Mother’s Day: Ten gentle reminders for financially-savvy mums

Motherhood brings with it many changes in body, mind and the way we make decisions, including financial choices. For new mothers especially, it is easy to get lost in the idea of motherhood and to miss out on some financial choices that need to be made differently when children get into the picture.

Here are some ten tips to get your mummy financial chips in place:

1.   Be deliberate about your finances. When the children come, they come with additional expenses, which if not budgeted for, can leave one feeling like there is never enough money. Mums seem to have a superpower of making the most out of limited money, but that can only hapen if you know your priorities and plan to ensure that your income covers the most important things. This will mean budgeting, keeping an eye on your expenses, saving, investing and using money-saving tips such as buying groceries in bulk at a wholesale shop instead of a supermarket.
2.    Plan ahead; have financial goals – short-term, medium term and long-term. Once the children come, they will need to be included in your budgets and financial plans. When your child is still an infant, start planning for their kindergarten costs and all their educational needs from primary school to college, gradually. If you start saving for these major and inevitable financial goals early, you will find it easier to foot the bills once they come up, so don’t leave them until the last minute.
3. Don’t forget yourself. Many mums find themselves putting everyone else first at their own expense. You are also a valuable human who deserves your own attention, so take care of yourself. Don’t let go of your own personal financial goals. Remember to invest in yourself, in your career, in your dreams. Don’t walk around in tatters having forgotten to replace your worn-out wardrobe and don’t forget to give yourself a treat every so often for the great job you are doing taking care of your children and family.
4. Don’t try to buy your children’s love. Help your children create memories – sometimes this involves spending money, for instance taking them on vacation, but sometimes the most memorable moments have nothing to do with expensive toys, lunches or trips to amusement parks. Playing and running around with them, reading them a book or doodling with them might be the best thing you can do for them, that money can’t buy. Let your children know that money and things, though they may make some things in life easier, are not a prerequisite for happiness.
5. Make sure you have health insurance for yourself and the kids. At the very least get your family on NHIF which now covers both in- and out-patient care. Medical bills can drain your finances, making it difficult to save and achieve other important financial goals.
6. Build an emergency fund with three to six months’ worth of living expenses saved up to cover you in case of an emergency that threatens to wipe out your resources.
7. You might want to get life insurance which would help cater for your dependents’ needs if you died or got disabled before they are old enough to take care of themselves. Or at least have a contingency plan in the event that you were no longer able or available to take care of your children.
8.  Plan for retirement. Your children are not a guaranteed retirement plan, so don’t act as if they are. Have your own plan for financial survival once you get too old to actively earn a living; you need to be able to survive in the event that your children and everyone else abandons you. If your children choose to support you financially during your twilight years, it will be a bonus.
9. Remember you are not the Red Cross. Other people may have plans for your money, but put your needs and those of your family first. Don’t become the sacrificial lamb who takes on financial burdens of people who refuse to become financially responsible. Do not sacrifice your family at the altar of misplaced generosity.
10.  It’s good to have a husband or sponsor who caters to all your financial whims and then some, but learn and know how to take care of your financial wellbeing, with or without a husband. Life, or rather death happens; divorce too, so you need to know how to live well by yourself, whether it happens or not.

Happy Mother's Day!

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