Saving for your Children's Futures

Whether you already have kids or if you're planning on having them someday, saving money for your children's futures is crucial. When you begin to calculate all the possible expenses of essentials like food, daycare, clothes, healthcare, and education for a child, it can be overwhelming to know where or how to start saving.

A good starting point is reaching out to your trusted banker. Renasant's bankers are happy to offer guidance on products or services that align with your financial goals. Here are a few products that might serve as excellent saving solutions that our bankers can deep dive into with you.

• Children's Savings Account — Help your kids by not only saving money for them, but also teaching them how to start saving for themselves with a Children's Savings Account. You can open it for them and contribute to it, but your child will also have access to the account to deposit their own savings. This is a great way to expose your kids early to financial education.
• Health Savings Account (HSA) — One of the most expensive aspects of having children is healthcare. HSAs can help save on taxes by setting aside interest-earning funds that can be used at the account owner's discretion for qualified healthcare expenses. Also, the balance within the HSA rolls over year after year, so it doesn't have to be used fully in a single year. HSAs can be a great emergency fund for unexpected child-related health issues.
• Education IRA (Coverdell Education Savings Account) — IRAs are individual retirement accounts. This specific IRA is set up solely for paying for qualified education expenses (K-12 and college) that grows tax-free until withdrawal. Beneficiaries must be under the age of 18 while the account is active.
• 529 Plans — A 529 is an investment account that is tax-free and designated for qualified education expenses like an Education IRA, but also includes graduate school, apprenticeship programs, and student loans. 529s tend to be more flexible as there are no age limits to the beneficiaries and there are more transferability options if the beneficiary does not need the money for educational purposes.

Here are a few other ways you can start saving:

• Rewards Savings Account — Rewards Savings is an interest-bearing savings account designed to complement Renasant's Rewards Extra Checking, offering a higher rate of interest when eligibility requirements are met. If you want to start with something basic, but reliable, this savings account is a good place to start.¹
• Certificate of Deposit (CD) — CDs accrue interest on a lump sum of money for a fixed period of time. These are a good short-term high-yield investment option, but can be costly if you need to withdraw.
• Personal Money Marketing Account — These accounts usually offer very competitive interest rates with access to your funds. You will want to have some money already saved to deposit as this account usually requires a higher minimum balance.

Have questions? Don't worry. That's what a personal banker or financial advisor is for! They can help you navigate all of these options and determine the best solution(s) for your children's futures. You can also use our College Savings Calculator to help fine-tune your plan.