Moms and Their Money

The topic of women and money come up a lot and so much has changed over the years. Women are getting smarter about how the save, spend and invest their money. Here is a great resource about women and money.

Gone are the days of June Cleaver or Carol Brady when the woman's job was to stay home to care for the children and the home; but not to worry about the finances. That task was left up to the husband.

While we still have many stay at home moms who do care for the children and the home; they are also taking a more active role in the family budget. Whether a single mom, working mom or SAHM, it is vitally important for all moms to develop their Money Smarts.

For the single moms, if you don't budget, save and ensure you're ready for a crisis – then who will? Working moms work equally has hard (some may argue harder) as her spouse; and the stay at home mom has added responsibility of managing the family finances.

Agreed that many are struggling to make ends meet; however if you can't measure it, you can't manage it. This simply means you need to have a good grasp of income and expenses. You know what they say about those who put their heads in the sand (consider what part of your anatomy is left sticking up in the air!)

What will you do if you need a new furnace? Or is you or your spouse becomes incapacitated and unable to work? Do you have a savings account? Will you be surprised when you learn you can't afford to get the brakes replaced on the mini-van?

The first step is to get it on paper (or on hard drive). Whether you use an Excel spreadsheet, Quick Books, Quicken, or any other software program, just keep track. Keep track of every dime you bring in and every dime you spend. The latter will be more difficult, especially if you're not accustomed to writing everything down.

Calculate ALL of your expenses. Don't forget property taxes, trash removal, insurance payments, gym memberships, school lunches, oil changes and even clothing allowances. Most people know how much their mortgage or rent payments are, and have an idea about utilities but that's about the extent of it. It may be a rude awakening when you learn how much income is needed to take care of all your expenses.

It's easy to get overwhelmed with this process if you are not used to exercising your budgeting and saving muscle. Treat your Money Smarts muscle as you would any other muscle. If you haven't exercised your body in a while, you'll want to start out with baby steps. If you make small incremental improvements, you're much more likely to stick with it in the long run. If you decided to go gung ho and do it all at once, you'll pull a muscle and want to slide back to your old ways.

It's important to recognize why it is so important to you and your family to have a good grasp on budgeting, saving and striving to get those ends to meet! You can do this.

Resource Info to be Included:

Mom's Money is a weekly podcast brought to you by five real life moms who are determined to learn how to make money work for them instead of the other way around. Visit the website and subscribe to their free ezine at momsmoney.com

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