Being a working parent is the ultimate balancing act. We’re always on the go – we try our best to raise our kids well, meet our deadlines at work, and take care of our household. All while handling our finances to the best of our abilities, which let’s face it – can be a huge headache.
We mentally spend our paycheck the minute it drops into our bank account. Sometimes even before. When working full-time or at reduced hours with a company, you’re bound to have a set payday at the end of every month. Being self-employed, I lack that structure. I’ll be honest. At first it was extremely difficult to manage my comings and goings. I get paid whenever I issue an invoice and when you’re on your own, you’ll often find yourself following up on late payments. So until I created a system that worked and fell into a routine, it wasn’t all plain sailing.
Then, four years ago, our family grew, and like countless mums before me, I learned to parent 24/7 while keeping the work flowing through sleepless nights (and days). Although I planned for this change way ahead of time, it proved to be much more difficult than I envisioned. In the meantime, I
had already reduced my working hours to almost half and found myself going back to the drawing board find a work-life balance.
As a rule, I keep my business and personal finances separate. Throughout the years, being self-employed helped me learn how to best track my spendings and expenses and not just for my business. So this is what I usually do at the end of each month. First, I create a priority list. I set a
monthly budget and determine my fixed expenses to make sure I have enough money set aside to cover:
- Insurances (car, home, personal)
- Home Loan
- Utilities (Water, electricity, internet)
And separately, for my work, I also set aside a portion of my income to cover taxes and social security contributions payments. Next, I take into consideration other necessary (family) expenses that may vary from time to time. We can’t overlook the fact that a trip to the supermarket is costing
us more than it did just last year or how kids seem to outgrow their clothes every other month! So I tend to give these kind of expenses a little leeway because they’re absolutely necessary and they tend to fluctuate:
- Groceries
- Car Fuel
- Kids clothes & education-related
I have also found 3 ways to reduce the cost a little by:
- Shopping smart: I look around for discounts when grocery shopping and even switch to
generic brands. - Planning meals: We go to the supermarket with a meal plan for the rest of the week in mind
and base the list on those meals. - Cutting on extra expenses: If things are a little tight, the first things to go are: eating out,
ordering in and unsubscribing to services I can do without.
Every month, I also like to set aside some funds in our family’s rainy-day account just in case something unexpected comes up like a medical emergency or an unplanned appliance repair. Which most likely happens when you least expect it.
It sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? And perhaps a little complicated. But that’s only until you get used to mapping out your expenses. Start simple – start with a list, put your pen to paper, and prioritize your expenses. What is crucial? What can you live without? And before you know it, you’re a pro at
managing your finances.