Mama's Money Map Podcast

About Mama's Money Map Podcast

Join our community of stay-at-home parents who are striving for financial freedom — while keeping family as their first priority.

Publisher

Jenni Sisson

Category

business · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

30 Aug 2022

Latest episode

2 Mar 2025

Latest episodes

8 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Mar 2025

   007 Can I Afford to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom?

   Stable relationship with your spouse. Track your spending. Reduce your expenses.  (Housing, food, transportation, then extras.) Earn while you’re at home. Calculate expenses you will no longer need. Plan for benefits. Reduce your liabilities. Look into assistance if you qualify. Transcript: Welcome to the Mama's Money Map podcast, the Personal Finance podcast for stay at home moms and families who want to save more, spend less, and invest the rest all while keeping family as their first priority. Today we're gonna talk about the logistics of actually being a stay at home parent, whether you can afford to stay home with your kids. Now, I say the question of can I afford to stay home with my kids quite a lot. I actually just recently had a great conversation with my sister-in-law about this, who's thinking about having kids and. I'll tell you the same thing I told her, which is it may be more doable than you think. I know there's a lot of hubbub on the internet about how much money it takes to raise a kid, and I think the number they came up with is frankly ridiculous. It's like a quarter million dollars and like I know I haven't spent that much raising all my kids, so I know while that may be an average, it's doable for less. If you're willing to change certain things in your life. In my experience, the question isn't can you stay at home with your kids? The question is, are [00:01:00] you willing to change the things in your life to make staying home with your kids possible? Now, I’ll use some extremes to illustrate this, on the one hand. You could live a basically Amish existence. You could live in a log cabin with no running water and no electricity, and it would be really easy financially to stay at home with your kids if you did that. But most people aren't willing to live this way. And on the other hand, there's a lot of people that have higher ticket lifestyles that aren't willing to make certain cuts to stay at home with their kids, and that's their choice. But most of us live somewhere in between. And by adjusting some of these things in your life, you can make staying at home possible if that's a priority for you. And I know having a parent at home during the early years of rearing kids is a big priority for many families. So it's just a matter of what adjustments you're willing to make to have one of the parents stay home. So in this episode, we're gonna cover some of these levers you can pull to make it [00:02:00] more possible for you and explore some ideas that you hadn't thought about changing your budget, changing your lifestyle to make, staying at home more doable. So full disclosure, not all of these are gonna apply to every situation. Some of these will be easy, no-brainers for you. Some of 'em you've already thought of and others may be completely impossible given your situation. So think of these as choices, options, leverage you can pull to make your ship go faster, but you don't have to pull them all. In fact, it was probably impossible that you do pull all of these levers. But combining them will propel you faster. The first one isn't directly related to finances, but it's a foundation you really need to set if you're going to consider staying at home, and that is a stable relationship with your spouse. Now, no, marriage is perfect, but I really don't recommend quitting your job to stay at home if you're in a rough patch with your partner. I know we don't like to talk about this or think about this, [00:03:00] but in the event that things go south in your relationship, the stay at home partner is out of the workforce and without the means to financially support themselves in the event of divorce. And so the premise of having one spouse stay at home is basically that the other is the main economic provider. And so when partners deeply specialize into chief provider and chief caregiver roles, they have to work together or the arrangement just falls apart. So if you're already staying at home, do preventive maintenance on your relationship Go on date nights, even if that's just Netflix after the kids are in bed. We've totally been in that state where date nights are free and that's okay, but make sure you carve out time and space for you and your spouse and maintain that relationship because it's really the foundation on which a lot of your economic structure is built. Other things you can do, send each other cute texts, have deep conversations, go to therapy if you need to. We've benefited from [00:04:00] that on a couple occasions, so we don't always think about maintaining that spousal relationship as having a financial benefit, but you can definitely see when people get divorced and things definitely fall apart, not only emotionally, but also financially that maintaining the relationship. Has a direct financial benefit. Now, in saying this, I'm not suggesting that anyone stay in a, in abusive marriage. Obviously that's the choice for you, but we're talking about things you can do to make it possible to have one person stay at home. The second thing is to track your spending. You can't really know if you can afford to quit your job or reduce hours or stay home until you have a good sense of what you make and what you spend. Some people call this a budget, the dreaded B word. I know we don't like to use that word, but you can call it a spending plan or whatever makes you feel less icky, but in the end. You basically need to have a decent idea of what's coming in and what's going out so you can make adjustments when one of you is staying home, and this usually takes some time, which [00:05:00] is no fun, but you need to see what you're spending over the course of several months to see what are anomalies, what are regular, what's expected, and to see it over the course of a month or two at least, to start making some plans. You can do this in whatever way works for you. I personally, I like the robots to do this work for me. I strongly prefer to use an online tracker. I used Mint for years. RIP Mint, we miss you. But there's a lot of different options out. There's Monarch money every dollar YA , and most of these have a free trial. So you can try 'em on and see which one works for you. If you want a more hands on option. There's always a spreadsheet, whether that's physical or on the computer. I've used those too with some good success. It does involve a lot more hands on time, but it can be just as useful. The next step is to reduce your expenses. This is always your first line of attack when adjusting your finances, and that's not [00:06:00] because frugality is morally superior to making more money, but it's because it's the easiest and the fastest. So you think about it, it's a lot easier to just not buy as much than it is to start a business. Increase your education, find a new job, get a raise, or figure out a different way to make more money. Those are all important. We'll get to those in a minute, but first and foremost, look to things that you can easily cut from your budget. But I don't recommend you go to the lattes and avocado toast. First. I recommend looking at the following categories first, because statistically this is where people spend the most money. And unfortunately, because these are bigger ticket items, these do involve some lifestyle change. Fair warning, not everyone's gonna love what I have to say here, but if you'd rather change one thing about your life than 10 things about your life. To make those necessary cuts or adjustments. These are the things you wanna look at first. Number one's housing. I know I'm getting a [00:07:00] lot of, get a lot of pushback here, but hear me out. This is the largest line item in just about everyone's budget, especially in 2025. If you can find a way to reduce your housing expenses, you may not need to reduce much else. That could mean moving to a lower cost of living area. I spent a lot of my years as a stay at home mom in extremely low cost of living areas. The Texas Panhandle, an Indian reservation in Montana, small towns in Nebraska, New York, and South Dakota. And so those dinky towns were my greatest superpowers in affording to stay at home with my kids. I don't know if I could have done it otherwise. And if moving to a different town isn't in the cards, you can still reduce your costs by downsizing, maybe renting out your garage, or if you're in the market for a home, you can buy a multi-unit home and rent out the other side, so you end up paying less for your mortgage. Some of this might involve getting a little bit creative, but if you can do that, reducing your housing expense will be the biggest [00:08:00] bang for your buck. The second one's food. This is another big lime item, and the beauty of this one is that when you're home or stay at home, you can cook your own meals easier because your hope you'll eat out less because you'll be on the go less, which will naturally reduce your food budget. So stay tuned for the great grocery episode where we'll go over every trick in the book to save money on groceries, but for now, just keep it on your radar that probably the easiest thing to reduce about your food consumption is just not eating out as often. That's an easy one to cut because you can just make meals at home. Or if you really hate cooking, you can just buy freezer meals and use those instead the next easy one to cut is transportation. When only one spouse is working, can you get away with just one car? Can you drop off your spouse at work and use the car when you need it? Or have your spouse take public transit or a carpool to work? If you can get away with just one car, that's another loan insurance payment, maintenance liability, and gas bill that you can [00:09:00] eliminate from your expenses. In configuring your budget. No, you won't need to commute to work every day, so you'll automatically save money on gas by staying home. So the last one we wanna cut is extras. I wouldn't spend a ton of time here unless there's one really glaring category where you spend a ton. If you have a shoe obsession, you're buying shoes every single month, and maybe that's time to dial that back if you wanna stay home with your kids. But unless there's one really standout category. You can probably do the usual cut down on some of your subscriptions and some of your extra spending to save a little bit, but likely that won't give you as much traction as some of the other things that I've already mentioned. Again, this is gonna differ from each family, so definitely run the numbers. That's why one of the first things you wanna do is track your spending to see what you're spending and where, so you know where you can reasonably cut. But likely the occasional trip to the coffee shop or a new book or Amazon Prime subscription isn't [00:10:00] gonna be the difference between you quitting your job and staying home with your kids or not. So just keep that in mind when you're looking at the extras. The next lever to pull is to earn money while you're at home. A lot of stay at home moms still bring in some income, whether that's from a part-time job, a work from home arrangement, a side hustle. Business freelancing or some other moneymaking venture. If your spouse's income isn't quite enough, you can plan something that'll help you fill in the gap. And even if your spouse does make enough to cover all your expenses, having a side hustle has a few benefits. It gives you something to fill the you bucket, not the mom bucket. Since you spend all day filling the mom bucket, it's nice to have something adultish to keep your sense of self and just to keep your brain stimulated. It's also great if you wanna speed track like a debt payoff or build up emergency savings because that feels like extra money that doesn't go to the normal family budget. So that can add some fuel to that fire. [00:11:00] The next thing you wanna do is to plan for benefits. You'll need to make sure you're covered with things like health and life insurance, retirement contributions, and the like. Once you start staying home, if you're slated to lose some of these benefits when you quit your job, see what it would cost to get them independently and check out what your spouse has available in their plans too. Another one is to calculate expenses you will no longer need once you're not working anymore. Some of your expenses will naturally be eliminated when you stay at home. You won't have to fork out money for lunches out, work clothes, gas for the commute, childcare, parking, and quite a few other things. Your budget will help you know exactly how much of a dent it will make, not having to fork out for those things anymore. But know that will be some natural savings you'll receive, especially if you're paying for childcare once you stay at home. The next one is to reduce your liabilities. Eliminate as much debt as you can. I know this is easier said than [00:12:00] done especially when we're all feeling pinch from inflation and stagnant wages. So this is a not fun one, but it does give you more cash to work with. So if you haven't pulled the trigger on stay at home motherhood yet, this is something to strive for and that will definitely make your life easier. It'll be less obligations you'll have to work with. Less money you'll have to come up with every month. If you can reduce some of your debt. The last one I say with a little bit of trepidation, but it's look into assistance if you qualify. So at the time of this recording, a lot of federally funded programs are on the proverbial chopping block. So your mileage may vary depending on when you're listening to this, but if your household income is on the low side, you may qualify for certain government assistant programs like wic. Snap free or reduced lunches for school aged kids, Medicaid chip, and so on. Now, because you're dependent on the whims of politicians for how much [00:13:00] you'll get from these programs and for how long. I wouldn't rely on these. These would be like. Bonus extras. But if it's so slim that you couldn't swing it without these, I would hesitate a little bit just because we really don't know what's gonna happen to these programs. But on the flip side, you should definitely know that they exist and apply if you qualify because that's what they're there for. Okay. So as a recap, some of the levers you can pull to stay home or make that more possible for you is to invest in the stability of the relationship with your spouse. Track your spending, reduce your expenses. Go for the big items first. Earn while you're at home. Calculate expenses you no longer need. Plan for benefits, reduce your liabilities, and look into public assistance if you qualify. What it's really gonna come down to is running as accurate numbers as you can. One thing, if you're really worried about pulling a trigger, you can try to live on just the working spouse's [00:14:00] income and see how far you get stash, the rest of the cash for a couple months and see if that's doable. That'll give you a good practice run without the threat of quitting your job before you're really ready to see if having one partner stay at home would be logistically possible or advisable. So here's a couple other things to keep in mind if you're new to the stay at Home Mom game when making things work financially, these are just some extra tips. Time is your superpower. If you've been in the working world before, you're likely making use of several time saving conveniences, like eating out maybe some grocery delivery or help with cleaning. When you're a stay at home mom, you no longer have the abundance of money you did before, but you do have an abundance of time that you can now use to save money. So there's more time to comparison shop. There's more time to make things at home. There's more time to try sifting through secondhand stores to save money. There's a lot of different things [00:15:00] available to you that now that you have time on your side, you can reduce your expenses in that way. Speaking of secondhand next tip is that secondhand is your BFF. You've heard the kids are why we can't have nice things, and it's so true guys. You should see my couches, but knowing that is. Is helpful because then you can put a pin in having nice things. Kids are hard on everything. Clothes, toys, furniture, walls. If you already have kids, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Plus, if you think about it, the second you use something one time, it's now used. Those mattress in luxury hotels used dinnerware at fine restaurants. Used. So look for secondhand stuff first. I'm always shocked at how many items I find in a thrift store that are new with tags. There's plenty of stores that give their surplus to thrift stores and you can find things that are literally brand new, but [00:16:00] happen to be in a secondhand store. This is a huge thing, especially for baby stuff too. Just wipe it all down with disinfectant and it's good as new. Another tip, don't underestimate the power of your network. I know this is hard for a lot of moms, but don't sleep on this. We need friends. You're gonna need last minute childcare. You're gonna need people who get you or a shoulder to cry on, or at least someone to empathize with you about how tough it is to raise little humans. It's hard, and in this day and age, it can really be hard to make friends as an adult. The key is to find a venue where you have repeated contact with people that you have something in common with. For me personally, I have found other mom friends at the park, at church, the library, and through my kids' school when they got older. But it could be a gym, a class, a book club, like whatever your thing is, fencing, lessons, doesn't matter. Whatever you're into, chances [00:17:00] are you'll find someone else that's into that too. And. If you're blessed enough to have family nearby, so much the better. But really there's gonna be time when family's not an option, and so build out that network to help see you through you're absolutely gonna need it. One other thing to keep in mind is that being a stay at home mom isn't a permanent state of being. I see the question a lot of, what if I get lonely or bored as a stay at home mom? What if I hate it? Valid questions, but I have great news for you. If you don't like it, you can change it. You can always go back to work, even if it's part-time. You can start a business. You aren't stuck. And on the flip side, the phase of staying home with your littles doesn't last forever. A lot of stay at home moms get to the point where their kids are in school, and then they look around and wonder wait. What do I do next? This was totally me, by the way, so realizing that. Being a stay-at-home mom isn't a lifestyle choice. It's a period of [00:18:00] your life with a start date and an end date. So keeping that in mind can also put some of these sacrifices in perspective. Maybe you don't wanna live with, no takeout for the rest of your born days. And I don't blame you. There's a lot of takeout that I love, but if you can. Manage that for a couple of years while you stay at home before your kiddos go to preschool or you have other options available, then maybe that temporary sacrifice is worth it and only you can really add to that question. But keeping that in mind that this isn't a forever thing and the sacrifices and adjustments you make are not forever. Another perspective shift that I've personally found helpful is don't buy into the hype. Your kids don't have to do all the things. You don't need to have all of the baby equipment, all of the coordinating Q clothes. If the question is, can I stay at home [00:19:00] or do my kids have all the things? Like those are some of the easiest things to cut. Your family doesn't have to look the same as every other family and probably won't. These days, it's more typical for both parents to work. So if you want your family to look different, your family will probably look different, and that's okay if it's what you really want. One thing that's really important in all of this is to go back to values that you and your spouse have for your family. Why you're doing what you're doing, and that will guide. Which of these levers to pull, which of these sacrifices and adjustments to make which ones make sense, which ones don't make sense? So you can craft your life around the goals and the values and the priorities that you have. So before you go through all these things with your spouse, take some time [00:20:00] to maybe even write out why you wanna stay at home. Why that's important to you and what kind of family environment you're looking to create, because you don't wanna be frugal just for the sake of being frugal. That's kind of silly. What you do want is to give your kids the experience with their parents and the world around them that's important to you, that will reflect your true values that you're trying to convey to them. I know that this episode can't include all of the different variables that families face, like medical challenges and childcare and the timing of your spouse's work, like shift work and things like that. And I wish it could. But these are all really general. Rules, but hopefully they'll help you in deciding whether to stay at home and if you decide to how you can make the adjustments necessary to have a thriving, awesome life with your [00:21:00] kids in whatever version of stay at home parenting that looks like. If you can't remember all of these, don't worry. I'm gonna put a list in the show notes you can print it out and have it. Thanks so much for joining me today. If you found value from this episode, I encourage you to leave a review on Apple or Spotify or whatever you using to listen to this. It helps me know what episodes landed, what you'd love to hear, what didn't work. So I can talk about more information. That's helpful. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll see y'all later.

2. 

   29 Jan 2025

   006 How to Have Tough Money and Division of Labor Conversations with Your Spouse with Ed Coambs

   Ever wonder how to bring up sticky emotional or financial subjects with your spouse? Talking about money can be hard, especially when stay-at-home spouses and working spouses can see the world, work, and money very differently. In this episode, financial therapist Ed Coambs joins us to explain how couples can approach difficult financial conversations with empathy and understanding. (Amazon links are affiliates) Wheel of Emotions https://amzn.to/3DH7VyP CDFA - Certified divorce financial analyst https://institutedfa.com/find-a-cdfa Ed’s book - The Healthy Love and Money Way https://amzn.to/3ZZuQgn Interested in Financial Therapy? Go to www.healthyloveandmoney.com and set up a free discovery call to see if it’s right for you.

3. 

   16 Feb 2024

   Can Stay-at-Home Moms Contribute to a Retirement Account? Spousal IRAs and Solo 401(k)s

   Sean Mullaney is an advice-only financial planner and the President of Mullaney Financial & Tax, Inc. Sean writes the Plutus Award winning blog FITaxGuy.com on tax and financial independence. He also has a personal finance YouTube channel and published Solo 401(k): The Solopreneur's Retirement Account, a book about his favorite retirement account, in 2022. The discussion is intended to be for general educational purposes and is not tax, legal, or investment advice for any individual. Jenni and Mama's Money Map do not endorse Sean Mullaney, Mullaney Financial & Tax, Inc. and their services. Show Notes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IRS info on IRA limits and deductions: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-ira-contribution-limits SEP IRA versus Solo 401(k): https://fitaxguy.com/sep-ira-versus-solo-401k/ My view on 529s: https://fitaxguy.com/a-critical-look-at-the-529/ Get Sean's book Solo 401(k): The Solopreneur's Retirement Account Sean's Resources: Mullaney Financial and Tax Inc. (https://www.mullaneyfinancial.com/) FITaxGuy Blog (https://fitaxguy.com/) Sean Mullaney Videos (https://www.youtube.com/@SeanMullaneyVideos)

4. 

   26 Jan 2024

   005 Retirement Accounts 101 - Understanding the Differences Between a Traditional IRA, Roth, 401k, and HSA

   In this episode, Retirement 101, we demystify the complexities of retirement accounts, covering the most common types: Traditional and Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). While we can't cover every retirement account in detail, we focus on the main options most families are likely to encounter. From contribution limits and tax implications to withdrawal rules and more, we break down each retirement account's key features to help you make informed decisions about your financial future. Whether you're just starting to plan for retirement or fine-tuning your existing strategy, this episode offers valuable insights to guide your journey. Disclaimer: This episode provides educational content about how retirement accounts work and is not financial advice. For comprehensive information, consult your retirement account provider, HR department, or the IRS website. Handy-Dandy Retirement Account Comparison Charts SHOW NOTES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IRS info on Traditional IRA tax deduction limits: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/2023-ira-deduction-limits-effect-of-modified-agi-on-deduction-if-you-are-covered-by-a-retirement-plan-at-work General IRS info on Traditional IRAs: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/traditional-iras Roth IRA contribution limits: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/amount-of-roth-ira-contributions-that-you-can-make-for-2023 General IRS info on Roth IRAs: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/roth-iras General IRS info on 401(k)s: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/401k-plans List of reimbursable purchases with HSA:https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf General IRS info on HSAs: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p969

5. 

   13 May 2023

   003 How to Save Money on Medical Bills with Marshall Allen

   Have you ever opened a medical bill and been shocked at the crazy-high price you're expected to pay? If you're feeling burdened by heavy healthcare costs, this episode is for you. In this episode, I interview Marshall Allen, award-winning investigative journalist, author, and crusader against unfair medical costs. He shares a number of strategies you can use to reduce or eliminate medical bills. Using these tips and tricks, I was able to save over $7,000 on my medical bills in one year! ~~~~~~~~~ Show Notes ~~~~~~~~~ U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Check these recommendations to see if your “just in case” care is really necessary. The charity Dollar For (http://www.dollarfor.org) helps people eliminate medical debt by advocating on their behalf. Subscribe to Marshall’s newsletter with updates, victory stores, and more tips for fighting high healthcare costs at MarshallAllen.substack.org. It’s free to subscribe, but if you can choose to pay for the subscription, all proceeds go to helping those in need combat crushing medical costs. (Check out Marshall’s write-up of my story here!) Not sure whether the price you’re being charged is fair? Check: Fairhealthconsumer.org Healthcarebluebook.org Uniform Commercial Code - search for “Open Price Term” This is the legal framework that U.S. commerce operates under. For more great content on navigating the healthcare billing system, check out Allen Health Academy. This program equips and empowers employers and working Americans to dramatically lower their health care costs. To check out more of Marshall’s book Never Pay the First Bill and victory stories of people like you saving hundreds on healthcare, go to MarshallAllen.com. Advoconnection.com (https://profile.advoconnection.com/) provides a directory of patient advocates — people who can help you fight unjust medical costs.

6. 

   8 Apr 2023

   000 The WHY Behind the Mama's Money Map Podcast

   A short intro to why I started the Mama's Money Map podcast. The personal finance game runs differently when it's on multiplayer mode with a single main income and more than one or two kids. For all the stay-at-home moms who want to learn how to make more, spend less, and invest the rest while keeping family as their first priority, this podcast is for you!

7. 

   4 Sept 2022

   002 How to Teach Kids and Teens to Handle Money with Rachel Murphy

   As parents, we all want to help our kids avoid the same financial mistakes we've made. But finding the time—and a teaching method that sticks—presents a big challenge. In this episode, we welcome Rachel Murphy to the podcast who is an expert in practical ways to teach kids and teens to handle money. Listen to learn how to start turning over the management of your kids' finances to them, and how this can open the door to increased responsibility and good financial habits in your child or teen. Show Notes Find Rachel at: www.raisingconfidentteens.com https://www.facebook.com/groups/1140701142975470 https://www.instagram.com/raisingconfidentteens/ Get a Free Spending Tracker at: www.rachelmurphycoaching.com/mamas Article on Effective Financial Literacy Programs: https://www.igradfinancialwellness.com/blog/how-do-we-make-financial-literacy-education-more-effective

8. 

   30 Aug 2022

   001 Hobby Turned Side Hustle with Natalie Pratt

   Show Notes/Resources Legal Zoom - Start a Business Package https://www.legalzoom.com/marketing/business-formation/category?kid=_k_Cj0KCQjw9ZGYBhCEARIsAEUXITXEIbYrAlsomrvxpQK-FyaOBUxXbBajjIDDJjlQXqGjwts8wyLQ1N0aAuZ8EALw_wcB_k_&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=legalzoom%20start%20a%20business&utm_content=555249735359&utm_campaign=Brand%20|%20SMB%20|%20Exact&kpid=go_964378701_119287618271_555249735359_kwd-544283428462_c&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9ZGYBhCEARIsAEUXITXEIbYrAlsomrvxpQK-FyaOBUxXbBajjIDDJjlQXqGjwts8wyLQ1N0aAuZ8EALw_wcB Russel Brunson - Find out the who, not the how https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF5VoxpB2GA Instagram @ginger_quilter www.gingerquilterbox.com (http://www.gingerquilterbox.om) natalie@thegingerquilter.com

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.0 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

32

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

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