeing up extra money, which could potentially be saved. However, if opting for a secured loan to consolidate debt, it should be remembered that consolidating your debt may increase the amount you pay back overall and extend the repayment periods of your debts.
