There’s nothing like becoming a parent to get you thinking about your financial future and the life you want to create as a family. But as well as all the juggling you’re already doing with your children, you may also be concerned about getting by on one salary, going back to work, managing your money to allow you to meet your goals and saving for your child’s education.  And when you get overwhelmed by these worries – and most moms do – you tend to put them on the backburner to focus on when you’re less tired, have more time, or have more money…

Fortunately, there are some simple and practical ways to make sure you are doing the best you can with your family finances.  Here are a few tips and resources to get you started:

1. Make sure you are on the same page as your spouse about your life goals and financial priorities – what do you want your life and lifestyle to look like?
2. Set aside a dedicated time to have financial conversations with your spouse to review and to stay on track with your goals.
3. Review your cash inflows and outflows – Having children likely means more expenses and possibly less income due to mat leave or reduce work week.  Use our Spending and Savings Plan worksheet to make sure you are living within your means.
4. Stay out of lifestyle debt – cash flow might be tight, and those baby clothes are oh, so cute, but avoid the temptation to use your credit card or line of credit for discretionary purchases or unnecessary splurges.
5. Set up a monthly saving plan for your children’s education and take advantage of the available government grants.  We prefer RESPs to Group Savings Plans. An easy way to start is to use the Universal Child Care credit of $100 per month you receive from the government for children under age six.
6. Don’t neglect your financial future – set up monthly savings for your goals – home ownership, retirement, etc. even if it’s a very small amount – it will help energize and keep your attention on what’s important to you.
7. Make sure you are taking advantage of all child care deductions & tax credits. For example, you can claim for daycare, nannies, summer camp, before/after school programs. The child fitness tax credit alone allows up to $500 per child for qualifying fitness programs. Statistics show that many Canadians do not take advantage of these programs. Do a little homework to find out what you might be missing out on.
8. Talk to your kids about money early – and often. Many of us say we never learned about money when we were young, so this is your chance to break the cycle. Consider giving your children an allowance so they can start to learn about money.

Ready to get your family finances under control?  Join our Moms & Money workshop on Thursday April 8th so you can stop stressing about money and start enjoying your family! For more information on teaching your kids about money check out 4 Quarters Financial Literacy Inc. – our guest speakers at our upcoming Moms & Money workshop,

You you can listen to Karin’s new “Let’s Talk Money Show” featuring Brent Dobson from Moonjar Canada.