Ready to Build a Financial Plan You Can Live With?
Join Family Finance Moms everywhere, as you take back control of your family's finances, one week at a time.
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.
Family Finance Favorites
10+ Elements to Build A Successful Family Finance Plan
We talk about all sorts of different financial literacy topics here at Family Finance Mom. And sometimes, the amount of information out there to absorb and retain can be completely overwhelming. So this year, for Financial Literacy Month, I decided to create a checklist for you to follow to help you build a successful family…
Read More
Awesome Finance Books Every Woman Should Read
The most successful people in the world all have one thing in common: they never stop reading. Having previously shared what I consider the best books about finance, many of you expressed interest in reading and discussing them together, as well as having regular recommendations on finance books to read. And so last year, the…
Read More
5 Factors Driving Higher Inflation & What You Should Do to Prepare
For the last month or so, as the stock market rally has faltered, and longer-term interest rates have increased by more than 50% since the start of the year, the concerns and whispers from the market over higher inflation have grown louder and louder. So what exactly is inflation? Why are people suddenly more worried…
Read More
How to Calculate How Much House I Can Actually Afford
First time homebuyers, and even experienced homebuyers who may be buying in a new area or buying into a higher price point, often ask me how much house they can really afford or how much of their income their mortgage should be. The key to answering these questions is understanding that the total cost of…
Read More
Your Top 10 Income Tax Questions and Answers
This time of year, most families’ biggest financial concern is filing income taxes. In 2018, a brand new tax bill took effect and brought in sweeping changes to many family’s personal income taxes and lots of questions with it. A year later, I’m still getting lots of inquiries about it, so this week, I’ve put…
Read More
Your Average Family Budget Breakdown FAQs
When I first published the example of a family budget based on the Consumer Expenditure Survey data, I knew there would be questions, requests to dig into various parts of the data more, and the need for clarifications. Here are the questions I’ve been asked most often about the average family budget breakdown, and the…
Read More
Where Should You Keep An Emergency Fund?
The first major step on the Family Finance Road Map to free yourself from credit cards and adding to your debt is to build an Emergency Fund. But where to keep that emergency fund is this week’s follower Ask Me Anything topic. Every day, I get lots of great questions from followers across social media,…
Read More
How to Shop at Aldi
Learn the ins and outs of how to shop at ALDI, the international discount grocery chain, to save money on your family’s grocery bill. When it comes to budgeting, many families single biggest struggle is grocery spending. You try to save money by meal planning, you make lists, you try to eat in instead of…
Read More
How Much Money Should I Save for Retirement
Once your budget is under control, the next most common question I get is “How much should I save for retirement?” Our retirement plan is likely to look a lot different than it did for our grandparents, and even our parents… and most of us aren’t saving nearly enough!
Read More
3 Ways Diversification in Investing Reduces Your Risk
The next element to cover in our Investing for Beginners series is Diversification in Investing. Diversification is magical, helping to reduce the overall risk, or volatility in your investment portfolio, without necessarily giving up significant returns. Think of it as smoothing your portfolio performance over time. Read on to learn what diversification is, how it…
Read More
Market for the Week 3-15-2021
The S&P 500 closed on Friday at a new all-time high, now up 5.0% year-to-date, while long-term Treasury yield continued to rise, and have now returned to pre-pandemic levels. Inflation data for February came out on Wednesday. And Thursday, President Biden officially signed the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill into law. Read on for more of…
Read More
Weekly Market News 3-08-2021
Last week, the market was down more than 1% through Thursday, before rallying on Friday on at least strong headline numbers from the February Employment Report to end the week up 0.8%. Bond yields continued to rise, and mortgage rates crossed 3%, their highest level since last summer. The Senate also passed the $1.9 trillion…
Read More
20 High School Seniors Ask: How to Prepare for College Financially
I remember my college search process, the campus visits, and final choice like it was yesterday… my thought process went something likes this: I deserve to go anywhere that accepts me. Cost barely registered in my decision-making – and certainly not because my parents could afford it. My mom just kept telling me “we would…
Read More
My 10 Favorite Money Books for Kids
After sharing my 20+ Favorite Finance Books for YOU… I got lots of requests to share a similar list of money books for kids. So I teamed up with my friend Lauren at Happily Ever Elephants to share just that! As the child of a kindergarten teacher, I grew up in a house full of…
Read More
4 Simple Money Lessons All Kids Should Know
This is a sponsored post on behalf of BusyKid.com. As always, opinions remain 100% my own. Read on to learn how these basic money lessons are the perfect introduction to finance for kids at any age, and how the BusyKid app can help you successfully implement them all! Birthdays. Christmas. Back to School. Weekly errands.…
Read More
Lazy Mom’s Quick and Easy Shepherd’s Pie
One of my favorite, go-to meal plan ideas for Fall and Winter is Shepherd’s Pie… but seriously, who has time to cook the filling, make mashed potatoes, put it all together, and then, bake it all over again??? Here’s how I make all the same flavors happen in 30 minutes or less for a quick…
Read More
10 Best Things to Buy At Costco
When it comes to saving money on groceries, I swear by two things: meal planning and Costco! For families, you can save tremendously on your grocery budget by buying right and buying in bulk… and there’s no better place to do it than Costco. Just before the holidays, I asked my Instagram followers what are…
Read More
How to Save Money At the Grocery Store
When it comes to budgeting, many families struggle with sticking to their food budget every month. There are lots of ways to lower your monthly grocery spend: you can save money on groceries by meal planning, eating in instead of eating out, but you can also learn how to save money at the grocery store…
Read More
Budgeting Your Time to Maximize Your Mom Schedule
If you’re a busy mom who feels like your days are passing in a blur, while your to-do list grows faster than you can ever seem to keep up with, this one’s for you. While it may seem as a stay at home mom in particular, you should have all the time in the world,…
Read More
How to Protect Your Children: 10 Things to Know About Will vs Estate Planning
No one likes to think about their own mortality. However, once you have children who depend on you, it becomes essential. If something happens to you, what will happen to them? How do you make sure they are protected and financially provided for? I was recently asked about wills during a weekly Ask Me Anything…
Read More
The Ultimate Guide to Finance for Baby’s First Year
Congratulations, your precious baby is finally here. Now the real fun begins! While you may have purchased everything on your baby registry list, there are many family legal and financial tasks you cannot actually begin until your baby arrives, and some come with significant time sensitivity. So even if you’ve been preparing for a baby financially…
Read More