Latinos are very passionate, hard workers, achievers, and education are at the very core of our Latino families! Growing up, I heard my parents says prepare for a better future you had to get an education & set down roots, this became a reality, to myself, when we moved to the states & I witness my parents start from scratch. They were both in their late 30’s with two small children. This, however, did not matter to our parents, being able to provide for us was their number one mission. To accomplished this, their first step was to learned the language. The second step, was to attained the American dream: purchase their first home! This story is common, not unique to The Latino culture throughout the states, that is why when I heard about the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company’s (MassMutual) third biennial “State of the American Family Study,” I was quite curious to learned more about the studies’ finding & the Latino connection, please see the studies’ key findings below (English & Spanish version)…
Key findings include:
- Paying off debt. More than half (57 percent) of Hispanics prioritize paying off their mortgage as a top financial priority and nearly half (46 percent) prioritize getting out of credit card debt – significantly greater than the general population. Despite these higher-than-average initial efforts to achieve financial security, additional steps seem to be lacking. Almost half (43 percent) feel investing and financial planning should be a higher priority for them, and only 28 percent are confident selecting investment options to meet their goals.
- Focusing on a college education. Nearly half (49 percent) of Hispanics claim that paying for their children’s college education is something they insist on doing, yet only 31 percent rank savings/investing in their children’s college education as a top priority.
- Educating children about finances. Close to half (47 percent) of Hispanics are actively involved in educating children about finances and 79 percent recognize it is important in order to ensure their success in the future. Perhaps this emphasis is because 36 percent of adults wish their own parents had taught them more about money.
Hallazgos clave del estudio incluyen:
- Pagar deudas. Más de la mitad (57 por ciento) de los hispanos tienen como prioridad el pago de la hipoteca como una prioridad financiera máxima y casi la mitad (46 porciento) dan prioridad a salir de la deuda de tarjetas de crédito – significativamente mayor que la población general. A pesar de estos esfuerzos iniciales más altos de lo normal para lograr la seguridad financiera, medidas adicionales parecen faltar. Casi la mitad (43 porciento) considera que la inversión y planificación financiera debe ser una mayor prioridad para ellos, y sólo el 28 porciento se sienten seguros en seleccionar opciones de inversión para cumplir con sus metas.
- Centrándose en la educación universitaria. Casi la mitad (49 porciento) de los hispanos afirman que pagar la educación universitaria de sus hijos es algo que ellos insisten en hacer, sin embargo, sólo el 31 porciento resalta que tienen como prioridad tener un ahorro / inversión para la educación universitaria de sus hijos.
- Educar a los niños acerca de las finanzas. Cerca de la mitad (47 porciento) de los hispanos participan activamente en la educación de los niños acerca de las finanzas y el 79 porciento reconocen que es importante con el fin de asegurar su éxito en el futuro. Tal vez este énfasis es porque el 36 porciento de los adultos les hubiera gustado que sus propios padres les hubieran enseñado más sobre el dinero.
Now that I am a Parent, the responsibility to ensure the financial security of our household falls on both my husband & I back bone. I can certainly relate to the findings above. To ensure our financial security, we have taken three mayor steps: savings, teaching & action. First, thing is to have no debt & save as much as we can, this goes for the kids as well. Each of our children have their own savings account, so that they can save and learn to prioritize for their future. Besides, having a savings account for the kiddos, we also invested in a Pre-Paid plan for them, this will allow us to ensure their college education. Second, teaching: we educate our children on how important it is, not only to save for your future, but to maintain & stay focused on a financial plan. Lastly, action, why action? If you have savings but don’t know how to distribute the funds to accomplish your future, it is like being penniless. Our disposable income may not be currently sufficient to support a large investment account. In turn, last year both my husband & I took the necessary first steps towards our strategic retirement plan, we will be increasing savings moving forward & other investment accounts, currently we are content with this decision & hope to accomplish our plans. Now, I want to hear from you? What do you think of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company’s (MassMutual) third biennial “State of the American Family Study” findings? How do you ensure a bright financial future? For more information you can visit the MassMutual Website in English here or MassMutual Website in Spanish here
Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of my participation in a blog tour for Latina Mom Bloggers on behalf of MassMutual and received compensation to thank me for taking the time to participate. However, all opinions expressed are my own.