8 ways for working moms to make time for financial planning

Working full-time and taking care of your kids isn’t always easy and it certainly doesn’t leave you a lot of time, especially when it comes to navigating finances. Here are a few tips to help you manage your money even when you have limited time. 

1. Set up auto-pay

Automated bill payments can make your life easier by ensuring your money is going to the right places. Along with convenience, automated bill payments prevent late charges and save you from having to remember details, like when a bill is due. Choosing to automate payments can also help reduce the stress that comes from worrying about whether or not you've paid a bill, or wondering where you put your latest credit card statement.

2. Plan out your week

Budgeting your time is very difficult. As a working Mom, you need to be your manager. That’s where planning comes in. Creating a schedule that outlines your activities will help you to maximize your time, prioritize your tasks and help focus on what matters most. To stay on track, spend some time figuring out what you need to accomplish financially each week. Focus on items that are time-sensitive first and determine the best way to complete necessary tasks. Time blocking, which allocates a specific chunk of time each day to a task, is a good way to accomplish this. Remember to include a time block for planning out your upcoming week! Write out a simple list or create a spreadsheet to get the ball rolling.

3. Use a calendar

A good way to make sure you stay on top of all your finances when you’re busy is to add them to your calendar like you would a doctor’s appointment or family visit. Bill due dates, savings deposits, and paydays are just some examples of what can be included. Google Calendar is a great app to schedule tasks, receive reminders, and keep track of your tasks daily.

4. Plan Family Meals in Advance

When you’re pressed for time, you may find it hard to get everything done, especially financial planning. As a Mom, one of the things that may take a lot of your time is making meals for your family. When you have some breathing room on the weekends, try and do some upfront work like meal planning and prepping. By creating a menu of meals ahead of time, you’ll have more time for other things during the busy work week. Some people plan meals a month in advance, others do a week or a couple of days in advance. You should adopt whatever time frame works best for you. To create a meal plan:

• Search for recipes by browsing blogs and cooking websites for recipes that sound delicious and are easy to make.
• Save recipes by jotting them down, bookmarking pages online, or printing them
• Keep a journal of recipes you enjoyed cooking (and eating!) as a way to remember your favorites.
• Create a calendar for what you’d like to cook over the next few days, week, or month. 

Not only is meal planning and prepping a great way to alleviate stress during the week, but it’s something that your kids can help you with. Even if they just perform small, safe tasks to start, it can be a world of help.

5. Use personal time for money tasks

Consider taking a personal day off to look over your finances, revamp your budget, schedule reminders and take care of other money tasks. Spending the time to review your finances will help you get your footing now and make it easier to navigate in the future. It will also end up saving you a lot of hassle and anxiety down the road.

6. Download a financial app

If you want to make reviewing your finances simpler, there are a variety of personal finance tools to choose from. Budgeting apps make it easy to see how much you're spending and they allow you to check-in at any time from virtually anywhere. Many applications are designed for general personal budgeting, but each app may offer you something else, such as the ability to track your bills, a complete money management system, or even alerts when you are close to overspending. Budgeting apps allow you to gather all of your accounts and bills in one place so you can conveniently manage your finances from one dashboard and easily create budgets.

7. Talk to a financial professional

A financial professional can assist you with financial planning and offer help with simplifying it for a busy lifestyle. To find the right financial professional who fits your needs, submit your information through the North American Company for Life and Health Insurance® find an agent page.

8. Make time for yourself

While it’s important to make sure your money is in order, you also have to make sure you have the energy to devote to financial planning and all your other tasks. Make sure you hit the pause button and take time for yourself once in a while. You can schedule it, or ask for help from your family and friends. Refreshing and recharging will give you the boost you need to stay on top of your busy life and you deserve it! 

Google is an independent third-party company and is not affiliated with North American Company for Life and Health Insurance.

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