Wednesday, September 25, 2013

How Moms Manage Family Finances

I am not sure exactly how it happened, but somehow I ended up being the one to take charge of our finances. I pay all of the monthly bills, make sure to transfer money from our main account to our savings accounts and the children's accounts. I always make sure that there is enough in the chequing account to cover any of our automatic withdrawals (mortgage, insurance etc) and check balances on credit cards to make sure that none of our accounts have been compromised.

It’s really common for unexpected expenses to pop up (and often at the WORST times), but not all families have the ability to save for them in advance. Being a SAHM our finances are tight –we recently were faced with a large car repair that was a surprise; luckily, due to my money management, we had the money to cover the bill (although it meant dipping into our DisneyWorld savings); many people look at loans as an option when sudden costs come up which they weren't prepared for (this could be due to a job loss, or a large home repair bill that cannot wait).

As a natural spender, it definitely took me some time to get into the habit of saving; I had to be really strict with myself.  The first thing I did was to set a goal for our savings, and I dedicated 2 accounts to this savings.  Halifax bank has some good deals if you are in the market for a new financial product.  One account was for DisneyWorld, and the other was for long term savings.  Every week, I transfer over 10% of my husband’s paycheque to our long term savings, but our Disney savings has to come from other places.


I have a container on my fridge, and I put extra change into it – when it gets full, I roll the money, cash it in at the bank and deposit it to our Disney account.  When the boys have outgrown toys, I sell them (either online or through a consignment store) and the money goes into the dedicated Disney account.  There are many ways for you to start saving, and if you are looking for ideas this article has some great tips.

8 comments:

  1. Thank you for the information on Halifax Bank. I agree 100% that unexpected expenses come up every time you turn around, and always at the Worst time. Thanks for the review.

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  2. I work full time and my husband stays at home so we have limited income too (and just bought a house) but I manage the money and thankfully I made sure we had enough savings set aside for all the little and big (shed) things we have bought for the house the last month. I also make sure for yearly bills that I set aside the money each month for these things.

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    1. Those large bills can be difficult - great idea to save monthly for them!

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  3. we used dave ramsey's financial freedom course to help us with our finances

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  4. Great tips to think about! It doesn't hurt to save extra money in case later on, you need money for bills or something because something like a medical emergency cropped up. I love the idea of a special Disney fund :) It makes it a lot easier to save when you have a goal.

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    1. so much easier with a goal in mind! Thanks for stopping by

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