5 Financial Planning Tips for the Sandwich Generation

If you're a member of the "sandwich generation," you might be feeling the pressure of caring for both younger and older generations. Today, many people in their thirties and forties are "sandwiched" between two generations that are dependent on them. But with the right approach to financial planning and guidance from Buttonwood Financial Group, you can find financial freedom, even if you're supporting your loved ones. Here's how to manage your finances to live with financial peace of mind.

Organize Your Financial Documents

No matter what your personal financial goals or concerns are, you need to organize any relevant documents, such as your insurance policies, wills, property deeds, or other files concerning legal matters. While it's easy to lose or misplace a physical document, you can digitize records so you'll always be able to access them easily. Watch for State specific rules; Missouri, for example still requires a paper will. Furthermore, you can combine PDFs into one file using a PDF merge tool, which will make it even simpler for you to locate the documents you need at any time. Plus, you can rearrange the pages in the order you want!

Budgeting and Saving

If you have multi-generational dependents, creating a realistic budget and identifying areas where you can maximize savings is key. Make a budget outlining all your income sources, your fixed expenses, and your variable expenses. Cutting back in certain spending categories can make a huge impact on your ability to save.

Cover Childcare Expenses

Do you have young children? If so, you know the costs of childcare can be sky-high. However, you may be able to find ways to save, which will allow you to contribute more to your investment accounts. For example, if your employer offers the options of opening a flexible spending account, you an set aside pretax money for childcare-related expenses. You or your partner could also explore the possibility of working from home or working part-time to eliminate this expense.

Financing Eldercare

Even if your parents created a solid nest egg, paying for eldercare can still get expensive quickly - and they might still need your financial assistance. To keep the costs of eldercare under control, Aging Care recommends looking into long-term insurance policies. You may also want to have the Team at Buttonwood meet with your parents to discuss how you can best allocate their assets to pay for long-term care or to hire a part-time, in-home caregiver. Buttonwood does this regularly - and at no additional cost.

Investing for Your Own Future

Investing is a key aspect of overall financial health. You can use accounts like a 401(k) to invest in target-date mutual funds or index funds for a diversified approach to retirement planning. It's a good idea to talk to a financial advisor if you're ready to enhance your investment strategy - they can help you get started and plan for your future and your children's future. When you've accumulated your assets and eventually get ready to retire, your financial advisor can assist with succession planning, which will enable you to pass on your savings of a family business to your children.

For the sandwich generation, financial planning can be quite complicated. That's why it's important to look for opportunities to save and start investing early. By implementing some of these strategies, you can get your finances on track, even if you're budgeting for the needs of your loved ones, too.

Do you have questions about financial planning? Turn to the experts at Buttonwood Financial Group! Contact the Team today to schedule a conversation.

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Hal Salazar created Elders.Today to lend a helping hand to seniors via carefully curated resources. Hal is newly retired, and as he embarked on planning and preparing for his golden years, he realized there was a lot of information to keep up with so he started gathering it all on his website to help out his fellow seniors. When Hal isn’t working on Elders.Today, he enjoys walking at his local park, testing out new recipes on his wife, Marlene, and playing piano.