Getting our financial affairs in order is something we know should be done sooner rather than later.

For a lot of people, however, the daily grind gets in the way of planning for the future.

And let’s get real – South Africans aren’t that good at planning for retirement.

In some cases even if you do plan, you could come across some unforeseen obstacles.

In this case, your children.

It turns out that for a lot of people, their plans to fortify their savings and retirement later in life is put on hold because they have to support their adult children.

Here’s Barron’s :

It’s not just about the high cost of college. Parents have long tried to set up their children for success, but today that assistance is costing ever more, and lasting far longer. The cost of a four-year private college averages $48,500 a year, double what it did in the late 1980s. And financial independence is increasingly delayed. About 15% of 25- to 35-year-olds were living at home in 2016, based on a Pew Research report. That’s five percentage points higher than the share of Generation Xers living at home when they were the same age, and almost double the share of today’s older retirees who were in the same situation years ago.

While this study was conducted in the States, South African parents are having to face the same reality – their kids aren’t leaving the nest.

Parental help often starts small, covering expenses such as cellphone bills, car payments, groceries, or health insurance. But temporary assistance can quickly turn permanent and pricey, financing rent and down payments, grandchildren’s college educations, and support for offspring going through divorce or battling drug addiction.

Of course, some people have enough stashed away to stay comfortable and support their children into adulthood. The majority risk losing out on a comfortable retirement or facing massive debt in their old age.

You also aren’t doing your kids any favours in the long run.

Financial advisors are increasingly wary of encouraging assistance: Well-meaning parents can sometimes create more harm than good—not just to their own retirement, but also to their children’s financial and physical well-being.

So how can you help your children without hurting your retirement and their futures?

Partner with an expert who can help you and your family protect and build your wealth.

No time like the present, right? Consequence Private Wealth live by the mantra that “the consequences of decisions made today will unfold over a lifetime based on the sound principles applied at their inception”.

Plant that seed now and you might just get to live that retired life in style.

[source:bensons]