What does a two-year-old need with $2,100?<\/p>\n
On Monday, Gov. Bill Walker will announce the amount of this year\u2019s Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. It\u2019s expected to be a big one \u2014 likely the biggest ever \u2014 and that possibility has Alaskans thinking green.<\/p>\n
We hope it isn\u2019t the green of jealousy. Think twice before you spend your annual windfall for the latest flat-panel TV or a down payment on a new boat. That goes double for parents.<\/p>\n
As parents, you have an obligation to care for your children, and that includes thinking of their long-term well-being. Your toddler, assuming she has lived in Alaska for at least one calendar year, will receive a dividend just as you will. Please think seriously of her needs. <\/p>\n
More than once, we\u2019ve heard of parents taking their child\u2019s PFD to use on things like a new \u201cfamily\u201d truck, boat or home theater. The thought goes that since it\u2019s a family expense, it makes sense to spend the child\u2019s money on that purchase. <\/p>\n
That may be true, but think also about your child\u2019s future. The University of Alaska has an excellent tax-free college savings plan that includes direct deposits from the dividend (it\u2019s right on the PFD application form), and if you don\u2019t have a college fund set up for your children, we encourage you to examine this approach.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not thinking of college, simply sock money away in a savings or investment account, something low-risk and interest-bearing. When your child turns 18, she\u2019ll thank you for it.<\/p>\n
The Alaska Permanent Fund is now worth over $52 billion. It\u2019s reached that financial peak because of smart investing and saving. The dividend we earn each year gives us the opportunity to imitate the fund\u2019s success. We encourage you to invest locally and buy locally.<\/p>\n
With the state of Alaska facing extreme financial uncertainty in the coming years, having a solid savings account could be the difference between success and ruin.<\/p>\n
We understand the attraction of spending for immediate gain, but we guarantee that if you just decide to save, the payoff will be worth it.<\/p>\n
What does a two-year-old need with $2,100? Nothing.<\/p>\n
An 18-year-old, on the other hand, needs plenty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What does a two-year-old need with $2,100? On Monday, Gov. Bill Walker will announce the amount of this year\u2019s Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. It\u2019s expected to be a big one \u2014 likely the biggest ever \u2014 and that possibility has Alaskans thinking green. We hope it isn\u2019t the green of jealousy. Think twice before you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":8,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-11670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11670\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11670"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=11670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}