Being a stay-at-home mom is such a rewarding job! Unfortunately, while it pays in many immaterial ways, being a stay-at-home mom doesn't come with an actual salary. If you want to be a stay-at-home mom, you need to prepare for the financial changes that come with quitting your job and taking care of your kids all day instead. These tips will help you discover ways to Financially Prepare for Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom!
How to Financially Prepare for Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom
1. Lower Your Expenses
The number one thing you need to do to financially prepare for becoming a stay-at-home mom is to lower your expenses. Right now you're used to being a dual-income family, and your current budget may be working well. But, will it still work once you remove your income from the equation? Run the numbers, and then see what expenses you can lower or cut out completely to make everything balanced again. If you haven't been practicing frugal living before, this would be a great reason to start!
2. Save More
Less income means less money instantly available for emergency expenses and less money going toward long-term savings goals. If you want your family to be financially sound while you're a stay-at-home mom, then you need to make sure plenty of money is set aside in savings. Ideally, you'd have enough money saved that if all your current sources of income disappeared, your family would be financially fine for at least 6 months.
When you financially prepare for becoming a stay-at-home mom, don't forget your family's debt. When you're a stay-at-home mom, debts will have to be paid without any help from your income. Make things easier for yourself later down the road and pay off as much debt as you can now while your income can still contribute. That way, when your family is working off a single income, your monthly payments toward debts can be much smaller.
4. Practice
Practice makes perfect! To financially prepare for becoming a stay-at-home mom, make a practice budget excluding your income. Then try to live through a week or month with that budget. This will let you see first-hand what lifestyle changes you may need to make, and expenses you may have to cut. When the practice period is over, you'll be able to make a much more informed budget that will actually work when you make the switch for real!
5. Find Ways to Make Money at Home
Just because you're a stay-at-home mom doesn't mean you have to feel left out from bringing in some supplemental income! Depending on how much time you expect to have each day, consider starting a freelance career, or selling on eBay, or just doing some surveys for money each day. There are lots of ways to make money from home, regardless of how busy you may be! (Check out this post for more ideas on ways to make money from home.)
Have you ever been a stay-at-home mom? How did you make it work financially?
I’ve got a great question for you today from Cindy! She’s wondering:
I’m wondering if the new online shopping and picking your groceries up at the store is a good money saver? (Click & Collect.) I might be able to save money on groceries by only picking out online what I need for the week without the in-store distractions of other items I don’t necessarily need being on sale. Has anyone given it a try at Superstore?
Have you got something you’ve been wondering about that I could feature in a future I’m Wondering post? Submit your question to me here!
I thought I’d rekindle something here at Simply Frugal. 🙂 I love hearing from you guys and enjoy the conversation that can be had with the “I’m wondering” questions I’ve asked in the past. So, I thought I’d get those “I’m Wondering” questions going again!
Let’s get started shall we?
I’m Wondering: What is your #1 Grocery Saving Tip?
Have you got something you’ve been wondering about that I could feature in a future I’m Wondering post? Submit your question to us here!
Many Canadians go into debt each year to give gifts to those they love for the holidays. Now that the damage is all done, and if you're one of those people, it’s time to take a serious look at what needs to be payed off. You will need a plan and I’m here to help you with that!
Check out these tips for getting out of debt after the holidays:
Get a Total
Before you can tackle the debt you created, you will need a total. Gather up all of your credit card statements or loan amounts to see what the grand total is. Try not to beat yourself up when you see the total. 🙂 So you got a little caught up in the season... now is the time to get back on track financially.
Create Goals
After you know how much money you’re owing from the holidays, it’s time to create goals to get the debt paid off. For example: "By May, we want to have $300 of our debt paid off." Your goals should adequately reflect how much debt you are in. Of course, you’ll want to be out of debt way before next Christmas, so this doesn’t happen again!
Make Extra Money
If your current budget is being taken care of by your income and there’s nothing leftover, making extra money might be your next step. There is so much extra work you can pick up even after the holiday season is over. Consider shoveling snow or even working part time at the mall. Or perhaps you could try selling some of your unwanted/unneeded stuff!
Create a Christmas Goal
As I mentioned earlier, without a goal in mind for next year, you will be in the same place each time with debt. It’s important to create a goal for Christmas earlier in the season. Set an amount of what you want to save and go from there. If you can swing it, start saving weekly or each time you get paid. It makes a lot more sense to save cash now rather than use credit later. (In other words, credit is for cash you may not have!)
Use Cash From Here on Out
It’s one thing to use credit cards and to get into debt over the holiday season, but it can be detrimental to your family’s income if you continue on this path. Your best bet is to use cash from here on out. You can even put cash in envelopes to keep yourself from spending above and beyond what you budgeted for. Cash is always your friend when budgeting and spending.
Do you have any tips for getting out of debt after the holidays? I’d love to hear them!
Our modern society puts a lot of pressure on us to spend money at Christmas time. This can be stressful and upsetting if you really don't have the money for Christmas this year! But don't worry, you can still have a lovely Christmas no matter how tight your budget is! Take a look at these tips on How to Have a Merry Christmas without Spending a Dime!
How to Have a Merry Christmas without Spending a Dime
1. Make DIY Christmas Gifts
Just because you don't have money to spend on Christmas doesn't mean you can't still give gifts! You could sew, sculpt, crochet, paint, or bake a lovely gift using materials/ingredients that you already own! (Check out my Homemade Christmas Gift ideas.)
2. Give Experiences as Gifts
Gifts don't have to be material! How about giving experiences instead? For kids, you could give coupons for a late bedtime. For your spouse, you could give a coupon for breakfast in bed, or a day where you do all their chores. With thoughtful gifts like these, you can easily have a great Christmas without spending a dime!
3. Stay In
Instead of going out for entertainment, how about staying in? You likely already own a couple of great Christmas movies, and you probably haven't seen them in a whole year. Your family could also play board games or card games. You can have a lovely evening without spending any money.
4. Find Fun in Nature
Nature is, for the most part, a free playground. If you've got snow, go outside and have fun. The family can make snow angels and snowmen and have snowball fights. And if you're lucky enough to be by a frozen lake, you could go ice skating! Even if you don't have snow, that doesn't mean you can't have fun playing catch, hide-and-seek, or other fun outside activities.
5. Make Decorations
You can decorate your home for Christmas without spending a dime. All you need is a little time and creativity. Consider making old-fashioned decorations like popcorn on a string. Or use materials you have to make simple ornaments like popsicle stick stars!
6. Make a Christmas Tree
There are plenty of ways to make your own big Christmas tree. For example, you could make one out of a ladder, or cut planks of wood and put them on a wall to create a Christmas tree shape. Then string your lights, hang your ornaments, and enjoy!
7. Use the Book Store or Library
Want to enjoy Christmas without spending a dime? Then skip buying the over-priced Christmas books for kids and read them in the book store, or borrow them from the library.
8. Visit Friends and Family
Want some free Christmastime fun? How about visiting your friends or family who live close? There's nothing more fun than spending a nice afternoon with loved ones! You don't even have to get together to do anything that costs money. The adults can have fun chatting, while the kids play with toys and make up games!
9. Visit Free Performances
At Christmas time, there are usually dozens of free plays and musicals to attend. See if your city is hosting any free events, or if there's anything fun going on at the local schools or churches!
10. Volunteer
One of the best ways to have a merry Christmas without spending a dime is to spend your time helping the less fortunate. Whether the less fortunate are people or animals, your family will have fun working with others for a worthwhile cause. You might even make some new friends!
What free things do you like to do at Christmas time? Let me know in the comments below!
Smart financial habits that will transform your finances for good
Have you found yourself falling into some negative financial habits lately? The truth is, it can happen to anyone, and before you know it, you may feel like you are in too big of a hole to get out. Well the good news is, just as easily as you found yourself in that hole, you can implement some positive financial habits and find your way out. Take a look at these 7 habits that will transform your finances and lead you on the path to financial recovery.
1. Pay yourself first.
Regardless of your income, you should always be paying yourself first. This means setting aside some of each paycheck towards savings. You deserve a secure future, and a sound savings account will help you achieve that. Take a small percentage out of each paycheck (and gradually work your way up to a larger percentage as you can) and place it in a savings account you don’t and won’t touch.
2. Start keeping receipts.
It may be habit to toss your receipts, but try keeping them for 30 days to get an idea of just how much you are spending. It is way too easy to swipe a card these days, and the end result is us feeling like we aren’t really parting with our cash. Instead, save receipts to get a visual of how much cash is going out.
3. Track your spending for 30 days.
Keep a journal that tracks all of your spending for 30 days. Whether it is a one dollar purchase or $100 purchase, track it. At the end of the 30 days, you will have a decent idea of what your money is going towards. Bills? Food? Fun? The journal will give you a realistic view of your spending so you can start making changes.
4. Set a budget.
Once you get an idea of where you money is going, you can start setting a monthly budget. Be realistic about the money you are working with, and decide what your immediate needs are. Set a budget at the start of each month for food, bills, fun, etc. Write your budget on paper so you have something to refer to and stay focused on during the month. You may want to consider setting a budget each week to start!
5. Use the cash envelope system.
A great way to budget, is to start using the cash envelope system. (These printable cash envelopes for $3.99 are great!) Use one envelope for each need you have. Examples for envelopes could be: groceries, clothing, entertainment, take-out, gas, etc. Place the allotted amount you need for each week/month in the envelope and spend it as needed. When the envelope runs out, you are not to take from another envelope or funds to replenish. Only replenish at the start of a new week/month.
6. Find an “accountability friend”
It is always easier to manage money and curb your spending when you have a friend on your side! Find a friend who is just as serious about becoming financially responsible as you. You can meet weekly (or as often as you need) to go over your budgets, share tips, and offer each other plenty of support.
7. Find non-monetary ways to reward yourself.
Many times we feel like we deserve to spoil ourselves. And while we do deserve to be spoiled for our hard work, we don’t always have to do so financially. Treat your self with non-monetary gifts such as a visit to a local museum on freebie days, nature walks, a good nap, bath, or another treat that doesn’t require money. You can still feel spoiled and rewarded without spending a dime.
As you can see, these 7 financial habits are easy ways to get back on track so you can start enjoying your financial freedom. Give them a try and you will see they can help you get out of the financial missteps you have found yourself taking.
