By Ana Clara Otoni
Being a new Mom is an adventure full of challenges. A woman’s body is under different changes to accommodate the growing baby. Lower back pain, sciatica, leg cramps, and constipation are just some of the common complaints pregnant women face. On top of the physical discomfort, most pregnant women deal with stress, insecurities, and financial fear.
Dawnette Palmore, a mother of four and a patient at Back To Care Chiropractic, remembers all the struggles of being a new mother. In her case, the pain came with additional stresses: she was 17, planned her pregnancy and but had no job. Her boyfriend at the time, was barely working and they had to live with his parents for a while. Years later she met her “knight” and they married.
“Throughout our financial struggles, my husband and I realized that we needed to do something. He was in the auto industry since a very young age, and we had an opportunity to start an appraisal company. I would take care of the books and he would deal with everything else. We were making good money, but at the same time, we had none because we weren’t saving anything”, remembers Dawnette, who is now a Financial Coach and Founder of Proverbs Financial Coaching.
Dawnette jokes that “they made all the mistakes they could”. They bought a house without being ready for it, they refinanced their house and took money out to buy another house and that didn’t work well either. “We refinanced again to upgrade the house and ended up in an interest-only loan. We didn’t have our priorities straight. One of our other biggest mistakes was to use credit cards as an emergency fund and not paying off”, says Dawnette.
The best solution she found was to start with “baby steps” towards her financial health. “I confessed that I felt overwhelmed. I had no idea what to do first. When I found out about these baby steps they’ve become my financial principles. The first thing was to set my priorities”, comments Dawnette.
According to the financial coach, most people get scared just by the idea of starting their financial planning. “The best way to overcome this fear is to actually face it”, says Dawnette.
Understand what you are doing. Where is your money going?
Print out your financial statement from the bank and make notes of where your money is going to. “Once we know where we are spending and overspending, we can make changes”, explains Dawnette.
Create a budget – How to do it?
Write down all your list of expenses and set an amount to each item you need to spend money in. “You are defining where your money is going, instead of wondering where did it go?”
Use cash envelopes – Why should I do that?
When you use cash your relationship with money changes. We activate pain receptions in our brain when are swiping our cards we are pretty much brain dead. Use cash for items that you tend to overspend, whether is personal care, groceries, clothing. Set an amount for that category, put the money in an envelope and only spend that amount.
GETTING INVOLVED WITH YOUR FAMILY FINANCES
These three steps are just the start when organizing your financial life. According to Dawnette, control of your finances is also about getting involved with your family finance. Only about 40% of boomer-age married women believe they are the most financially savvy member of their family, according to the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) research.
“I recommend talking to your partner, doing your research online, and talking to a professional when it comes to money”, says Dawnette.
When you get these three steps straight it will be time to take action. If money is still short, even after budgeting, it might be the case to consider a side hustle. “There are many options nowadays that can accommodate a new mom’s routine. It’s just a matter of finding what fits better with your lifestyle whether selling a product or service or even starting a blog”, suggests the Financial Coach.
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE OR TOO EARLY TO LEARN ABOUT PERSONAL FINANCE
Just like chiropractic care, personal finance can be addressed from children and adults. In her 20+ years of experience with personal finances, Dawnette says it’s common to mothers and fathers struggling with their personal finance to have a pessimistic view of their children’s financial future. “The good news is that there’s hope. You can start setting your priorities and encouraging your children with a reward system. For example, when they pick up their toys or do their duties. It’s important to find out what their motivation, it might be lunch with Mom, a sports event with Dad”, notes Dawnette.