Four Tips That Breadwinning Moms Would Find Helpful When It Comes to Their Finances
Breadwinning moms are becoming more and more common nowadays. In fact, this happens in about 40% of households in the United States according to research. Gone were the days that families were just relying on the fathers to provide for them. Many families now have both the parents working and sometimes, the moms bring home more money than their spouse. Some breadwinning moms could also find it difficult as they might experience challenges like a conflict with their husband who may not feel comfortable not being the primary provider. Here are financial tips that breadwinning moms would find helpful.
Accept the Situation
Not all moms embrace the situation that they are the primary provider of the family. Some prefer not to have that responsibility and wish that their spouse would be the main provider. According to research, those who do not accept their situation are less satisfied with their lives than those who embrace it. If you’re one of the moms who are still not happy with the situation that you’re in, it’s time to start learning how to accept the situation, while your spouse is looking for a job to help you with the finances, that is if he’s unemployed. Nevertheless, the bottom line is, you need to embrace whatever situation you’re in right now so you would be more satisfied and you could focus on what needs to be done. What’s most important is that you could provide for the needs of the family.
Talk to Your Husband About It
Many husbands do not feel good that their wives are the ones earning, or if they are both working, the ones taking home more money. It’s important that you and your husband settle this issue once and for all. It’s normal that your husband might feel insecure at first that you are the main provider, but let them know that you have the same respect and it doesn’t really matter who’s earning more. What’s important is that both of you are working to provide for your family.
Decide On Your Finances Together
Even if you’re bringing home more money than your husband, this doesn’t mean that you’re the only one who should handle all financial matters. You should still discuss it and make decisions together. This should be the way even if the tables turn and it happens that your husband is taking home more money than you. Husbands and wives should budget and work on their finances together. This would prevent financial issues in the family, thus having a more harmonious relationship.
Hire a Helper at Home
Many working moms spend long hours of work in the office. When they get home, they still need to take care of the kids and the household chores. This is also true on their days off. It could be very tiring and this might affect your quality time with your family. Instead of doing everything by yourself, why not hire a helper who would do the laundry and clean the house for you? It doesn’t need to be every day as this could be done once a week. With this, you’ll be able to rest, which you need to keep healthy and at the same time, enjoy your free time with your spouse and kids.
As a working mom, you may not always be there on special events for your kids. Explain the situation to them and don’t be hard on yourself too since you’re doing this to give them a good life.
Photo Attribution:
Featured and 1st image by shopware AG [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
2nd image by Sanekmoskow (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons