Mommy Talk Show Candid Conversation with a TV Mom
This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks and Prudential.
One of the newest conversations around our house is about me going back to work, in at least a part-time capacity. I have experience teaching journalism classes as an adjunct professor. I’ve also done some freelance marketing and video work for Atlanta companies. I also love to speak to groups about social media and growing an online presence, based on what I’ve learned from working as an influencer for the last eight years.
Family Goals
Our immediate goal is to increase our family’s income now that our seven-year-old son is in school full-time, loves Cub Scouts and learning activities that come with additional costs.
I’m also concerned about my retirement savings.
After working as a freelancer and a blogger for the last eight years, I’ve missed out on the opportunity to have an employer match my retirement savings. I’m not alone in this challenge. Any parent who takes a break from full-time employment or who takes a salary cut to work part-time needs to consider how these decisions affect our retirement in the future.
Income & Savings Gaps
According to the 2016 Social Security Administration Report “Fast Facts and Figures About Social Security,” a woman’s Social Security benefits are more than 25% lower than their male colleagues.
As of December 31, 2015 the Prudential Retirement analysis displaying defined contribution plan balances reveals, on average, women have lower retirement balances than men. In fact, they’re 30% lower.
Talk back to me in the comments:
Are these statistics surprising to you? How can women make decisions to balance things out? What types of questions do you think I should ask a future employer about its retirement benefits?
One thing that may help me as far as Social Security benefits is that I’ve been working since I turned 13. I remember the day I got a working permit to work at our local McDonald’s for the summer of eighth grade. It ended up being a four-year part-time gig. But although I have a long working history for my age, I’ve missed out on the last 8 years of earning a higher income and getting a percentage match to my 401(k) from an employer.
I invite you to follow along my journey. I just made an appointment for my husband and I to speak with Aiming Allen, a Prudential Financial Professional. I’d like to go over our family’s insurance and investments, talk about building back my retirement saving after leaving the workforce full-time, as well as planning for A.J.’s college costs.
I can’t believe how fast he’s growing. What happened to our baby who couldn’t walk or talk? Now he’s doing multiplication problems in his head and asking to go live on the Mommy Talk Show Facebook page to talk about his favorite places to visit in Atlanta.
Don’t worry. This visit with a Prudential Financial Professional isn’t all about my family and myself. I plan to ask about the strategies work at home/stay at home moms use to lessen the gap between wages and retirement savings. I’ll share them with you here on the show. Also, keep your eye on the Mommy Talk Show Facebook page for a live conversation with a Prudential Financial Professional.
Until then, click here to learn more about how a Prudential Financial Professional can answer your most important financial questions. You can also follow the #OwnMyFuture hashtag for helpful information from Prudential and female influencers, like me, who are sharing what we’ve learned about planning for our future.”
My husband is in charge of our retirement savings and he is doing a good job – despite the fact that he’s the only one saving for it 🙂
I work from home and don’t have a 401k and save on my own. I depend on my husband to invest for us and he does a good job but I need to .more for myself
There is definitely a gap when you start working for yourself. You don’t have the 401K anymore. You don’t have employer matching. It’s a different ballgame.
I try to keep up with what is happening with our finances. My husband definitely does a lot of it though, I could be more involved.
I can’t believe a woman’s savings is that much lower! I just had my second baby, and I have been working from home. So our savings and retirement has been on my mind a lot. I can’t wait to hear your tips and strategies!
I so need to plan more for my retirement. When I was in corporate I had a 401k and I know I need to still add to it!
You’re so right about this financial fact when it comes to working at home, we definitely need to find a similar plan or a financial plan that will allow us to save for our retirement. I think it’s great that you had time to discuss this with professionals.
It’s sad that we are 30% lower in savings than in men. I have also felt the hit of my retirement savings since becoming a work at home mom 10 years ago. Thankfully, my husband has a nice nest egg built up, but it would make me feel a lot better if I could contribute more to it.
Working at home has its own perks and setbacks. But no worries for me because I made sure that I invest my earnings and save for retirement. Maybe the only difference is that I started working from home when two of my kids were already done with college. I had more financial freedom. I only have one more child in college and he’s into his last semester.
I was concerned about this until about 15 years ago. So in my 20s there was no money and I was a contract worker for a ;lot of that time. Then I was also sick for several years with a chronic disease that wa at times acute and I spent a lot of time in hospital. No time to save for retirement then. Thankfully though since hitting 35 I have done a LOT more to invest. These are great tips. It is much harder when you freelance or work from home or hustle for a living to save and invest in retirement savings then. But I have made it a goal because I need it for my business and for my future too. It’s not optional. Also here in Canada we get a tax break/incentive to save money for retirement. So I do because also as a self employed business owner I need all the tax breaks./
This was really inspiring to read. My husband works from home/owns a business and I’ve thought about making the jump to full time blogger but I’ve been kind of nervous. This was a great read!
I’m so glad you are talking about this. This is something I don’t hear addressed much in the WAHM world and we all really need the resources to figure it out. Can’t wait to hear some solutions to implement. Thanks for starting this conversation.