Your family means everything to you. They’re the people you love most in the world, and you’d do anything for them, to help guide them along in life, and keep them safe as you grow as a unit. 

But sometimes, our proper family budgets can fall by the wayside. It’s hard to budget the same way week by week – the more you spend to put food on the table, and to put toys in the toy chest, the less you have to put away each paycheck. And that might be where you’re going wrong; money is one of the best ways to guarantee your family’s future health, after all. 

And families can have a lot of health problems. As you’re growing, and going through such a huge developmental period in such a short time, all kinds of things can happen to you mentally and physically! And so, now’s the time to rethink your family budget, to deal with any potential mishaps.

Think About the Commonly Occurring Appointments

Your children (and you!) have a lot of doctor’s appointments to attend, on an annual basis. And when it comes down to it, any treatment that one of these appointments might lead to, and even the cost of keeping up with regular appointments themselves, can cost a lot. Year by year, Americans spend millions and billions on healthcare, and when you’ve got a large family, you’re going to be spending the most. 

Which is why it’s important to try and put away at least 20% of your paycheck, every time you receive one, into an account for later. The more money you have on the retainer, to pay for your children’s treatment, or even just to get a second opinion when you think something serious is wrong, the better you’ll keep to your necessary check-ups. Even if you can only head out once a year, saving up now will make sure you can keep to the bi-annual schedule. 

Invest in an Insurance Policy

Health insurance is one of the best policies you can take out for your family – if you can put all of the members of your household underneath a money-saving umbrella, in case of accident or emergency (or some much needed dental work!), you won’t constantly be burning a hole in your bank account. Hospital bills can get very expensive, after all, and you don’t ever want to be stuck with a medical treatment you can’t pay for, especially when there are kids involved. 

Do your research. Look into what kind of insurance policies are the most family-friendly; you might even want to start with the Health Reform Team, if you’re not quite sure what to tap into Google to begin with. And remember, it’s usually a lot better (and cheaper!) to buy a single policy your whole family can fit under, rather than trying to take out single policies for everyone you know and love. 

Is your budget family health-friendly? It might be time to change.