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3 Reasons to have a family attorney

This post is sponsored by Diamond Bloggers. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

While I love a good joke about lawyers as much as the next person, often these jokes are without merit. As most lawyers are honest and knowledgeable professionals that look out for the best interest of their clients. No different than doctors or accountants they are professionals with important services to provide.

While most of us don’t think twice about having a family doctor or keeping a handyman on speed dial, many people feel that having a lawyer is a sign that someone is either looking for trouble or doing something risky that might make them more likely to have legal problems.

Generally, most ex[pect to never have need of such services. But often times having an established relationship with an experienced family attorney prevents problems from forming entirely. Such as buying a home, when getting married, adoption services, establishing an LLC, venturing into business, protecting your savings, or personal injury claims . Especially if you are a parent who is responsible for the care, estate, and general welfare of others.

For these reasons and more, there are several reasons for you to consider why it is a great idea to get a family lawyer today:

1. They’re Affordable

One of the big reasons that people avoid talking with an attorney is cost. While lawyers do charge different rates and some can be very draining on the wallet, most are actually very reasonable. In fact, you can probably find a very capable attorney for a lower hourly rate than your doctor or even a licensed plumber.

With many attorneys likely providing free consultations prior to collecting retainers for services. In those consultations, they will talk with you about your situation and provide some idea of how they can help and how much it will cost. Eliminating the risk in talking with an attorney and trying to build a relationship with one.

2. Lawyers Provide Prevention

Most people think of attorneys as people who fix problems but most of the work that they do is preventative. Whether it’s reviewing contracts, writing up agreements, filing paperwork or making sure that their client is compliant with the law. Attorneys represent the interest of their clients and those interests are best served by keeping them out of legal trouble. Not just merely defending them when they are in the middle of it.

Having a lawyer that can read your contracts, keep up your business filings, and guide you through any paperwork you may have can go a long way to preventing legal problems saves you a great deal of money and headache down the road.

3. Your Competitors Have Attorneys

If you’re signing a contract to work with another company, chances are that they had an attorney write it for them and prepare it with their interests in mind. If someone you’re negotiating or competing with has an attorney working with them and you don’t, that puts you at a disadvantage.

Having a knowledgeable attorney in your corner makes this process all the more seamless in nature. And in terms of business negotiations can also act as a powerful contact. A good lawyer is a great place get contact information for other professionals, informally and formally. For all your business needs.

While you might not need to visit a lawyer every six months or even yearly, you should establish a relationship with one as soon as you can and see about stopping by every time your situation changes. Routine stuff such as minor car accidents, contracts, and wills and estate planning.

So take the opportunity to seek one out. Most likely, you’ve been putting off some legally-oriented task for a while to make it a late New Year’s resolution to get it done and, along the way, establish a relationship with a legal professional that can help you a great deal down the road.

For readers in the Tampa area, especially those seek a personal injury attorney in Tampa, or perhaps you need a Tampa Car Accident Attorney, you have numerous resources available to you. Because when you need your lawyer, you’ll be glad that you met them when you did.

Now friends, do you have a family attorney to handle your personal affairs or personal injury claims at home? Share your experiences below!

Why You Deserve To Relax A Little This Summer

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As a mama that’s gotten pretty great at being frugal, saving money, and generally being quite budget conscious, you may find that you get into a habit with your money. You think twice before you spend, you allocate as much money to become debt-free as possible, and you never, ever waste money. And that’s so refreshing.

Because having a healthy relationship with your money can feel incredible. But at the same time, you do need a break. Sometimes, you get so used to being frugal that you take things too far and next allow yourself a penny to enjoy. This can be just as bad as being extravagant with your money. Now that the summer’s here, you definitely deserve to relax a little more and enjoy your money. And here’s why:

1. You’ll Burn Out

First of all, burnout is real. When you’re trying to keep things together too much, and you’re constantly cutting back, something’s got to give. And what you don’t want to happen here is you to get so stressed out that you just spend too much. Instead, you need to just relax every now and again and enjoy the money that you make from time to time. When you’re constantly trying to save, it’s exhausting, and it can make you feel like you have to go without. So book that vacation or treat yourself, it’s okay when you’re really practically 99.9% of the time.

2. Your Kids Deserve The Break

You have to think about the kids. It’s the summer, and they work hard at school, that’s only fair that they get treated to a day out or two this summer. The best news is that the escape room or the zoo won’t cost you your life savings. It’s okay to have funded activities every once in a while. It’s also a great way to teach your kids about the value of money too.

3. You Can Still Get Great Deals

But relaxing a little bit doesn’t mean that you’re going to throw your money away or go wild. After all, the frugal side of you is still there. So you can always make sure that you get the best deal on everything, and that you’re saving money as you spend to get the best value.

4. Life Will Pass You By

This one sounds like a huge cliche, but it’s still very true. Life is short and you have to enjoy it. Constantly cutting back and keeping money aside for a rainy day isn’t always fun. It’s practical, and a great way to make your money stretch, but you still deserve to live a little and enjoy life. So if you have the money, book your vacation and just enjoy it. Because that’s what life is all about.

5. Everything Will Be Okay

Above all else, you need to realize that it’s okay to spend. You’re not throwing money away, and you won’t struggle. For the summer, you can shift your priorities around and rejig your budget so that you can afford to have a bit more fun. It’s as simple as that.

5 Ways Newlyweds Should Safeguard Their Marriages

Please note, this post was sponsored by Diamond Bloggers. All opinions are my own. Thank you.

 

5 Ways Newlyweds Should Safeguard Their Marriages

So you’re married to the man (or woman) of your dreams, and people are always asking you “How’s married life?”

Maybe your answer is always, no different from when we lived together, nothing has changed. Depending on how completely enmeshed your lives were before you walked down the aisle, that might be true. However, if by no different, you mean that you haven’t sat down together to tackle any major life issues that need addressing as a married couple, it might be time to bite the bullet.

Because time flies when you’re a newlywed. When I got married a decade ago, I returned from my honeymoon I felt overwhelmed by all of the adulting that needed to go on behind the scenes. And while in the midst of planning our I-do’s there wasn’t a lot of time left over to think about anything beyond the thank you notes were written and sent in a timely manner. 

But with wedding season quickly upon us, and with so many people making that next step in their lives together this year, there are several things that need addressing once your back down from cloud nine. So if this sounds like your life at present, or you’re newly married yourself, here are 5 areas of your married life that you should make sure to safeguard this season:

1. Debts

If you are newly married or getting married, knowing the conditions of one another’s finances is vital. Especially when it comes to debt. As by the time you sign your marriage license, all debt becomes communal property!

To remedy this, make sure to create a working debt repayment plan in place. Where all of your joint assets and debts are listed and combined. Whether the picture is hopeful or terrifying, it’s got to be and dealt with promptly. Remember, debt and financial discord is not a marriage destroyer if you face it head on as a team. From day one!

2. Create a Spending Plan

Expenses come up. It’s only natural. Which is why you should naturally have a working spending plan in place to help you, as a couple, decide where your assets will be allocated each month.

To do this, simply create a combined list of your monthly expenses, maintenance for home or cars, and for monthly recurring expenses. Making sure to also allocated slush funds to cover unexpected expenses that just come up. This plan will help you be on the same page monthly and help avoid the costly lesson of debt before it even occurs!

3. Discuss Your Bank Accounts

While it isn’t necessary to combine your bank accounts and work out of one checking account after you get married, you should have each other’s names on all of your accounts and make absolutely sure you have changed the beneficiary information at your bank for those accounts.

Odds are that if it’s your first marriage, everything is set up to go to your parents if something happens to you. If you’ve been married before, not changing the beneficiaries could result in you giving lots of money to an ex-spouse. Taking care of these matters now will help protect your spouse in more ways than one!

4. Create a Peace of Mind Plan

It’s daunting to start your marriage thinking of a time when your spouse would no longer be with you in life. But its something that must be done. Which is why one of the best gift you can give your spouse in to create a peace of mind plan. A plan that includes notarized wills, insurance information, reverting of housing or property deeds, living wills, plans for organ donation, custody arrangements, business plans, and a designation for your power of attorney, and medical directive.

This doesn’t have to be complicated – but it should be done properly and looked over and witnessed by an attorney. In most states, you will be required to have these documents in place to legitimize the validity of the documents before an unfortunate situation arises. Do it once and it’s done. Do it correctly and you’ve safeguarded your spouse for decades to come!

5. Assets

Money is one of the top causes of divorce in this nation. Couples who face financial problems together will survive them and come out stronger in the end. Those who ignore them will sink together unless somebody steps up to the plate and addresses the situation.

Not everything financial is bad – some brides and grooms enter marriage with trust funds, investment accounts, and other significant assets. Unless you have a prenuptial agreement that excludes the new spouse from any benefit of these things, he or she should know what is there – even if they can’t access it.

And one of the best ways to protect your marital assets is with the assistance of a trained legal professional. Professionals such as Hunter Law, P.A., are trained to help provide you with quality legal expertise. Advise that can help solidify your marital future for decades to come. 

Don’t let the small stuff ruin your marriage and your financial future. Schedule a meeting with a trusted legal professional in your area this season. 

Now, friends, I want to ask, are you, newlyweds? If so, what measures have you taken to ensure your financial and legal peace of mind at home? I’d love to hear about your experiences below!

5 Ways Newlyweds Should Safeguard Their Marriages

Financial Preparation Tips For Life’s Milestones

We don’t go through life with anything other than expectations and hopes for our futures. Each and everyone one of us like to dream about what we want in our lives and there are milestones that we like to hit to ‘tick all the boxes’ for ourselves. The problem is, those boxes all cost a little – and sometimes a lot of – cash.

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There are four major life events that most people want to achieve, and each of these has one thing in common: they’re expensive. When there are major life events ahead, we like to save up for them, but how can you do it? And what are these milestones?

First Car. Buying your first car and learning to drive is a big achievement. It’s a lot of responsibility to be on the road and in control of a vehicle and it’s also a responsibility to save for the right insurance and the right drivetrain warranty from Carchex. You should ensure that when you take on the difficulties of driving and being on the road with other vehicles that your particular car is in tiptop shape. Your first car should be one that is going to last you, so shop around and make sure that you find what you want for the price you want it to be.

Buying A House. You can choose to keep living with parents while you save for your house but consider that you should want to put a considerable down payment down to pay for your deposit. This would reduce the length of the mortgage and stand you in good stead for the banks to lend you what you need to cover the rest!

Getting Married. It’s a big day, but it doesn’t necessarily have to have a big price tag. All you have to do is learn to shop around when it comes to your wedding day and decide whether you truly need to have 300 people there for you when you get wed. Don’t be put off by the big venues and the dress costs and try not to go into married life in debt. If you cannot afford it for your day, do not buy it. It just takes a little sensibility to ensure that your day goes off perfectly.

Having A Baby. A first baby is a big step in life, but if you plan ahead you can ensure that you are not out of pocket with medical expenses and the initial costs of everything that a baby needs. If you fall pregnant unexpectedly, you can still rally; you have nine months to prepare after all. You can put other major expenses on hold to afford the baby in your life who needs your cash a lot more right now.

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Life gets in the way sometimes, but there are always ways and means to make savings when you need to. Don’t be held back by your finances; if you truly want something you will find a way to get it.

7 Ways To Increase Your Savings in 2018

Please note, this post has been sponsored by MyMazuma.com. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you.

 

7 Ways To Increase & Perfect Your Savings Goals in 2018

Its hard to believe that we are in the midst of the second quarter of the year. But despite the turning pages of the calendar, there’s still plenty of time to how to for us all to save money on the biggest expenses in your budget and increase our overall savings at home. 

While most people want to improve their personal finances, but don’t know how to achieve their goals. Especially during the wanderlust of the Spring. A time when it’s easy to get sidetracked all the beautiful things one can buy for their homes during the warmer seasons of the year. 

For me, the key to making a meaningful financial improvement each season is to focus on the process and the things I can control.

Here are some steps anyone can easily take to improve their financial well-being in 2018.

7 Ways To Increase & Perfect Your Savings Goals in 2018

1. Increase Your Savings Goal

When it comes to savings, bigger is always better. Whether you’re saving for your first home or for retirement, you can never have too much in your savings account. But funding those accounts can be tricky which is why increasing your savings rate can not only improve your financial health but give you more money to funnel toward your overall savings goals.

There are several ways to accomplish this goal. First, you need to know exactly how much you were able to save last year. Then you will need to create a workable savings goal higher than your previous year’s savings.

Second, you need to determine how you will be able to fund your account. Starting with work-related contributions. If you aren’t contributing the maximum amount to your company-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k), then simply increase your percentage contribution to the plan.

If you are already maxing out your company-sponsored retirement plan, consider starting an IRA, Roth, taxable savings account, or investment account. 

Additionally, you may be able to fund your savings goals by adjusting your withholdings from your paychecks at work, using a tax return, cashing in your initial emergency fund should you have more long-term savings account to date, or Spring cleaning your home and liquidating unused household items into cash savings. 

No matter how you fund your goals, seek out several means to fund your overall savings goals. Preventing the age-old dilemma of placing all your eggs in one proverbial savings basket. 

2. Regularly Track Your Spending

Once you have a small, obtainable savings goal in mind you then need to figure out ways to track your spending habits to help you meet your savings goals moving forward. With the easiest way to track your ongoing spending is to link online sites or apps such as EveryDollar or Mint.

Free services that allow you to track your spending on credit cards, bank accounts, and to have a visual reminder of your savings goals and slush funds each season as well. 

Then after tracking your spending on your platform of choice for a season’s time, you will have enough data to determine your typical spending habits. 

Understanding your spending habits will make it easier for you to plan for future financial goals. Including planning for retirement, saving for your children’s college funds, or making lifestyle changes such as transitioning to working from home or relocating your family. 

Then, once you have tracked your spending habits you can create a working spending plan and, of course, reevaluate your savings goals accordingly.

3. Automate Your Bills, Utilities, and Donations

One of the greatest financial decisions I’ve ever made was to put my finances on autopilot. Because putting your savings, bills, and investment accounts on autopilot can greatly simplify your bill paying and exponentially increase your overall savings goals.

Starting with your checking and savings accounts. Have your workplace payroll department direct deposit a portion of each paycheck directly to your accounts. Making sure to put extra funding into your investment accounts.

If you are free of all high-interest consumer debt also direct deposit funds into separate savings account to fund yourself. Afterall, if you’re not paying yourself, what’s it all for? 

Next, focus on your bills. I challenge you to find a bill that can’t be paid automatically. Everything can be paid online in an automated fashion. Including credit cards, mortgages, utilities, memberships, tuition payments, union dues, subscriptions, charitable donations, and even tithing. 

Once you have your savings and bills on autopilot, you’ll need to set up automatic investing. By making your investment deposits automated, you commit to reaching your goals in an easy, practical way. You’ll also be able to avoid the trap of trying to self-track the market each season.

4. Post your financial goals

One of the best ways of seeing your financial goals come to fruition is to publically set clean, obtainable goals.

For me as a blogger and YouTuber, I like to post about my goals for the year as well as to record update videos. For some, this might be having weekly meetings with your spouse or partner to discuss your financial future.

For others simply writing down your goals and sticking them on the fridge, pin board, or in your bullet journal can help to give you the accountability you need to make your financial goals come to life. 

No matter how you post your goals, first things first: You have to start by writing down your financial goals. 

And no, stating you want to be rich or successful as a start-up doesn’t count. You need accurate, obtainable goals. Such as, in 2018 I want to save $10,000.00. I’ll fund this goal by taking on overtime hours at work as I am able to do so, selling my second vehicle, and by skipping buying out lunches or coffee at work. Now, that’s a specific, well-formulated financial goal! 

Financial goals need to focus on 3 key terms: Time, funding, and accessibility. Without these 3 factors, it likely won’t stick! Which is why writing down a goal with an estimated date and expected cost dramatically increases your likelihood of success and helps you understand the which financial steps are most important to you and your family.

If you are stuck on creating your ongoing financial goals, match it against these questions:

  • Why is this goal important to me?
  • How much have I already saved?
  • How much can I set aside each month to fund this goal?

Answering each of these questions will give you a clear plan of action to tackle your goals. Because no matter your money goals, posting your goals will help you gain and maintain your financial footing for the remainder of  2018.

5. Reassess Your Budget

If you’re looking to increase your overall savings this year, you’ll need far more than simply cutting out lattes and lunch. Because according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 
Americans spend almost 70% of their money on housing, groceries, and transportation.

Which makes reassessing your budget each season a true necessity. Making sure to redline your budget, looking for splurges disguised as essential spending. Expenditures that are more fluff than factual. Items that may be cutting into your savings goals at home.

The bigger the budget or a slush fund, the more time you should spend there evaluating your progress. Because chances are you’ll be able to locate found money that can help you fund your short and long-term savings goals. 

Listen, you should be able to enjoy a latte every now and again. Afterall, treating yourself may very well be part of your self-care plan and can even be tied to emotions and experiences of your youth.

By making a concerted effort in cutting your big expenses, such as your housing and transportation budgets, can help you create working funds that will allow you to meet your savings goals and fund those delicious lattes you’ve been craving. And that’s something worth getting out of bed for!

6. Meal Planning

Meal planning for me is a way of life. And its something that has saved my family thousands of dollars each year. In fact, I have a meal planning mantra which is as follows: From the plan to the pan.

Without fail, I meal plan each week. I also know myself and it’s hard for me to limit dining out one meal each week. Because the more I dine out and get accustomed to all those carb-heavy favorites the more I crave them. 

Instead, I try to make meal planning at home fun. I love theme nights. Small meals that can become occasions including Meatless Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, Wild Rice Wednesday (dishes that are served with rice, Thai Thursdays, Fruity Fridays (foods with a citrus twist), Salad Saturdays, and Serve-Yourself Sundays. 

I also find that meal planning helps me curve impulse buying in-store. To curb excessive grocery spending I plan my meals first by accessing my food budget (which is $65.00/week for our family of 3). I then check to see what pantry staples, deep freezer finds, and produce I have on-hand and using those finds base my weekly meals.

Meal planning has also allowed me to cut my food budget by 2/3 and to still eat healthy, organic, plant-based meals every day of the week. Last year alone, meal planning saved my family over $3,500.00. Funds that were used to fund ongoing savings goals at home. 

7. I educate myself on financial matters weekly

Like with seasons, financial climates frequently change. As do my own personal money-related questions. With my financial literacy needs changing throughout my lifetime.

For example, in my 20’s I needed to know things like: What’s a good credit score? How do car loans work? Have I saved enough for retirement? In my early 30’s I’ve needed to know about rates for mortgages and how to invest for retirement?

While my age and financial needs have changed, what doesn’t change is the need for clear, trustworthy resources to help answer those questions. Because the difference between knowing what to do and not to do, in terms of financial literacy, can equal up to a whole lot of money!

I set aside one hour per week to up my financial literacy game. Time blocking a portion of my week to reading online resources that help keep my savings goals focused. With my go-to site for learning about financial matters being MyMazuma.com. A site that helps consumers, moms and frugal savvy gals like myself understand money matters and make better financial decisions.

By providing financial education opportunities from trusted fiscal advisors, viewers are given an easy-to-navigate, one-stop-shop for all your financial literacy needs. Readers will find resources that are not only relevant to their level of money knowledge but to the decisions, they make every day.

Using 3 stages of financial education, financial literacy, fluency, and mastery, consumers are given a well-rounded means to achieving the financial education you seek at home. I cannot say enough great things about the site and I encourage you to check out MyMazuma. I’m sure it will become your favorite online resource for Financial Education too! 

So, friends, those are my 7 favorite tips to help you increase your savings in 2018. Suggestions that will help you take your savings goals to the next level! Now I want to ask, do you currently have any new savings goals in mind? Or do you currently use any financial literacy services to help you meet those savings goals? Share your goal-setting strategies below! 

7 Ways To Increase & Perfect Your Savings Goals in 2018

5 Ways to Save When Buying Your Next Home

Please note, this post is sponsored by Diamond Links. Thank you.

It’s official, 2020 is almost over. But before the holiday season, other important goals must be met. Including moving to your next apartment, and giving your new space an intense clean. Personally, I love the idea of cleaning up many facets of my life each Spring season. And not just the proverbial sprucing up of the interior of my home but the location of my home too!

Fall is arguably the best season when it comes to the new rentals this season. And I should know. As all of my best leasing opportunities have always occurred during the Fall of the year. 

So if you too have the wanderlust for a new local, here are 5 ways to maximize your chances of moving into your new home:

gray steel 3-door refrigerator near modular kitchen

1. Be decisive

With so much economic upheaval the nation over, apartment space is at a premium. Making this a landlord’s market, for sure. But just because it’s a seller’s market doesn’t mean renters are seeking to wait exasperatingly long periods of time to entertain applicant selection this season. 

It’s also a buyers market. Which is why many homeowners are preferring to rent and not sell properties. Making them more likely to offer amenities, utility inclusion, application fee waiving, and even impromptu showings. As for cleaning, schedule disruption, and child and pet care arrangements that need to be made to accommodate potential renters.

Making it essential to be properly prepared to rent your next space this season. Including a copy of your credit report, explanations for a previous apartment/leasing-related offenses, pet disclosures, application fee money orders, and having your first and last month’s rent on-hand. Fall is not the season for hesitating when it comes to making housing offers. As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold.

2. Inventory can be an issue

When it comes to renting your next space, timing is key. As the most coveted leasing properties, in the best of neighborhoods and school districts, have been on a decline since 2016 and the trend will continue this season. According to Zillow, rentable inventory declined by 10.5% in the past 12 months

With fewer homes being available for rental, now is the season to reassess your actual square footage needs. Gone are the days of living in McMansions and ethical, smaller footprint homes are all the rage. Which makes knowing how large a home you actually need a great asset to buyers as smaller homes will be easier to acquire at an affordable price than homes larger than 2,000 square feet in size according to Zumper and Apartments.com.

Consider that the costs of labor and millage continue to climb in the United States. Leaving landlords and leasing agents to raise the price of the home to cover the costs of land, skilled labor, building material, lack of buildable space, and density rates. This means that buyers can save money by opting to rent already constructed homes this Fall. 

2. Prepare for disappointment

In a competitive market, it’s likely that there will be several applicants for each rentable space. With bidding wars becoming the new norm for many renters. Because unless you’re an applicant with impeccable credit and renting history, you face the very real possibility of not securing your rental of choice.

One way to lessen the blow of renters’ disappointment? Accept beforehand that this may be your renter’s outcome. It’s tough when you’ve fallen in love with a location, but it happens. Always be realistic about renting. As what you love about a particular apartment is also likely to also beloved by dozens of other prospective renters as well.

3. Know your budget

The best way to prevent the apartment of your dreams from slipping away is to be able to build strong offers for leasing agents.

Generally speaking, you should allocate no more than 30% of your gross monthly income. So, if you gross $5,000 per month, the max you should be paying for housing costs, including rent, is $1,500.

Knowing the exact amount of wiggle room in your budget will allow you to avoid having your budget-tight low-ball immediately rejected in this seller’s market. Because with multiple rental applications potentially on the table, agents and landlords are less inclined to play games with renters. Sometimes you just have to leverage your dream against your instinct to frugally haggle your way to your next home.

4. Be realistic

If there was ever a time to be financially realistic, it’s during a pandemic. Again, national home prices have climbed for 23 consecutive months. And the trend of high-value property rentals will also continue. Experts say prices will continue to increase in 2021. For some people, the uncertainty of the current market combined with rising prices may make renting more prudent in your area than buying. Knowing your personal rent versus buy equation could tilt toward renting in costly markets. Making you a more sought-after renter. 

5. Get Pre-Approved

Because landlords live in the real world they know the world is full of unknowns, and have no idea about your income, credit score, or debt to income ratio. In this seller’s market, being a pre-approved renter, by way of your individual leasing agent’s requirements, will give you a leg-up in renting your next property. Reassure agents that you are are a qualified, serious renter.

All-in-all, remember that Fall is kicking up its heels making now the perfect time to start figuring out how you can best afford to buy your next home this season! But if you follow the tips outlined above, the only thing you’ll have to worry about when summer comes are tan lines and garden gatherings.

Now, friends, I want to ask, are you looking to relocate or rent your next home this season? Share your journey below! 

7 Ways You Can Better Afford To Be a SAHM

7 Ways You Can Afford To Be a SAHM

I remember the day I decided to stay home with my family as if it were yesterday. After receiving a call from my grandmother’s neurologist informing me of her early onset dementia diagnosis, coupled with also being 5 months pregnant with my first pregnancy, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay in my work position.

I recall looking around my office and thinking, I need to go home. For good. 

While I had contemplated what my life would look like post-maternity leave I had never considered life as anything other than a woman on the fast track to eventually making a partner at work. 

But within a week of that fateful phone call, I was packing up my workstation and transitioning to working from home.

Within the next 9 months, I would find myself working full-time from home. For nearly half my original pay. Which was one of my greatest fears of all time- How will I be able to afford to become a stay-at-home wife, mother, and caretaker?

Because whether you’re pregnant and considering staying at home with your new baby, have small children, or are the caretaker of your baby-boomer parent, questions of finances will inevitably arise. 

How will we make it work financially? Can I continue to afford my grandmother’s medical expenses? Will I be able to maintain my own retirement funding and health insurance? What will the quality of my life look like if I’m no longer working outside the home? Questions I simply did not have the answers to. 

Regardless of my interpretations, I did it. I left the corporate fast-track, taking a self-imposed demotion, and transitioned to becoming a work-at-home mother too!

Before I go on I want to publicly state that I was incredibly lucky to be able to make this choice. As not everyone can afford to do so. Especially if your spouse’s income won’t cover your expenses each month at home. I was able to do so because I had a perfect storm of conditions going my way.

I was able to leverage my education, work experience, and time previously vested in my company to broker a deal with my employers to work from home. A negotiation that allowed me to not only work from home but to schedule my own hours and moonlight as needed. With the knowledge that I would never be able to reenter the workforce or make partners at my firm moving forward. 

I also had my husband’s full-time income to rely on. As an educator for nearly a decade at the time, he stepped into the role of understanding breadwinner, insurance provider, and retirement matcher, with grace and precision. And without his support, I would have never been able to work from home. 

I’m not going to lie, it was the hardest transition of my life. It was also one of the most rewarding moments of my life. Both in terms of personal growth and the even more important tasks of overhead and affordability.

With that sentiment in mind, I want to share with you 7 steps that helped me to transition to working from home that can help you get started on your own transition too:

7 Ways You Can Afford To Be a SAHM

1. Make a Plan

The moment I knew I wanted to stay home with my family I started making a transition plan. Because we were in debt, I knew that if I wanted to stay at home, I had to work from home to make the transition work financially.

For three years, I worked from home for my former employer in addition to taking on freelance writing assignments, blogger gigs, and even a shortlived MLM Scentsy opportunity. Then by the time my family was debt-free, I was ready to work from home on my own terms.

Keep in mind, you and your family might have a different timeline and variables to consider. Some of you will not have to work from home because your spouse can financially support your family. For others, simply cutting back on some basic expenses will allow enough wiggle room in the budget to make it work.

If you know you want to stay home with your child, I would advise you to start planning as soon as you’re ready to grow your family or step into the role of caretaker. If you know you want to have children in the near future, sit down with your partner to discuss how much money is ideal.

Talk about your variables. Where you will live, what schools your child will attend, your future career and mothering goals, and how these goals will impact your finances in the next year and beyond.

Discussing all financial matters and doing the mental math will help you brainstorm ways to make working from home feasible- Whether it’s having a certain amount of money stashed away in a slush fund or building a side business to a timed level. 

Because whether you’re ready to start a family or not, having babies takes time and money. And having a workable financial plan in place before you’re pregnant and throughout your pregnancy will help you to find a way to quit your job and stay home with your baby for the long haul.

2. Set Up an Emergency Fund

Once you have an exit strategy in place you need to commit to setting up an emergency fund at home.

Setting aside emergency cash is a great way to prepare for unexpected expenses down the road. Because when your family depends on one income, an emergency fund is essential for helping your family avoid debt or falling behind on your bills.

The way my family started our emergency fund was by Spring cleaning and decluttering our home. We were able to sell excess items online on Facebook local sites, eBay, and Craigslist. For items that could not be sold, we donated to a local charity shop in exchange for tax receipts to help us with our state income taxes for the following few years. 

Not only did decluttering help us jumpstart our emergency fund but it helped our family establish a working relationship with the various aspects of simplified living and helped cement our beliefs in minimalist living for years to come.

3. Pay Off Debt

Saving money is important but paying off debt should be high on your list, too. The more debt you pay off, the more wiggle room you will have in your budget. Which is especially important when transitioning to becoming a one-income family. 

You can pay off debt using many different methods, so choose the one that works best for your family. My family used the Dave Ramsey snowball method to pay off close to $75,000 in medical, consumer, and student loan debt.

We found the snowball method most useful to us because we are equally emotional and mathematical in our finances. And each time we paid off a small debt it motivated us to pay off the next debt each time. 

Moreover, we were able to become debt-free because I committed to earning $1,000.00 or more per month while working from home in addition to my salaried position. I found numerous side hustles along the way to help me pay off the last of our family debts. Everything from painting murals, to opening an ETSY shop, to selling second-hand books on eBay. I found ways to meet my goals.

Keep in mind, while it’s ideal to be debt-free when transitioning to working from or at home, you don’t have to pay off every one of your debts before you become a stay-at-home parent.  But do consider paying off a few smaller debts that can free up a few hundred dollars a month. As this could mean the difference between successfully being able to afford to stay at home or having to maintain at-home work positions too!

It’s also important to try not to take on any new debt. For our family, this meant buying new-to-us vehicles with cash, buying refurbished consumer electronics, and not going on family vacations for five years. These trade-offs helped me be able to be a stay-at-home parent and caretaker. 

4. Create a Working Budget

When we were in the process of becoming debt-free we maintained a working budget at home. A financial spending plan centered around only my husband’s contracted take-home salary each year. All extra funds initially went towards paying down debt, which was later used to fund my personal retirement accounts and health care costs. 

To accomplish this, my husband and I sat down and devised a plan for our family to be able to thrive on that single income.

With pen and paper, we painstakingly devised a line item budget that allocated every dollar of every single income source into specific budgetary categories, including housing, insurance, groceries, entertainment, car maintenance, and pet care. Funding each category by maintaining a cash envelope system for each of the before-mentioned items.

For our budget, we utilized the 60/20/20 method, with 60% allocated for essentials, utilities, insurance, and tithing, 20% for short-term and retirement savings, and 20% for personal use including groceries, clothing, and entertainment. While this method worked well for us, do your own research and find a budgeting system that works best for you.

Then, take a season to test your new budget. Preferably before you quit your job. Even if you don’t have to stick to that single salary, pretend as if you do. 

And if your bills are still too high, it’s time to start cutting expenses. For our family, this included replacing our cable service and downsizing to one vehicle at home. 

5. Consider Working From Home

As I mentioned before, the main reason I was able to stay at home with my family is that I continued to work from home from my previous position while building several digital ventures on the side. Including blogging with various digital marketing agencies, freelance writing businesses, and my ETSY shop. All of which helped supplement our total income. Plus, working from home gave me a way to stay active in the business field, just on my own terms.

There are so many opportunities that exist for stay-at-home parents. Whether you find a work-from-home job or start your own business, find what works for you. 

6. Look at your grocery receipts

One of the best ways I found to increase my saving at home when I wanted to transition from work was to streamline my grocery budget.

In the past, I would buy things without a grocery list. Purchasing items because they were new or on sale. There were weeks I was spending $150 or more for essentially little food. Plus we were eating out three times a week beyond that! 

I curtailed this spending by always having a grocery list with me at the store. I also started strictly sticking to a weekly meal planning and meal prep schedule. Which included, without fail, leftovers for lunches and everyone eating what was planned for dinner. Little people and fuzzies included. We also started cooking at home each night and transitioning to a plant-based diet. Saving our family hundreds each month.

I also stopped using all paper and digital coupons and started solely utilizing digital rebate apps, such as iBotta, when grocery shopping. While we don’t buy many processed food options, we still save quite a bit with just that one app. In fact, I generally earn enough on iBotta to fund my family’s 4-Gift Christmas each holiday season at home! I also utilize receipt scanning apps that give us a portion of our food budget back when we scan our current week’s grocery receipts. 

Finally, we started composting our food scraps to help save on Spring gardening costs and transitioning to zero-waste living. Replacing paper towels alone with reusable kitchen towels helped save us over $30.00 each month alone! All measures continue to save us to this day! 

7. Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses

Arguably one of the hardest steps in transitioning to working and staying at home was having to stop trying to keep up with the Joneses.

This included impulse buying. For me, this meant not shopping at Target for over a year. Because for me it was a money trap. Each week I walked through that store saying, “I need this” or “It’s 80% off!” and before you know it, I’d spent $100.00 dollars on non-essentials. Then the next week? I had a standing date to do it all over again. 

Now I only go about twice a year and try to keep the spending there to a minimum. Because let’s face it. I’d buy all the things if left to my own devices. And you know you would too!

Maybe Target isn’t your jam. But I bet there is at least one store in your queue that you spend a ton of money at that you don’t need to. I highly recommend not shopping there as often, when shopping using a cash budget, deleting their store app from your devices, and unsubscribing to their inbox advertisements. Whatever helps you to cut spending in-store!

I also had to get super real with myself. Finding ways to let go of the fear of missing out and letting things go. Including downsizing our home. 

This was a hard thing for us to do. We formed an attachment to our home. Loving our 3,500-square-foot home with its massive mortgage payment to boot. But with working from home, living in that home simply didn’t make sense for us while transitioning to one income at home and working to become debt-free.

We downsized our home to a more affordable 2,500-square-foot home. Allowing us to not only save money but personal time too. With a smaller home to maintain, I reclaimed hours a week previously spent cleaning and maintaining our home each weekend. Giving my husband and me back enough time for a much-needed at-home date night each week! 

All-in-all, no matter if you end up staying home or continuing to work, either away from home or at home, looking over your finances is always the best place to start. 

Because in the end if you are wanting to stay home and your spouse is on the same page, you’ll be able to find a way to make it work. If that’s your dream, there’s a way to make it happen. Now I want to ask, are you a SAHM or WAHM? What helped you be able to stay home financially? Share your story below. And do you know friends who are looking to make this transition, pin this post!

7 Ways You Can Afford To Be a SAHM