Money Musings š What I want for Mothersā Day
Sunday is Motherās Day and even though I look forward to a lovely day - breakfast in bed, maybe a cute homemade something from the kids, and I scheduled myself a massage, Motherās Day fills me with rage. š¤¬
Did you know that having kids is the single best predictor that a woman will go bankrupt in her lifetime?
Mothers get paid 30% less (just for being moms). If youāre a mother of color, the numbers are even worse. Black women earn $0.64 for every dollar a white man earns and 80% of Black mothers are the sole or primary breadwinners for their households.
When a heterosexual couple has a child, the momās workload in the home increases by 8.5 hours more per week than the dadās (for a total additional load of 21 hours per week). This disparity more than doubled during the pandemic.
Moms typically physically carry, birth and often feed babies and this comes with all kinds of health issues, pains and sometimes death. The US ranks 63rd in the world for maternal mortality (putting us in last place of all developed nations). Black women die at 2.6x the rate of white women giving birth.
Not to mention what women go through trying to conceive.
All the while there are so few programs to support mothers. No affordable childcare, no mandatory paid leave and subpar health insurance.
Add the almost daily mass shootings of late that have mothers terrified their child wonāt come home from school.
And that many are quickly losing the choice whether or not to have children.
Cāmon. A day?! Is anyone else feeling this too? šāāļø
But what I keep coming back to are the wise words of Lauren Smith Brody:
"Having children is the ultimate act of hope. Even in the hard times, deep down, we're optimists."
What can we do? We can vote, we can model a new paradigm for our children and the people around us, we can get educated and check our own biases, and we can support the people and organizations who are making change like those:
Offering and advocating for paid family leave
Getting women elected into political office
Keeping us informed (from a feminist perspective)
Working to save mothersā lives (and many many more)
Instead of a day, I want a society and government that values mothers. All mothers.
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
PAY DOWN DEBT SERIES: STEP #5 - CELEBRATE.
Youāve come so far! š You now have all your debt deets laid out, youāve prioritized what comes first and you have an idea of how much you want to put towards your debt each month. You are ready to go!
Now āallā thatās left to do is to keep up with your plan. While this might seem easy enough, itās the real work. Itās where the magic happens. And it can definitely be a challenge.
Itās okay if your plan needs to adjust for reality. Maybe you forgot about a big expense you have coming up or you wayyy underestimated your spending. Thatās okay! Adjust the plan. Keep at it. Keep trying.
Another way to keep up the motivation? Rewards! šš Decide on some ways you will celebrate and reward yourself along the way.
Maybe you do a happy dance every time you pay off $50 of debt, watch a guilty pleasure show every $100 and celebrate with friends at the halfway mark. Thereās no right or wrong way to celebrate - just make sure you follow through on your plans.
It can also be very motivating to make a physical representation of your goal. Maybe you color in a block every $25 you pay off or rip up part of a paper thatās hanging on your fridge. Thatās another reward in itself.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
WHAT IāVE BEEN READING.
Here are some of the gems Iāve been reading lately. Iād love to hear what youāre reading and / or are excited to read! šš
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. A time management book thatās very different from your typical book about productivity. Itās philosophical and practical and centers around the idea that if you live to be 80, youāll have lived about 4,000 weeks. What big projects do you want to focus on? What will you ignore despite society pressure? And that thereās surrender in knowing that no matter what, youāll miss out on so much of what the world has to offer just given the endless possibilities.
When Women Lead by Julia Boorstin. Julia takes us through many examples of remarkable women leaders and CEOs as well as numerous studies. She shows us that their leadership traits like vulnerability, gratitude and out of the box thinking serve as superpowers that all leaders can learn from. She also talks about how women leaders impact companies and the world as a whole. I wrote more about it here.
Outlive by Peter Attia. A book on longevity and healthspan - not only about living longer but also about feeling good as you live longer. Instead of a prescriptive health book, it encourages readers to take a more active role in their health and well-being in everything from screening, exercise, nutrition and mental health.
The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi. As a recovering people pleaser, this title caught my attention. Itās all about the theories of Alfred Adler, the psychologist, and the book is in a conversational format where a young person is speaking with a philosopher. It really has me thinking!
What's next for me? I still have Stolen Focus on my list and want to read Atomic Habits and Parenting From the Inside Out.
What are you reading and loving? Would love to hear!
MY TRAVEL JOURNEY
KICKOFF AND A MONEY SAVING FLIGHT TIP.
This summer weāre starting a new family tradition to live and work in a new place each year. Our first stop is Spain and Iām excited to take you along with me for the ride. In this little corner of the newsletter Iāll be sharing my experience, tips and learnings all around money savvy travel. āļø
Before we head to Spain, weāre going to have a little vacay time in Portugal with dear friends. ICYMI, I talk about important conversations to have with friends before booking anything to make sure you honor whatās important to everyone about a trip. You can read more about how that convo looked here.
My first tip for youā¦ watch those flights even after you book them. I lay out how we saved 130K points AFTER booking our flights here.
your weekly money wins
Here are all the amazing money moves you made this week ššš
Amy B: I decided to transfer a big amount of money that was sitting in my checking account earning nothing to my high interest savings earning 4.40%. I also paid $2,000 towards the $36,000 remaining on my mortgage
Leah N: Used my tax refund from the state to pay down more credit card debt! I'm way ahead of schedule with the payoff. Woot!
Shana G: I am taking a course on investing tomorrow! I'm ready to learn.
Elena C: Bought a 2021 Telluride in all cash š
Katie: Paid down the credit card balance by $1,800
Amie H: Investing in my family by starting classes for real estate license!
Kim: My company finally finalized my raise after 1 month delay... from $121K to $145K
Karen F: Moved $$ to high interest account to save regularly
Andrea J: GOT MY DREAM JOB after 8 months of unemployment
SW: Told my husband the honest truth about my debt
Ay N: Paid for 3 trees to be removed in cash