Purpose of This Tool
This template is a Google Sheets designed to help parents (or relatives) save and invest for children using a simple, evidence-based, long-term approach.
The tool reflects a real-life setup I personally use for my own children, nephews, and nieces:
- One fictional kids investment account per kid
- Backed by real money invested in my own portfolio
- Tracked transparently via a spreadsheet
- Using real market performance from a globally diversified ETF
It serves two goals simultaneously:
- Financial head start for children
- Educational vehicle for them to ask questions and learn about investing, patience, and compounding
If you’re new to index investing, start with our beginner’s guide here: https://firebelgium.com/etf-investing-guide-belgium/
And watch our interactive workshop here: https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop/
Why save and invest for kids?
There are multiple valid reasons. Different parents will weigh them differently.
- To give them a head start in adult life
This can take many forms:
- Supporting higher education (tuition, housing, studying abroad)
- Helping with a first property down payment
- Giving them options and flexibility in their projects
Higher education may be subsidised in Belgium, but the total cost (housing, living expenses, mobility) is not trivial.
- To teach them about money and investing
This is arguably the most important reason.
Having real money invested in their name (even if fictional) allows kids to:
- See contributions vs growth
- Experience long-term compounding
- Ask natural questions as they grow up:
- Where did this money come from?
- Why did it grow?
- Where is it invested?
- Can I invest too?
It makes investing, which is often abstract, into something more tangible. And they learn from experience.
This year for the first time, my kids who are 4 and 6 gave me part of the money they received from their great grand-mother to invest it.
- Just because
Sometimes the reason is simple: we care. Having a perfectly articulated goal is helpful, but not mandatory.
Why a fictive account with real data?
- No legal complexity
- No need for separate brokerage accounts or separate ETFs
- Full control remains with the adult until the giving happens in the future
- Still fully exposed to real market behaviour
The fictional account exists only in personal accounting.
In practice:
- All money is invested in an existing personal ETF portfolio
- The spreadsheet tracks what portion belongs to which child, so you can track the investing for multiple children in one place.
How to do it right?
- Use this opportunity to help the kids and other people around learn about the power index investing (my brother in law asked me how come his son is getting better returns than his own bank investments)
- Think about the conditions under which the kids get the portfolio (age, project, transfer of portfolio, etc.)
- Think about what would happen in case you pass away (will, communication with spouse and parents, etc.)
How the Spreadsheet Is Intended to Be Used
- Make a copy of the file to your own Google Drive
- Add the kids details in the Data and the Personal Investment Statement (PAS) Tabs for each child
- Log contributions over time (both in the PAS and in the Data Tabs)
- Let market performance do the rest
- Print the PAS once a year (for their birthday is a nice timing)
File Structure Overview
Tabs in the file
- Data – where all the numbers are entered and the math is done
- Overview – helps you keep track of how much of your portfolio belongs to the kids
- Child PAS 1 to 10
I do recommend creating one PAS per child per year for their birthday. You can copy a Tab by right clicking on it.
The template is good for 10 children. The last 2 PAS include currency conversion if you want to use that.
Overview of each Tab
(in the video)
Future improvements
This tool is still work in progress. If you have suggestions for improvements, feel free to email us hello@firebelgium.com.
Even better, if you’re a google spreadsheet wizard, please feel free to improve it and share it back with us so that more people can benefit.