Father’s Day: Gift your dad an organized financial plan

When it comes to planning finances, parents always take the traditional approach. Especially dads! Talk about finances and they all sing the same song, “dad knows best” (an improvised version of “Mother Knows Best” from Tangled)—in case you didn’t know where that reference came from.

But what dad doesn’t know—or he purposely chooses to ignore sometimes—is that times have changed and the world has gotten a lot more tech-savvy now. So, this Father’s Day, keep those expensive gifts aside. At least for now! Instead, pull your dad aside and talk to him about money, and help him get his finances sorted.

• Have open and honest conversations about money.
• Discuss your financial goals.
• Ask him about his goals.

Take some time to understand his current investments, expenses and debts. Calculate how much his expenses amount to on a monthly basis, his health care spending and  how much funds he will need once he retires.

Analyzing his savings and investments will enable him to manage his current lifestyle through retirement.

Clean up

Yes, a nice gesture for Father’s Day would be to clean up his room or your house in general. While you’re at it, take a look at his investment portfolio and do some cleaning there as well. 

Your father could be holding multiple funds and fixed deposits not knowing if those investments are aligned to his retirement goals. 

Restrict his financial instruments to 10 or less, this will help manage his portfolio easily. 

Get organized

Heard this phrase from dad a lot already? Get your life organized, get your room organized, get your sleep schedule organized! Now it’s time to use Dad’s advice right back at him—for his benefit of course!

Assemble and organize his financial documents and information in one place. (If you need some motivation, watch Monica in FRIENDS) 

Dads store a lot of unnecessary paperwork and they do not need all of them. The important ones to retain are bank account details, medical information, credit cards, loans, tax returns, insurance policies, bill payments and due dates. Make multiple copies of these documents. Also store digitized copies of the same, if your dad is comfortable and savvy. If not, teach him how to be. 

Health on point

Remember those sleepless nights dad had to endure when you were ill, those days he drove you to the hospital. Also, remember that health care expenses are an important fund that your dad will need when he’s older. Help him set up an emergency fund that will help in circumstances where he won’t need to compromise on his monthly expenses. 

Parents first

Old age is inevitable. So is retirement! And there is no loan for retirement. Remember how you got a loan for your education, yes that financial privilege isn’t available for the elderly. So, your parents have to invest in their retirement unless they have a pension. 

Help dad strategize and allocate a part of his savings to long-term investments, like equity and mutual funds. The remaining he can spend on his day-to-day needs.

It’s Father’s Day, be responsible and ensure that your parents don’t spend on anything that would put their retirement at risk. Let the roles reverse! It’s for their future anyway. 

His will be done

What better gift to give dad on Father’s Day than “peace of mind”? Dads would rather leave a legacy behind over confusion. Make an online Will and refine it later. Have a witness during the process so that there are no conflicts on the matter in the future. Do remember to register the Will as well.