Smart Money Mamas Show

#052: In today’s episode, I’m talking with Sarah Li-Cain, finance writer and host of the podcast, Beyond the Dollar. Sarah’s approach to personal finance - blending practical tips and mindset strategies - has led her to become the breadwinner of her family. So for today’s topic, we’re going to discuss why there are still taboos about breadwinning moms, how Sarah’s career grew to take her from teacher to stay-at-home mom to breadwinner, and why she wants more moms to feel confident becoming and being a breadwinner at home. 

(01:56) Sarah’s journey to becoming a breadwinning mom  

(13:57) How we can be better at owning our earning power and not be afraid to be proud of what we’re earning   

(19:46) How childcare and housework has shifted for Sarah’s family since she started earning so much more  

(27:45) How Sarah went from frugal DIYer to paying for value over price 

(32:03) How Sarah became a freelance writer by accident   

(46:40) Chelsea’s Top Takeaways 

Looking for more information, mama? Visit the show notes at  https://www.smartmoneymamas.com/sarah

Free 200+ Home Business Ideas: https://smartmoneymamas.com/home-biz-ideas/ 

#051: In today’s episode, we’re covering a topic that we’ve all been guilty of—emotional spending—and 5 strategies that will help you reduce emotional spending and prevent it from happening in the future. We’ll take a deep dive into the difference between emotional spending and mental health spending, learn how to identify your spending triggers, and most importantly, how to create a plan to crush emotional spending for good. 

(01:46) Strategy 1: How to know the difference between emotional spending and mental health spending 

(05:22) Strategy 2: How to identify your emotional spending triggers  

(10:03) Strategy 3: How to re-route your emotional triggers 

(18:01) Strategy 4: How to create a plan for your impulse spending  

(19:36) Strategy 5: How to keep your goals and values front and center 

Looking for more information, mama? Visit the show notes at https://www.smartmoneymamas.com/51     

Family Money Values Template:  

#050: In today’s episode, we’re talking to Candice Latham, who has built a personal brand that helps people be the hero in their finances, get out of debt, and build wealth. Candice also used her skills from her 9-5 agency job to start her own design business on the side, which allowed her to reach her big money goals—like paying off $47,000 in debt and going from a negative net worth to positive one—much faster. We’re going to discuss how our histories with money impact our money beliefs and behaviors, what moved Candice from just learning about money to actually getting out of debt, and how you can grow your wealth. 

(02:23) Candice explains why race and politics are so deeply tied to money  

(05:58) After college, Candice began her debt-free journey and she shares her story of how she did it 

(11:23) Her strategy for how she paid off her credit card debt, which included a “Debt Slaying Challenge” 

(18:45) Why she started her second business on top of her full-time income from marketing 

(26:33) Candice’s advice on where you can get started with your own debt-free journey 

(32:08) Chelsea’s Top Takeaways 

Looking for more information, mama? Visit the show notes at https://www.smartmoneymamas.com/candice 

Free Debt Payoff Trackers:  

#049: In this episode, I’m talking with Erin Chase, founder of $5 Dinners and MyFreezEasy. Her new project Whis-Kid, which was born out of the COVID shutdown, is helping give thousands of kids an important life skill—healthy, affordable cooking—and can create helpers for you at home! Erin will share how her cooking curriculum and guided videos work for teaching kids to cook, the perfect tasks in the kitchen for every age group, and how to handle the dreaded clean-up after your kids cook in the kitchen. Her tips are so fun and will make you want to get in the kitchen to try out a new recipe with your littles. 

(01:25) Erin shares her quarantine project and how it’s since helped thousands of kids 

(14:11) The perfect age for you to start cooking with your kids and being intentional with cooking lessons 

(25:45) Where you can start if you’ve never felt like you have great cooking skills 

(27:53) As kids are leaving the nest and going off to college, here are the basic kitchen necessities that they will need  

(34:52) How to handle cleanup in the kitchen with your kids so it doesn’t drive you crazy 

(41:20) Chelsea’s Top Takeaways 

Looking for more information, mama? Visit the show notes at https://www.smartmoneymamas.com/erin  

Family Money Values Template: 

Thank you to our partner, Policygenius, for helping make this episode possible. Get multiple quotes for high-quality life, homeowners, or disability insurance and find the best rates for your family at https://policygenius.com/smartmoneymamas 

#048: In today’s episode, I’m talking with Liz Thames who is the creator of the award-winning personal finance blog, Frugalwoods, and author of the book Meet The Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living. At just 32 years old, Liz reached financial independence and left her successful career in Boston to live a more purpose-driven life on a 66-acre homestead in the woods of Vermont. We’re talking about what financial freedom means to Liz, her journey from non-profit fundraiser to homesteader, and how her life changed as she pursued and achieved FIRE. 

(06:16) What financial independence means for Liz and her family 

(15:16) How Liz and her husband developed a plan to reach financial independence together 

(19:33) How she was able to balance her spending and curb the urges to spend money with their friends while on the journey to financial independence 

(28:48) Where you can start today to identify what you want and what makes you happy in order to align your spending with your goals 

(38:24) Advice from Liz if you’re wanting to embrace extreme frugality and stick to what really matters to you 

(48:49) Chelsea’s Top Takeaways  

Looking for more information, mama? Visit the show notes at https://www.smartmoneymamas.com/liz 

Family Money Values Template: 

Thank you to our partner, Policygenius, for helping make this episode possible. Get multiple quotes for high-quality life, homeowners, or disability insurance and find the best rates for your family at https://policygenius.com/smartmoneymamas 

#047: As moms, we have a lot on our plate. The thought of prioritizing self-care, let alone going to the bathroom in peace, is laughable at times. We cannot thrive when we can’t take care of ourselves. We can’t teach our kids how to honor their own needs when we don’t know how to make space for our own. 

That’s why in today’s episode, we’re going to talk about why self-care is so hard for moms. In preparation for recording this episode, I posted on Instagram and in our Mamas Talk Money Facebook group asking moms why self-care is hard for them, and I want to share with you their responses, as well as give you 3 strategies that I think will help you get better at prioritizing your own self-care. 

(02:33) Real-life answers from moms in the Smart Money Mamas communities on why self-care is so difficult for them 

(05:28) Another big issue when it comes to self-care for moms 

(13:14) Strategy #1 to create a better relationship with self-care: Not all self-care is fun 

(16:52) Strategy #2 to create a better relationship with self-care: Let’s get to the fun stuff! 

(20:23) Strategy #3 to create a better relationship with self-care: Make it a family affair 

Looking for more information, mama? Visit the show notes at https://www.smartmoneymamas.com/47 

Family Money Values Template:

Thank you to our partner, Policygenius, for helping make this episode possible. Get multiple quotes for high-quality life, homeowners, or disability insurance and find the best rates for your family at https://policygenius.com/smartmoneymamas 

#046: In today’s episode, I’m talking with Jennifer Allen, founder of Just Elope, a company that specializes in unique, intimate, and creative pop-up weddings and elopements. Jennifer has been building her passion business since 2017 while working full-time, along with being a Certified Women’s Empowerment and Marriage Coach. She is an inspiration for all women who want a healthy, happy marriage and the opportunity to pursue their passions—without having to choose one over the other. Jennifer shares how she and her husband approach money, how they’re financially preparing for her to take Just Elope full-time, and how she makes time for her marriage and motherhood while working her 9 to 5 and running a business. 

(07:17) Why a creative pop-up wedding and/or elopement is a great option for couples  

(09:26) Other businesses Jennifer started and why she’s so drawn to the flexibility and freedom of entrepreneurship  

(16:29) How she and her husband have handled conversations about money from the start of their marriage to present  

(29:06) What Jennifer does, specifically, as a women’s empowerment and marriage coach and how she checks in with her clients to ensure they’re feeling connected  

(37:46) Jennifer’s advice for moms who are wanting to build a business that fits their lifestyle and won't intervene with family time  

(45:55) Chelsea’s Top Takeaways  

Looking for more information, mama? Visit the show notes at  https://www.smartmoneymamas.com/jennifer 

Free 200+ Home Business Ideas: https://smartmoneymamas.com/home-biz-ideas/ 

Thank you to our partner, Policygenius, for helping make this episode possible. Get multiple quotes for high-quality life, homeowners, or disability insurance and find the best rates for your family at https://policygenius.com/smartmoneymamas 

#045: For this episode, we asked the mamas in our free Mamas Talk Money Community on Facebook to send us their questions. If one person in our community has a question, there are no doubt others wondering the same thing.  

Typically our questions in these mailbags are centered around our monthly theme. But this month, we abandoned our usual theme structure to create the necessary space to talk about racial inequality and our commitment to being actively anti-racist at Smart Money Mamas.  

I just want to say I was so grateful for the conversations our community had this month and how our mamas showed up for each other. You all are amazing.  

This shift did mean we lacked some of our normal focus. Which also means a good mix of questions for this month’s Q&A. We’re going to discuss finding your path, thinking about investment goals once you’re on track for retirement, 529 College Savings Plans, and getting the accountability you need on your money journey.  

(02:22) How do you find your path when starting over? How do you figure out what you will love to do and where do you start? 

(07:24) If I’m on track for retirement, should I put excess money in a traditional IRA, a growth life strategy fund, or both? 

(12:17) Outside of potentially shifting our tax bracket due to higher income and balancing withholdings, are there tax considerations specific to unemployment benefits?  

(15:29) What should a family look out for in a good 529 plan? And is it better to have separate plans for each child?  

(22:08) Is it okay for a child to have more than one 529 account? And if they do, is it better to merge them into one or keep them separate? 

(28:52) Do you recommend financial coaches for people that know their goals but struggle with accountability? What are some affordable options or people you recommend? 

Looking for more information, mama? Visit the show notes at https://www.smartmoneymamas.com/45  

Family Money Values Template:  

#044 In today’s episode, I’m talking with Michelle Jackson, founder of the website and podcast, Michelle is Money Hungry. One of Michelle’s favorite passive income sources is writing and selling ebooks, and that’s exactly what she’ll be covering in this episode. She’ll share how to write and self-publish fiction and non-fiction books to create streams of passive income even if you have no experience or background in writing, why “do it ugly” is her motto for getting things done, and some ways to leverage ebooks to earn even more money outside of book sales. 

(02:24) How Michelle got started writing ebooks and how it creates passive income for her and her family 

(10:11) Do you have to have a background in writing to write and sell ebooks? 

(16:52) Where to start if you’re thinking about writing an ebook 

(27:30) How to know if your ebook is a success vs. a flop 

(40:37) Details of Michelle’s Make Money with EBooks Course and Make Money with EBooks Academy 

(46:32) Chelsea’s Top Takeaways 

Looking for more information, mama? Visit the show notes at https://www.smartmoneymamas.com/michelle 

Free 200+ Home Business Ideas: https://smartmoneymamas.com/home-biz-ideas/ 

#043: Are you still struggling to manage your career, parenting responsibilities, and relationships while trying to work from home with kids? In this episode, I’m talking with Mary Beth Ferrante, founder of Work 360, a platform designed to help working parents thrive in their careers and as caregivers, in addition to helping companies create policies that attract and retain working parents. With all the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, Mary Beth will be sharing her best advice on creating open communication at work, starting a greater conversation about parenting with your spouse and others, and setting boundaries that will help you more effectively manage everything on your plate. 

(04:59) How to approach the conversation with your spouse about setting up a work-at-home schedule that works for everyone 

(08:58) How to have conversations with your employer, in times of such uncertainty, to let them know you may need additional support working remotely 

(18:22) How to ensure going forward that any underlying health conditions you may have are kept confidential at work with new guidelines in place 

(24:07) How to manage all the responsibilities of the home, prioritize tasks, and involve everyone in the home while working from home 

(29:10) How to fit self-care into all of this and make sure that it becomes a priority as a mom 

(39:24) Chelsea’s Top Takeaways 

Looking for more information, mama? Visit the show notes at https://www.smartmoneymamas.com/marybeth 

Family Money Values Template: