Every November 10, we commemorate National Heroes’ Day. In this modern era, we can still be heroes, for example in the family area, namely protecting family finances.
Faculty Head Sequis Quality Empowerment, STAE, Yan Ardhianto Handoyo, AWP®, RFP®, encourages Indonesian people who already have income to have a mission to become financial heroes for their families because if family finances are maintained in the long term it will be easy for you to prepare for the future of your children and in the future you can retire without being a burden on your children and grandchildren.
“Starting with a mission to become a financial hero will make you try to find ways to increase the value of your savings and increase your assets appropriately. “In fact, you will try to increase your insurance literacy so you can use insurance benefits in the future if needed,” said Yan
Yan further outlined tips for being a financial hero for your family:
Prepare Education Funds Early
Education is the biggest investment to prepare your child’s future, so you need to anticipate increases in education costs so that your income and savings are sufficient to send your child to quality higher education. Yan recommends placing education funds in safe instruments such as education insurance Sequis EduPlan Insurance so that they are maintained even if the breadwinner experiences unexpected things.
Sequis EduPlan Insurance can be an option because there is a death benefit of 100% of the Sum Insured (UP) and education fund stages totaling up to 200% of UP which are given on a scheduled basis as previously arranged, even if the Insured dies before the payment period ends.
Prioritize Protection with Life and Health Insurance
Also make sure you have health insurance and life insurance while you are healthy and productive. Life insurance and health insurance play an important role in financial planning because they function to protect family assets from bankruptcy and poverty when sudden life risks occur, such as illness that requires medical treatment costs or the breadwinner dies which causes a loss of family income.
One insurance product from Sequis that can be considered is Sequis Q Infinite MedCare Shield Rider (IMC Shield) because the premiums are affordable so customers can still share their income to meet other needs. The advantage of this product is that with an affordable premium, the Insured can get the benefit of a one-bed room when hospitalized.
Manage Debt Wisely
The ability to manage debt can help maintain family financial stability. Yan suggests limiting consumer debt to a maximum of 15% of total income. In fact, if it could be further minimized it would be better.
One way to avoid debt is to limit spending on items that can be postponed or don’t need to be purchased. Apart from that, it is better if you have additional funds, such as bonuses or allowances, that can be used to pay off debt because in debt, apart from the obligation to pay the principal, there is also interest. If you are late paying off your debt, the amount paid will be much higher.
“Those who have debt obligations that are paid on time and whose consumer debt is small or even have no debt, their family finances are stronger and more flexible in various options for preparing for the future,” said Yan.
Build Financial Communication in the Family
An important thing that should not be ignored is involving all family members in financial planning. Discuss the family’s financial goals, how to achieve them, and include if there are plans to purchase assets, investments and loan applications. In this way, each family member can play an active role in maintaining joint financial health.
Yang suggests that family finances should be communicated well to partners and other family members according to their age level and ability to understand finances.
“Communicating finances needs to be done well to prevent conflict and misunderstanding. Apart from that, being open about financial planning to family members will help encourage them to want to take part in increasing family assets as well as looking after them and practicing minimizing a consumptive lifestyle. “In this way, you can become a hero for your family’s finances,” concluded Yan.
