If you are a mother who’s doing income-generating work rather than volunteering, it’s probably because your salary helps your family meet its needs. Your check may pay for basics like the mortgage or extras like ballet lessons and school tuition.
It’s therefore important that you make financial decisions that are not only aligned with your personal goals but that also allow you to thrive as your life and your family circumstances changes.
This is the 5th and final post in my week-long series, How to Love Your Life Now and Stop Being a Stressed Out, Guilty Working Mother.
To recap on the series topics:
Yesterday’s post: Why Self Care Is Important for Working Mothers discussed the need for you to reguarly re-charge your batteries, especially if you want to be fully engaged as a mother, partner and professional.
Wednesday’s post: Learn How to Ask for Help: Develop a Support System
Tuesday: Get Happier By Creating Personal Boundaries
Monday’s Stop Trying to Balance Family and Work
This bring us to my principle #5 Build a Strong Financial Vision
Making money is the chief reason why mothers work. It’s important however to determine whether you lifestyle (your family’s or your wants rather than needs) is forcing you to work longer hours than you’d like or at a job that you dislike. Similarly you can’t make an educated decision about scaling back your work or starting your own business if you are unclear about state of your family’s finances.
To take charge of your household’s finances you need to:
a) Understand Your Household’s Cash Monthly Flow (what’s coming in and what’s going out)
b) Know all of your family’s assets and liabilities
c) Put money in your own name.
d) Establish credit in your own name.
e) Know your credit scoreIf you need help in creating your financial vision or with any of the other four topics I’ve discussed in this series, schedule a Working Moms StartUP session Please drop me an email at Yvonne@SophisticatedWomanandMama.com to for the details. You can also contact me on Twitter at Twitter.com/YvonneBynoe
