Working Moms

Tips Working Moms

Parent Checklist

My wife Angie was a struggling single working mom for over 10 years. She expressed to me that a lot of the financial information available to her didn’t take into account the day to day concerns for her and her son. Her frustration was that everything she read on planning was the same old information on budgeting and saving money.

Over the last decade, I have made it a priority to provide money sessions to all my working moms with the financial dignity and respect that they deserve. This area of my website is dedicated to helping working moms overcome the daily and long term obstacles to attaining Financial Greatness™ in their lives.

Tips for Single Moms who Feel Overworked, Overwhelmed, and Underpaid

Create a life blueprint. Being conscious of what's important (seeing the big picture) is the first step in avoiding feeling overwhelmed. Use the forms in my book, OVERWORKED, OVERWHELMED, and UNDERPAID to write down your core values, life focus areas, roles, and key relationships you have in your life. These 4 tools will put your life in perspective to all the things you have going on.

Create a professional and personal circle of support to help you take more control of your life. Name the people or organizations in your life (or that you could have in your life) that could help support your daily responsibilities. Examples of your circle of support could be family or friends that could help take care of your kids in a pinch when an emergency has come up at work, a great doctor you can count on to see your kids right away without wasting most of your day, a dry cleaners that can come and pick up your clothes at your home, etc. Don't add more to your plate. Keep things simple. See the section in my book about learning to say NO.

Create a budget of what you want your lifestyle to look like. Figure out "backwards" what income you'll need to live a financially dignified life. Then create a plan on what you can do to create the VALUE you need to earn that level of income. See the section on UNDERPAID for more tips in this area.

Write STEPS 1, 2, and 3 down on paper!

Make sure your personal financial foundation is strong. This means that you should do at least the following:
1. Create a Confidence Fund - you need to put away money in a savings account at your bank or credit union to give you the confidence to no longer feel overwhelmed in case you lose your job or might be losing your job, or feel overworked because you feel used and abused at work. DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO CREATE YOUR CONFIDENCE FUND.
2. If you have minor children, get a will, a durable power of attorney, an advanced health care directive, a nomination of guardian, and a trust. If you can't afford an attorney, hire a paralegal that has a background in estate planning. There are also good websites that now offer these services at a minimal cost. Name your TRUST or someone you trust as a beneficiary on your accounts (savings, life insurance, etc.) for your minor children.
3. Make sure that you have health insurance for you and your children. If your employer doesn't provide any health insurance, look for plans that have high deductibles to lower your monthly premiums.
4. Buy TERM Life Insurance. Get it for as many years as you think that your children will be dependent on you. It's inexpensive. Also, don't get trapped into buying expensive cash value insurance (this is insurance with investments).
5. Have money automatically deducted from your income into your work retirement plan. To make it easy for yourself, select the TARGET FUND. Target funds have the approximate year in which you plan to retire and your money is diversified in the investments according to your goal and time horizon.

If all this seems like a lot to do, remember the answer to the following question "How do you eat an elephant?" ONE BITE AT A TIME.

Working Mom’s & Dad’s Checklist for Parents with Limited Resources

Decide today that you are the only person who is responsible for your finances. Taking personal responsibility is the beginning of all success. You are your family’s greatest asset.

Evaluate your job skills. Are you improving them annually? Always think about how you can add more value to everyone you come in contact with.

Use credit wisely. Your credit score is your financial reputation; protect it like you would one of your children. If you have to use credit, use it only for items to take care of your family’s well-being. Think about spending more time with your family then on things you don’t need

Get health and disability insurance if your employer doesn’t provide them. Speak with an insurance agent to look for affordable solutions. Don’t forget that you are your family’s greatest asset.

Create a savings account that you use only for emergencies. Use an automatic withdrawal program from your bank to move money from your checking account to your savings account. Pay yourself first every month. This advice may seem counterintuitive, but it’s the cornerstone to building financial security for you and your family.

Buy term life insurance. Don’t name your minor children as beneficiaries. Term life insurance is very affordable for most people.
Create an estate plan (an estate plan includes a trust, a will, a durable power of attorney, an advanced health care directive, and a nomination of guardian). Seek help from someone who specializes in this area.

Sign up for your company’s retirement plan. Contribute a percentage of your income (not a specific dollar amount). Start small and increase the percentage by 1 or 2 % every year until you maximize your annual contributions.

Review your income tax return. First, make sure your employer is deducting the proper tax withholdings. Use the W-4 Form to adjust your tax withholdings if you continuously owe income taxes or receive big refunds. Second, seek help to confirm that you are taking every legal tax break.

Never forget that you are your child’s financial role-model. Teach them to be grateful for what they have. Show them how to be generous by helping others. Also, include your children in the family’s financial goals. Let them get excited about contributing to the success of the family.