Saving for Future

anonymous

New member
Has anyone figured out a way to save $$ for their childs future without it effecting future government aid and or spending it on huge medical bills.

We are fortunate to have some money (not alot, but enough) because we have been saving for out childrens college education and our retirement. But with my daughters resent diagnosis I am wondering if it is wise to have savings accounts where money can be accessed easily. We have lived very frugally(sp?) to be able to save what we have. I just don't want to be hit by some huge medical bill, have that cash wiped out and find out later that if I had done it differently we would have been able to protect some of our assests. Don't get my wrong, I would gladly pay everything I have to keep my child healthy. But why can't we work to get ahead without it affecting future help? I think that with a diagnosis like CF (or any other major illness) the government should step in and help regardless of the families financial status.

Anyway, just wanted to know what other families are doing. Is it pointless to save money or should we just spend it all having fun so we can get help when we need it?
 

JazzysMom

New member
There are a few ways. For my husband he has the opportunity to have $$ withheld that goes directly into an education fund. I dont remember the exact name of it, but the $$ is taken out before taxes so that his taxable income is lower. I recently found out that retirement plans such as an IRA can be used for educational purposes with no penalty that applies as if you withdrawal for other reasons. You can access the $$ at any time, but when you look at the dollar amount you will pay in penalties for early withdrawal you might or should resist the urge unless it is for educational purposes. You can also put $$ into bonds or certificates of deposits. The required amount varies on these tho.
 

julie

New member
The best solution, but not necessairly the easiest is to put it in a grandparents name.

For example, my grandmother is in an assisted living home right now. She also knows that in the near future, she might need a fully supportive nursing home. In order to "decrease" her assets so she won't have to pay ALL of the nursing home (medicare will pay for some), she has put a lot of money in a mututal fund in my moms name, my dads name, my aunts name and my uncles name. It is HER money still, but NOT in her name. It is definately something to look into, especially if you have a very close, trustworthy family!
 

rose4cale

New member
*TRUSTWORTHY* is the key word there!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">

Before putting it into something like a Certificate at a bank, I'd check to make sure you can withdraw it with no penalty for a medical emergency. I worked in banking for 7 years and that is something we would do for our clientel. Mind you, it was a small town community bank. Most banks have the option to waive those fees. Not sure about the big banks willingness to do so though.

Sometimes I think hiding it in your own personal safe at home is the best bet! We just had a financial advisor come to our house last week. He critcized everything we had done so far such as who we had our life policies with etc. 'His company is looking out for us unlike everyone else we have talked to'...blah...blah...blah... They have all become such salesman, I don't trust any of them!!

We're in the process on thinking about his future as well as far as if something would happen to us, the money would have to be left to his sister or someone else in a trust for him. Things like that. I don't think there are any easy answers though.
 

CFHockeyMom

New member
We were told by our attorney not to have any money associated with Sean's SS number. We found a couple of investments that didn't require his SS# so we've used those. For accounts that require SS#'s we've only set up one account for my older son and saved for both boys under that account.

As far as medical care in the future, yes, I think just tucking it in the mattress is about all you can do; unless, of course, you have trustworthy family. However, we've all seen the stories of trustworthy family going wrong and people being out their money.

You should also remain realistic; kids can get loans for college, you can't get a loan for retirement or medical bills.
 

cdale613

New member
Not that there is a fail safe way to invest money, but one of the safest things you can do is purchase real estate - housing is one of the most protected investments, and is often not considered when assests are counted for government programs. If you go that route, please contact a lawyer to make sure your house is as protected as possible. I don't know how the rules work for second homes, etc.

Chris

25 w/cf
 

thefrogprincess

New member
This involves a credit card but it is a really good savings plan. There is a mastercard linked to a college saving plan. Its called Future Trust. You get rebates on everything you put on the card (the percentage of the rebate depends on where you shop, there are thousands of retailers that participate). The savings is tax free if its used for college, but you can use it in an emergency if you need to, you just pay taxes on it. You can get more information at www.maternitymall.com it is a card that Motherhood Maternity and their subsidiaries push in the stores. I used to work there, and this is really a good plan!
 

anonymous

New member
We were told to set up a regular saving account and then at some point set up some documents with a lawyer to turn it into a medical health account. That way we wouldn't be penalized in the future. Has to do with how the lawyer sets up the wording.
 
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