Mom's Got Money: A Millennial Mom's Guide to Managing Money Like a Boss

By Catherine Alford

Mom's Got Money is a mother’s guide—an instruction manual to help them use the skills they already possess to become extraordinarily confident managers of their money. 

Alford won't pretend mothers don't have a lot on their plate. She already knows they're pressed for time. The weight of their daily decisions takes a toll. Sometimes, it feels like they manage everything, whether they have a supportive spouse or not. She knows this because it's that way in her house too. However, we all have a choice on how to handle that responsibility, and Alford thinks we can flip the script. Instead of being frustrated or feeling resentful, Alford teaches moms how to recognize their own strengths and develop true financial confidence.

Once readers master Alford's money lessons, they'll start to truly enjoy money. Vacations are more fun when they're already planned and paid for. Christmas shopping is a breeze when you have a fully funded holiday spending account. Never worry about the worst that can happen because you have a fully funded emergency fund and life insurance. Feel in control of your bills, caught up, and with room to spare.

In this book, you'll learn how to:

• Become an exceptional leader of your family with a growth mindset
• Calculate your net worth
• Effectively budget and manage your household cash flow
• Work with your spouse or partner on financial goals
• Understand what impacts your credit score
• Ensure you pay all your bills on time, every time
• Make sure you plan for emergencies
• Protect your family by buying term life insurance
• Do the math on childcare costs vs. career costs when having a family
• Plan and save for holiday spending, birthdays, and special events
• Learn the art and joy of giving

Ideal for moms everywhere, but especially new and millennial moms, Mom's Got Money is an indispensable guide to taking financial control of your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Mar 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781119759188

Book preview

Acknowledgments

I want to start by thanking my husband, Jonathan, because without him, this book would not exist. Jonathan, from the very beginning you encouraged me to pursue this goal. You supported me through every setback over the many years it took to make this dream a reality. I completed it with your help, your snacks, and all those walks you took with the kids so I could write. I wouldn't be a mom without you, and I certainly wouldn't be an author without you either. I love you!

Thank you to the entire team at Wiley, especially Kevin Harreld, for believing in this project and helping turn it into a finished product. Thank you to the Knight Agency, especially my literary agent, Elaine Spencer, for your brilliance, tenacity, and for figuring out how to sell my book.

Thank you to Jennifer Locke, for helping me create the perfect title for this book as well as Meghan Stevensen and Farnoosh Torabi, who helped bring my initial ideas together several years ago. Thanks also to Adam Kirschner for helping me grow my career in a meaningful way.

A special thank‐you to my friend Katie Gilbert, who saw a tweet from my literary agency saying they were looking for writers in the personal finance niche and passed it along to me. Katie also spent time reading and editing this book when I finished, and her feedback gave me enough confidence to actually turn it in.

To Andrew Dewar, it's hard to adequately thank you in words. Your friendship and kindness is unparalleled. I don't know how many pep talks you had to give me while I wrote this book, but they certainly helped get it done. Also, thank you for reading this before I turned it in. You've secured your spot in the Top 5.

Thank you to the FinCon community, of which there are far too many people to name. You've been with me since my business and blog were in their infancy and have supported me with press, media mentions, podcast interviews, referrals, ideas, camaraderie, and wonderful friendships.

Thank you to my blog readers, my Instagram community, and every single supporter I've had along the way. Without your interest in what I do, this book would never be possible. Thank you for providing a platform for me to share my money stories and for all your encouragement.

Thank you to my parents, who instilled a love of reading in me from a very early age and encouraged my writing. Thank you for always buying me books—I realize now what a gift that was. My siblings and in‐laws were also great cheerleaders. Mr. Darryl, thank you for reading everything I've written from the very beginning. You're the inspiration for many of my money choices. I love all of you.

A couple of other people provided great emotional support, advice, and ideas throughout this process: Katie Houf, Kristen Simmer, Jessi Fearon, Melody Zoma, Bola Sokunbi, Jason Vitug, Jason Brown, Andy Hill, Renee Sorgi, and Sara Levitsky.

Lastly, to Aria and Edison, my quarantine buddies, thank you for inspiring me to be better every day. Thank you for asking how many words I'd written that day and for always having hugs and kisses for me. It was a wild ride, and you got a ton of iPad time so I could write this book during a pandemic. We got through it together, though, didn't we? You were both so proud and excited for me when I told you I was finished with my book. I won't ever forget it. Remember, Alfords don't quit.

About the Author

Catherine Alford is a nationally recognized financial educator who helps moms recapture their life passions, earn more, and take on a more active financial role in their families. Catherine started her business as a personal blog with a $10 domain name in 2010. She then grew it into a multifaceted, six‐figure digital media company that includes several personal finance websites, a suite of financial education products, and services that include financial writing, public speaking, and influencer marketing. Through her work, she partners with top financial companies as a speaker, video talent, and scriptwriter—all with the goal of helping women become more financially confident. Over the years, her writing and expertise have been featured in dozens of media outlets including Good Morning America, Yahoo Finance, U.S. News and World Report, Real Simple, The Huffington Post, Kiplinger, Investopedia, Business Insider, and many more. She currently lives just outside of Detroit, Michigan with her husband, their boy/girl twins, and a rescue dog named Julep. Learn more about Catherine at www.CatherineAlford.com.

Introduction

There's something you should know about the book you have in your hands: I fought really hard to get it to you. In fact, the process from the moment I created my book proposal to when I actually got a yes from a publisher took 4.5 years and 27 rejections. There were many times I wanted to give up and quit, but I kept thinking about you.

Yes, you.

I felt like if I quit on my idea, then I'd be quitting on you too. If I didn't try again after the fourteenth publisher said no or after the twentieth one said no, then you wouldn't get to meet me on these pages, and I wouldn't be able to encourage you to become a boss with your money.

So, I kept trying.

I don't want to make it sound like a movie with inspirational music playing in the background as I braved the world of rejection in publishing with strength against all odds. There were lots of doubts and an incalculable amount of tears along the way. I even took a four‐month break in there when I didn't pitch this book at all because I needed a minute to regroup.

And yet, here we are.

That's something you'll come to know about me. I don't give up easily. And here's the best part: I won't let you give up on yourself either.

It doesn't matter how many times you've overspent. It doesn't matter how much debt you're in. I don't care if you've tried budgeting a thousand times and failed. I believe in you, and I know you can win.

I know you're overwhelmed with everything you have to manage on a day‐to‐day basis as a mom. But, you and I are not quitters. Through this book, I'm going to encourage you to keep going. It's never too late to get your money right and it's never too late to learn something new. I really believe that, and I'm so glad you're here so we can get started on the journey—together.

There's something else I want you to know. I wrote this book during the Covid‐19 quarantine. In fact, I had my first call with my publisher on March 11, 2020 to discuss the process, and on March 13, 2020, I picked up my twins from kindergarten not knowing I wouldn't bring them back to school for more than six months.

I had grand visions of writing this book in darling coffee shops while I sipped a latte. My plan was to write half of it by the time my kids finished kindergarten. Then, I'd put the finishing touches on it while they had fun in camp over the summer. But then, the world closed. Schools closed. Coffee shops closed. And then camps closed.

My husband, who was a physician in residency training when I got my book deal, spent long hours at the hospital working the front lines of the pandemic. Then, he graduated from residency in July 2020 and moved four hours away to complete a one‐year fellowship. It was always the plan for him to go away for a year of extra training, but we made that plan when I thought I'd have access to school, babysitters, camp, and my gym (with the super‐fun childcare area).

Suffice to say, I faced many challenges when it came to writing this book, and I'm sure you can relate, because the world completely changed for every single one of us. Maybe you were home with your spouse during the quarantine. Maybe you were an essential worker and wished you could be home with your kids. Maybe you are a single mom and had childcare constraints as you tried to navigate the seemingly endless days. As for me, I ended up writing this book in little pockets of the day between kindergarten Zoom calls and using lots of bribery and too much iPad time to accomplish my mission.

At night, I'd be so exhausted I would use the voice‐to‐text function on my computer to write. Then, inevitably, one of my kids would need something in the night, and I'd wake up to find words like Mama, Mama, Mama inside my book because I'd abandoned my computer but left voice‐to‐text on. One time, I came back to my computer to find an entire paragraph about opening popsicles that voice‐to‐text recorded. I tell you this because although this book will go through rigorous editing, if you find a random Mama in the paragraphs, that's why.

Writing during a pandemic also fundamentally changed some of my beliefs about money, especially concerning emergency funds. There were also certain stories in the book that didn't seem to fit anymore once I started to hear from people who were suffering. Some stories I initially shared seemed too happy, too inconsequential, or too tone‐deaf during a global emergency. I got email after email from people struggling, people losing their jobs, and moms who were deeply unhappy because they were managing the brunt of the labor at home. I've done my best to find some balance, to be empathetic but also offer a little encouraging push in case you need one. I think mindset is everything, and I know that stepping into a boss mindset and taking control of your finances—even if you've been knocked to the ground during the pandemic—is the first step to recovery.

That said, I am not a financial planner (or a therapist). I became a part of the finance world when I started writing a blog about my life on a very tight graduate school budget in 2010. That budgeting blog blossomed into a freelance writing business when I started writing financial articles for other blogs and financial companies. Eventually, my business grew to include scriptwriting, video content, influencer work, speaking, and now—writing a book.

(Disclaimer: Although I've worked with dozens of financial companies through my business, some of which I mention in this book, none of them paid me to be mentioned here. I've also included studies and information from companies I haven't worked with in this book.)

Even though I didn't go to school for finance, I think the reason my budgeting blog and eventual financial writing business grew is because of how I write about money. I usually include relatable stories in my work, and because I'm not writing from some high‐up place on Wall Street, I think it helps my readers easily understand some money concepts. I hope that's the case for you too.

My ability to write comes from a lifetime of pursuing writing and reading as my greatest passions. I went to college and graduate school for history because I was captivated by people's stories. I love learning about why humans make the choices they do, which is why the behavioral finance aspect of money is so fascinating to me.

My training as a researcher and historian came in handy when my writing clients assigned me articles about topics like mortgages and investing. Even if I didn't know the answers at first, I knew exactly how to find them. And, it wouldn't be long before I went down a rabbit hole researching the history of various industries and companies.

The Greek word historia means inquiry. I always want to know why. Why are things the way they are? Why do people do what they do? Why are some people paid more than others? Why does money have such an impact? What can we learn from past choices? How can our past money choices empower and inform our future ones?

Think about it; money is this one singular object that has impacted history probably more than anything else. It's caused wars, death, shaped politics, and impacted populations for a lifetime. Money has also had life‐changing positive impacts on the world through charitable gifts, eradication of disease, and aid.

But, money is not equal. For centuries, certain sectors of the population—namely women and the Black community—have not had equal opportunities when it comes to banking, homeownership, access to business loans, and investing. The result is not only a wage gap but a wealth gap.

And yet, I keep seeing seeds of hope. Every day, I meet new members of the financial community working hard to inspire positive change. I see women encouraging other women to speak up, ask for raises, and so many of us are teaching one another what it means to invest and to create generational wealth.

As a financial educator, I work hard to make the language of money more accessible to all. I want to encourage moms like you to feel like bosses and become a powerful force, so you can fearlessly ask questions about budgeting, salaries, investments, fees, homeownership, and more. The tides are changing, and moms are perfectly prepared to lead the charge and help their families attain financial success.

At the end of the day, money is just currency. It's just some pieces of paper or numbers on a screen. The money itself means nothing. It's the person holding it who assigns it value and gives it life. You can make a choice when you hold your money in your hands. You can use it to better your family and win or you can stay the same. My goal is to help you be on the winning team. More than that, I want to show you that you, as the mom, are captain of the winning team. You get to use the knowledge in this book to bring the gold medal home.

Some parts of this book will be encouraging and some will be uncomfortable. I'm going to ask you to examine your habits, to think back to childhood lessons about money, and to wonder about the impact of the culture of money we operate within. I'm going to ask you to consider the hard questions. Why do people handle money so differently? Why are some people so disciplined with money and others aren't? Why are some people so generous and others aren't? How has the history of our culture impacted beliefs about money? What can I do to be an ally to others and to help others improve financially too?

Maybe now you can see why someone with a history background became a financial writer. For me, it's never really been about teaching people how to budget, although that is a part of what I do. It's more about helping people examine their own stories and their past as a way to enlighten them and help them make good choices in the future. It's about helping people face their demons and recognize their own strength to change their money stories. It's about showing moms that they are more than just moms, that they hold incredible power. It's about saying I understand. I've been there. Let's grow together.

So, I hope you don't mind that there won't be complicated calculations in this book. Instead, this book is going to be a mixture of personal finance, personal development, some too‐personal stories of my own journey with money, and hopefully some encouragement along the way. My goal is to walk with you, inspire you, and help you realize that you already possess all the skills necessary to be a boss with your money. You just have to look within yourself to find the answers, and I'll guide you on that path.

After reading Mom's Got Money, my hope is that you'll:

Understand your money history and your money mindset.

Effectively manage your money like a boss.

Work with your family in a budget meeting, whether your family is a spouse and several kids or just you and your teenager.

Ensure that you pay all your bills on time every time.

Think big when it comes to your future and the legacy you want to leave.

Surround yourself with friends who will be a positive influence on you, your children, and your financial goals.

Become an ally to other women and help them succeed on their money journey.

Learn the art and joy of giving and pass on that lesson to your children.

I will count this book as a success if you connect with just one story in here and it prompts you to take the next step and learn more. My wish is that this book becomes one of many personal finance books on your shelf. The more you read, the more you can craft a personal finance perspective and plan that fits you and your own goals.

Every financial writer has a unique story and personal experiences to bring to the table, and this is likely the only book you'll find by a historian turned financial writer turned mom and entrepreneur. And maybe that's exactly as it should be, because perhaps I'm meeting you at just the right time. You likely need a friend, someone who is a fellow mom and gets it, to help you along the way. And, hopefully, that person is me.

My goal is to help you master a few money lessons so you'll start to truly enjoy money. I would love to help you feel in control of your bills, caught up, and with room to spare. I hope to encourage you to advocate for yourself, improve, and most importantly—breathe.

Eventually, with enough practice, you can become the money boss you were always meant to be, and I'll be right here to help you get there. This is more about mindset than it is about money. And luckily, motherhood has perfectly prepared you to succeed with money. You just didn't know it—until now.

CHAPTER 1

Shifting to a Boss Mindset

I sat nervously in the waiting room of the student health clinic on my husband's medical school campus. I booked my appointment when my husband had a break between classes so he could be there with me, and I was waiting for him to arrive.

We were there to confirm that I was, in fact, pregnant. Clearly, the five positive pregnancy tests my Type A self took the days prior were not enough for me. I needed answers. Facts.

My husband arrived, and we were led to a small, freezing room where the ultrasound tech was waiting for us. The tech wasn't a man of many words. He hardly greeted us except to tell me to lie down on the cold table so we could start the ultrasound. I shifted nervously, the paper crinkling beneath me, the silence deafening.

There we were, two hopeful (possibly?) new parents, and the tech wasn't speaking as he worked. Doesn't he want to ask me any questions? Doesn't he at least want to talk about the weather? I glanced at my husband. He didn't seem to mind the complete silence. He was watching the screen intently, so I thought I should probably do the same.

I looked over at the blobs squinting, trying to make out something, anything. I waited.

It felt like an eternity before tech spoke. Really, it was likely only a few minutes. But, the question he asked tore through the silence like a freight train. His question would change my life forever.

So, do twins run in your family?

There's nothing