Dan Brigham is determined to ensure his young son never repeats the devastating financial mistakes he made during his early twenties.
After paying off a staggering one hundred thousand dollars in personal debt, the influencer completely transformed his relationship with money. He was originally raised to blindly believe that living in a constant state of consumer debt was a normal aspect of American adulthood.
He is now fiercely dedicated to instilling vastly different financial values in his one-year-old son, Neil.
Building a Solid Financial Foundation
The prominent online creator firmly believes that establishing generational wealth requires implementing highly specific investment accounts as early as humanly possible.
According to People, Brigham advises his followers that the absolute first critical step for new parents is immediately setting up a term life insurance policy. He explains that these policies ensure that a young family will still receive essential income if a drastic tragedy occurs.
Fortunately, Brigham and his wife currently possess the discretionary funds to aggressively fund a dedicated 529 college savings plan for young Neil. They consistently deposit one hundred dollars every single month into this specific account, while adding generous five-hundred-dollar contributions on holidays.
In addition to the college fund, the proactive parents also established a Uniform Transfers to Minors Act account designed specifically for their son’s adult future. Furthermore, the financially savvy couple actively contributes to a Roth IRA by legally paying their toddler a small amount through their family company.
Navigating the Costs of Childhood
Despite his extensive background in financial planning, the popular influencer openly admits that accurately budgeting for a young child remains an incredibly tough daily challenge.
The couple’s journey into parenthood began with unexpected medical expenses when they were forced to undergo a sudden emergency cesarean section. Luckily, their comprehensive health insurance covered the vast majority of the surgical procedure because they had successfully met their annual deductible.
Beyond the initial hospital bills, Brigham quickly discovered that navigating the modern baby product market requires immense discipline and parental skepticism.
He originally asked numerous experienced parents about exactly what expensive items they needed, only to receive wildly different and highly conflicting answers.
Related: 7 Habits You Must Teach Your Child Before Turning 18
The budget-conscious father quickly realized that many enticing new toys and expensive baby products are not actually necessary for a healthy infant. To further combat the notoriously high costs of clothing a growing toddler, the frugal family relies heavily on affordable secondhand options.
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Prioritizing Parental Financial Health
While it is incredibly tempting to throw every spare dollar at a child’s future, experts warn that parents must always secure their own financial stability first.
Brigham fully understands the natural biological urge parents possess to immediately set their beloved children up for long-term financial success. However, his absolute biggest recommendation for young families is to completely avoid investing for their kids until the parents are debt-free themselves.
He famously compares this essential financial strategy to the classic airline safety instruction of putting your own oxygen mask on first before assisting a child. If parents completely neglect their own retirement savings to aggressively fund a child’s tuition, they place their children in a terrible position.
Those children will ultimately be forced to financially support their aging parents, which Brigham argues is significantly worse than graduating with manageable college loans.
Getting rid of all outstanding parental debt dramatically frees up monthly cash flow to save much more aggressively.
Teaching Real Financial Literacy
The ultimate goal of accumulating wealth is not simply to hoard money, but to actively pass down crucial financial literacy skills to the next generation.
Although young Neil is currently far too little to truly understand the complex value of actual money, his proactive parents have outlined how they plan to teach him.
They fully intend to eventually implement a classic three-jar system, requiring their son to divvy up any future allowance into giving, spending, and saving.
Beyond simple allowance mechanics, the dedicated father plans to actively include his growing son in complex household financial conversations as he naturally matures. Rather than treating money as a dark, taboo subject, Brigham wants to foster open, honest, and highly educational daily discussions.
Ultimately, Brigham hopes to successfully unlearn his family’s poor money habits and teach Neil that there is much more to a fulfilling life than chasing massive wealth. He firmly believes that money is simply a useful means to achieve personal freedom and an opportunity to pursue real purpose.
Question for you. Do you think parents who teach their kids that debt is normal are setting them up to repeat the same financial mistakes?
