Plan smart for your family's financial future

(ARA) - Few things in life trigger a sense of personal responsibility like having children. Part of that responsibility is ensuring both your own and your children's financial futures.

However, a recent survey released by TD Ameritrade shows that many parents cite the expense of raising children as one of the top reasons why they have fallen behind in retirement planning. According to the survey, 66 percent of both married and single parents said raising children is the reason they are behind when it comes retirement preparedness.

Planning for retirement can undoubtedly be a daunting task and not everyone has the resources or desire to hire a financial planner to manage their long-term plans. Fortunately, developing your own savings plan is becoming more manageable and readily accessible.

A good first step in getting back on track for retirement is determining what you need to do to secure your future, as well as your children's. Here are some things to keep in mind as you get started:

* Save for yourself, help your children. By taking steps to secure your own financial future, you will be taking a burden off your children. Your employer will likely offer a 401(k) or other retirement plan and oftentimes match a portion of your contributions, which you should take advantage of. You may also want to consider making regular investments to traditional or Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs) as another means of planning for your retirement. If you leave your job, you can roll your 401(k) plan into an IRA. Most retirement accounts will allow you to invest your money in areas of your choice, from potentially high-risk, high-reward markets to potentially lower-risk, steady growth areas. Investing in mutual funds or individual equities is also an option.

* Plan ahead for your child's education. Early investment in your children's education could possibly help you and your children avoid substantial student loan payments down the road. Some college savings plans even offer federal tax-free earnings and withdrawals for qualified education expenses such as tuition, books, computers and room and board. Different savings plans have different conditions, such as annual or lifetime limits on contributions or designations that allow either you or your child to control the money in the fund. Consider these conditions when selecting a plan. If saving for your children's education in addition to your own retirement is not an option, you can research financial aid programs that may be available to your family, such as federal grant programs, government-sponsored loan programs and scholarships, well before your child will enter college. Regardless of the path you choose to finance your children's education, you'll benefit from planning ahead.

* Put it all together. Set goals for how much you want to save and what you can realistically invest. Understandably, this can get a little tricky with all the numbers and interest rates involved. Not to worry, as many savings plans provide materials to help you do the calculations. A comprehensive retirement planning tool, like TD Ameritrade's WealthRuler, allows you to enter all of your investment information and helps you determine what you need to do to effectively pursue your investment goals. It will also show you different outcomes based on market scenarios, as well as give you some idea what would happen if you changed your monthly contributions. It will also allow you to enter different scenarios for your own life, such as planning for another child. Other websites like bankrate.com also have free retirement planning calculators, as well as other interactive tools that can help you with your financial planning needs.

Courtesy of ARAcontent