All in Financial Basics
A stay-at-home mom is a working mom.
Based on an analysis by salary.com, the annual salary of a stay-at-home mom post-pandemic was $184,820. Unfortunately, the reality is that no matter how much these figures have risen over time, stay-at-home moms do not see a single cent of this salary. Before you become someone else’s caretaker, set money aside for the sole reason to have it as a cushion for when and if you decide to leave the workforce to care for others.
“The world is full of challenges, but with those come opportunity, and I'm an opportunist.”
Getting laid off is not easy and there will be a whole range of emotions you'll go through, but it's important to keep in mind that some of these things are out of your control so don't get too hung up on figuring out who to blame. Here are tips to help you.
“When moms first come back to work they need someone to tell them, ‘You are going to feel crazy. It’s ok to feel crazy. You won’t always feel crazy.’”
With Mother’s Day coming up this week, I wanted to write a post specifically about how motherhood affects the financials of women. This article comes from my perspective as a new mom, but I know there are other people out there (dads, aunties, grandparents, etc.) playing the role of mom so this article goes out to you as well.
The Motherhood Penalty is defined by AAUW as the “phenomenon by which women’s pay decreases once they become mothers”. This is a contributing factor to the current gender pay gap.
There continues to be economic and social benefits to having children, but women should stop being penalized for having children.
There are 4 options when it comes to your 401K from your old employer. We will go through each option in depth below.
Cash Out
Leave it where it is (at your old employer’s plan if it allows)
Roll it over to your new employer’s plan (if it allows)
Roll it over to an IRA
Give a man an education and he will build a new world, but give a man a loan and you can own that man forever.
It’s been 10 years since I graduated from grad school. I still proudly hang up my diploma because it put me on a better path for my career and my income. It was also FREE. No loans, no debt, no soul to be sold. With that, I thought I might offer some ways to help reduce debt if you are a college student or have a child that is about to head to college.
When we think of spring cleaning, we often think of going through our homes and consolidating our belongings. Whether it’s going through our closets Marie Condo-style, or channeling our mothers’ habits of having a spotless and clutter-free home, amidst the cleaning frenzy we often neglect cleaning up our own finances. It’s not just about sorting out our lives physically, but financially. As we readjust over a lost hour of sleep and welcome sunnier days, it’s time to take our finances head on. Here are 12 ways you can spring clean your finances:
After graduating in 2019, I was already overwhelmed with the idea of student loan debt looming over my head and my budget, so I set a goal to pay off my student loans before my 30th birthday. In this post, I share with you an update and how the forbearance has dictated my payoff strategy.
A lot can happen in 365 days.
Usually, at around the time of my birthday in March, I like to get my yearly doctor check-ups done. It's just easier for me to remember and also I feel like it makes sense since I’m another year older and another year wiser. One other thing that I also like to do during this time is to check my credit report…because my birthday also means another year of being a more responsible adult.
If you are not comfortable doing this around your birthday, do this around tax season. It's a great way to put yourself in the mindset of money management. Start associating April as the month where you also take care of yourself and your finances.
A look at how and why I decided to open a Chase Sapphire Preferred card as my very first credit card and how I met the 100K bonus for future travel.
One of the big questions that many parents ask when it comes to funding a 529 Plan is, what happens to the funds if my child doesn't end up going to college? So imagine all of these years, you’ve been saving for college. Family and friends have contributed to the account. The account has grown thanks in part to your early saving and the stock market growth. Then the time comes for your child to go to college, but they end up not needing the funds for a host of many reasons. One may be that they have received a full scholarship and have no need for the funds, or they’ve decided not to pursue the traditional 4-year university route and instead go to trade school, or they’ve decided to take a break from school so that they can figure out what they really want to do. The good news across all of these scenarios is that you don’t have to forfeit any of the funds in the 529 Account.
I opened a 529 account 3 months after my husband and I tied the knot in 2013. Call it intentional planning. Call it planned savings. Call it whatever you want, but it was just something I felt I needed to do given where we were financially. Having children also felt like our next big step after marriage.
Earlier this week, we celebrate National Coming Out Day or NCOD. National Coming Out Day is an annual LGBT awareness day that celebrates and supports individuals who publicly identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. Many use this day as a way to share their coming out stories, support others who may keep their identity a secret, or celebrate those who are now sharing their gender identities and sexual orientation. Your identity has an obvious impact on your relationships, but it can also affect other aspects of your lives, like your job or career, and your finances.
So whether you are part of the LGBTQ+ community, or are an ally, how can we build a more LGBT-friendly investment portfolio?
You can never be truly prepared when a spouse or partner dies. Don't be afraid to ask for help during this time. Keep in mind that the grieving process takes time and takes on so many different forms. On top of the heavy loss, there's also the need to contend with the current to-do list of life. This list focuses on the financial aspect, but as we know life is more than just about money, so please don't hesitate to find yourself the necessary therapy to help with your healing.
Teachers are one of the single largest class of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher, yet existing systems shortchange teachers when it comes to retirement planning and security.
According to a survey by EdWeek.org, more teachers are thinking about leaving now than before the pandemic. Younger teachers are more likely to leave the profession which means many of these teachers will not qualify for a pension. If they have only been relying on the prospect of a pension and not investing in alternative retirement plans, they’ll have some catching up to do.
In this post, we will look at why a teacher’s pension may not be enough and what investment accounts teachers can self-fund to ensure they have enough in retirement.
"No matter who is watching or paying the paycheck, we are ultimately each our own boss."
A few weeks into my summer internship, my bank account was graced with a direct deposit. As a student still living at home with my parents, my expenses were minimal when it came to things like extraneous bills and insurance. It was pretty tempting, and fairly easy, to have just spent it all on new clothes, food, and drinks, (especially working in New York City) but with some thoughtful consideration, I realized I probably shouldn’t blow my first paycheck, or all of them for that matter. Here’s how I prioritized where all my money went and things I needed to consider as a student and emerging young professional.
In a few weeks, many families will start receiving an advance of the Child Tax Credit. This advance can mean having extra cash to help with raising dependents each month for the rest of the year. Alternatively, you can opt-out of receiving the advance payments and wait until you file your taxes next year to receive the full amount. If your income changes in 2021, there could be a possibility that you will have to repay a portion of the advance. You can head to this tool to make adjustments to the payments or other income info. Note: this tool will need to verify your ID so you’ll need to provide some sensitive information to do so.
It’s a good idea to have a plan for this money. If you have the means to and are fairly sure you won’t have major income changes to affect the payment, it may be wise to plan to invest this money for the sake of your child’s future.
In this post, we will review a few options on how you can invest the money you will receive.
Financial issues can affect anyone and everyone. While many of today’s financial concerns affect the LGBT community the same as everyone else, LGBT Americans can also face another set of additional issues that can pose obstacles to one’s financial wellness and planning.
In this article, we will briefly cover 5 financial concerns that the LGBTQIA+ community may face
A big question that often comes up is should I be investing even if I have debt?
We all have different tolerance for risk, but a little number crunching will show that paying off debt AND investing will be more beneficial for you in the long run.
Today, I'm sharing with your some tools to help you decide for yourself.
Let’s talk free money.
More importantly, is there such a thing?
In this post, I break down some potential areas for you to get free money and what the catch is. Some will be worth doing.
