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My Advice for Sarah Palin

Photography:Sarah Palin in Kuwait 2 [1] by asecondhandconjecture [2]

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve no doubt been inundated with the buzz about the new Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin [3]. Regardless of what political party you belong to, there are financial lessons that you can take away from the Palin family.

Financial Advice for the Palin Family

  1. Create a special needs trust. The youngest Palin family member, Trig, has down syndrome. For many special needs children, parents often worry about who will take care of their children after they pass away and how they will be taken care of financially. A special needs trust addresses both. We created one for a family member, here’s what I learned about creating a special needs trust [4].
  2. Work life balance. I’m a mother of two, and I struggled with this. I can’t imagine being a mother of five and striving for balance. A great exercise to put your priorities in order is to create a life mix pie chart [5].
  3. Plan a wedding. She’ll be the mother of the bride soon, since her oldest daughter is pregnant and getting married. Here are tips to keep the wedding costs down [6] and fall wedding tips [7]. After the wedding, donate the dresses and take a tax deduction for women [8].
  4. Stay at Home Calculations. Mr. Palin quit his job to be a stay at home dad. If you are considering something similar, here is a group of financial calculators [9] to decide if it makes sense financially. I struggled with the same dilemma earlier in the year when I asked readers if I should stay home or go back to work? [10]
  5. Diversify Your Income. It’s important for everyone to be familiar with the concept of diversification of income [11]. It’s especially important if you take on a career that has a short term; especially one where your appointment is left up to voters!
  6. Prepare for death. It’s no secret that the President and VP are risky jobs. Leave a checklist of how to handle the finances for your spouse. Here is my dear husband letter: what to do if I die! [12]
  7. Establish college funds for your kids. Consider opening a 529 [13] if you plan to save for college [14]. In addition, consider other financial strategies for infants and young children [15].
  8. Don’t Lose Your Money. Moving out of state and forgetting to change your address on all your accounts can lead to unintentionally abandoning some of your money. I found this out the hard way! Are you missing some money? [16]
  9. Check out Resales. She said she’s a hockey mom, so finding inexpensive sports equipment [17] is bound to help with the sting of expensive sports for kids.
  10. Earn Airline Rewards. Going home to visit family in Alaska is a long flight from Washington D.C. She should sign up for frequent flier miles and learn from P. Diddy and fly coach [18].
  11. Teach the Kids About Money. Equip the children with financial skills to manage their own money as adults. Begin with the top 14 ways to teach kids about money [19].
  12. Monitor Your Credit. Regardless of your job or income, everyone should monitor their credit over time. Use a free FICO score & credit report [20] to get you started.

Lots of these ideas focus on the fact that the Palin’s have kids [21]. If you don’t have kids yet, I didn’t forget you, here are 70 things to do before having children [22]!

This article is based on the personal and financial impacts that would likely face the Palin family and many others. It does not, however, reflect my own political views for either party.