There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for our families. We watch their football matches, we laugh at their jokes. Sometimes we even take the bins out. But if you want to do something really useful for your family, you might want to give a bit of thought to protecting their financial future.

Whenever you’re looking at finances it’s always a good idea to begin with debts. No one’s favourite topic, but you’ll feel better for having got your head around it (promise).

Start by writing a list of everything you owe. Then, jot down how much interest you’re being charged on each debt.

This can help establish which are your most expensive debts, and which you might want to think about paying off first. 

Organising your repayments like this can help you figure out the most sensible and efficient way to go about cutting your debt, which can only be a good thing for you and your family.

We tend not to think about it when we’re young and healthy but it can often work out to be the best time to get a bit of insurance in place.

There are usually three main types of policy to choose from. Here’s how they work:

When you buy life insurance, you usually pay a monthly premium and in return the policy pays your family a lump sum if you die. Some policies run for a set term, with cover finishing at the same time the policy does, while others might run for the whole of your life, so you’re guaranteed a pay-out.

This type of cover usually pays you a percentage of your take-home pay every month if you can’t work because of illness or injury. Payments stop once you can start work again or you retire. Income protection is popular with people who work for themselves and don’t have any company sick pay to fall back on if they find themselves unable to work for a while.

As the name suggests, critical illness cover usually pays out either a lump sum or an income if you’re diagnosed with a specific serious illness, like cancer, heart attack, or multiple sclerosis. This is another popular choice for people who don’t get sick pay from an employer.

The types of insurance that are right for you will depend on your individual circumstances. For example, you might decide you need a high level of cover if you’re the main breadwinner, but less if your partner brings in more than you.

Putting aside a bit of cash is always a good idea because, for better or worse, life happens! New babies arrive, boilers go kaput, people get sick – so a little financial cushion can make all the difference.

The first step to saving money is working out how much spare cash you have available each month once you’ve covered all your essential expenses. It’s generally recommended to try to have three months’ worth of expenses set aside, just in case, so that might be a good savings goal to aim for.

Even if you can’t afford to put away a lot, over time you should find you’ve built up a useful financial buffer.

And who knows? Maybe you’ll grow your savings to the point that you want to think about investing some for your family’s future. Unlike in a savings account, where you earn a fixed amount of interest, investment affords the opportunity to grow your money significantly faster, albeit with higher risk. The earlier you start, the more time your investment has to grow, and the more your investment grows, the more you could earn from it.

You can read more about the wonders of this compounding effect, along with our strategies to kick start saving in this article.

Chances are you already have a few things keeping you up at night, whether it’s crying babies, a snoring partner, or a book you just can’t put down. Financial worries definitely shouldn’t be one of them.

You might not be able to prepare for every eventuality under the sun, but having a little protection in place is a good way to make sure your family’s looked after.