As parents, you only ever want what is best for your children. But as you get older, and your children have children, you come to realize that you want the best for your grandchildren too. Being a good parent is one thing, but everyone loves being a good grandparent. As the average life expectancy in the United States continues to rise at a fast pace, it is worth remembering that only a few generations ago, grandparents never used to enjoy much time with their grandchildren. Nowadays, we get to enjoy seeing our grandchildren grow up to become parents themselves, and it is not uncommon for four generations of the same family to be alive at the same time.
Providing for so many family members is a privilege, but is not an easy one. Funds, particularly post-retirement payments and pensions, just can’t go very far—especially if you were earning a modest annual income when you worked. There’s nothing wrong with that, but whilst you may look at your account balance and have concerns over how far it can stretch, you may also be worried about leaving behind something for all of your family when you pass away.
It isn’t an obligation of course, but if you are wanting to set aside some money for your grandchildren (including great-grandchildren), then there are a few ways to do so, without emptying your account first.
Save Money
The most tried and tested way of having a little more money in your pocket is to ensure that there isn’t a hole in it, figuratively and physically. Saving money is always the best way to ensure that you have finances whenever you need them. Ordinarily, savings are usually used for big projects within the home or for trips abroad, but if you are planning on passing on more to your grandchildren, then an accumulation of savings will get you on to the right path.
Saving money is best brought about by making different decisions and making limitations on spending. There are many specifics to this, but the first step will always be to see where your money is going. Make a list of your monthly distributions, and see where your expenditure is. Most of the time, outgoings are less centered on the purchase of items, but more on paying off debts and utility bills. There is little that can be done about the former, with the exception of speaking to lenders and working out some kind of debt consolidation with them or a third party. However, when it comes to money spent on utilities such as energy, electricity, water or internet, there are many more options.
Moneygains, which is a price comparison website designed to help consumers find the cheapest electricity in Northern Ireland, is a prime example of how you can go about limiting your monthly distributions, and save a little bit of money in the process. This is a service that takes all of the different tariffs available in Northern Ireland, and compares the prices over a range of time chosen by the user. However, it allows anyone who is looking into the different options to base their decision on multiple factors, including availability, reliability and renewable/green energy input.
You can save yourself a great deal of money by using such a website to determine which utility provider is going to cost you less per month. The extra money saved can then be set aside, meaning you are in a better position going forward to pass on more wealth to future generations. Although Moneygains themselves are not yet based in the U.S., their projected growth shows that they may very well expand over the Atlantic soon enough.
Life Insurance
Obviously, insurance is always going to be something that no one wants to have to use, yet you are grateful to have should you need to use. Life insurance has a similar theme, except if you are the policyholder, you aren’t really doing to be the one that uses it. Ordinarily these insurance policies have most effect in the unlikely event of ones passing, and are normally to ensure that if there is any one or any place that accelerated said event, that party would be held accountable.
Obviously no one wants to have to use a life insurance policy, nor find their passing come a lot sooner than natural causes would allow, but it can’t hurt to at least look into them. However, if you find you are in the unenviable position of knowing that your life expectancy has been reduced, then perhaps looking into viatical settlement instead would be better.
Viatical Settlements
A viatical settlement is like an exchange of your life insurance policy’s cash value, for a continuation of the policy after you have passed away. They are legal settlements intended to provide you with a “death benefit” (something that is normally only awarded to a beneficiary when a life insurance policy is enacted), earlier. Viatical settlements are mostly used by people who have terminal illnesses or are in the last stages of a life threatening condition. A third party makes a purchase of your life insurance policy at it’s face value, but for less than the policy’s death benefit payout would be, if the insurance was cashed in as normal. In return, the policyholder receives a lump sum with which to do as they please, surrendering their life insurance. The third party buyer (or beneficiary) then goes on to continue paying the life insurance policy’s additional premiums until the policy holder passes away, in which case they can then cash in on the full policy’s death benefit value.
There is a possible downside to the potential buyer, in that the viatical settlement agreement can only accommodate for if the seller’s passing is expected to be within two years, or else the death benefit becomes a life settlement instead and is worth less. For this reason, finding a potential beneficiary to buy the life insurance policy can be difficult. Furthermore, there are documented cases where the viatical settlement has resulted in fraud lawsuits and cash value payouts have been awarded when the original seller did not have a terminal illness. There has even been a case where a policyholder actually got better, despite having a low life expectancy at the time, and received their insurance payout. However, these cases are very rare, and viatical settlements are becoming more optioned choices again.
Viatical settlement providers, such as the American Life Fund would ordinarily suggest that you can use your payouts to tick off some items of your bucket list, or provide yourself with end-of-life care for your final days. Whilst life insurance payouts are normally used for funerals, anything that is left over from the viatical settlement can be used for this instead. However, in the context of this list, should you need to use a viatical settlement, or are on the lookout to purchase a viatical settlement and become a policyholder yourself, then you can use the payout to give to your grandchildren.
Investments
Becoming an investor is something that can be done at almost any age in life, but you need to build a portfolio or have enough collateral first. That said, you may have been an investor for some time already, but if you are looking for higher returns to have more money to pass on to your grandchildren. Whether you are a beginner looking for those high returns straight away, have a single investment that you keep an eye on from time to time, or have been an investor for years, then it could be a good idea regardless to add some variety to your investment strategy.
One way to do this will be to look into alternative investments, like the investments that Yieldstreet have listed. Based on the options of investments available, it’s easy to consider if alternative investments are realistic, or a waste of time. So, is Yieldstreet legit? Definitely, and it’s reviews are a testament to this. However, investments are a risky business and so it helps to do your own due diligence first and researching how these types of investments can offer you more in return. These returns can then be passed on to your grandchildren in the form of a cash value, or as investment bonds themselves. Perhaps it’s better to pass on knowledge than money, and investments in the types of options that Yieldstreet list might provide that education.