Sharon Mooney knows firsthand the difficulty of being a mother while trying to be financially responsible. With the costs of raising children, many mothers find it difficult to choose between saving for retirement and paying for it. food, household items and child care.

Many delay saving for retirement in favor of paying for more immediate financial needs. But Sharon wants moms to know they don’t have to choose and that saving for retirement isn’t something to sacrifice or put off.

“Humans live longer.” She says

“There is a strong possibility of outliving your money.”

Sharon encourages women to view retirement savings as an ongoing investment to work towards constantly.

The dangers of unpaid debts

When most people think about saving for retirement, they think about setting aside a little money each month. While this is undoubtedly important, Sharon wants people to know that paying off their debt is one of the best things they can do to prepare for retirement.

Sharon explains that for every dollar you have in debt, you actually lose ten dollars in possible retirement savings.

Not only are you unable to use or save the money you owe, but you also lose how much that money could grow due to inflation. To make matters worse, creditors will often demand what is owed to them faster than it can be responsibly repaid.

In finance, the rule of 72 is a method used to estimate the doubling time of an investment. Sharon uses this rule to illustrate how difficult it is when the demands of life keep dividing your investment into smaller pieces because whatever the quotient it would take how many years it would take for that money to double to one specified rate of return. She co-hosts a monthly online and in-person course that goes into more detail, so middle-class Americans can understand the specifics that multi-millionaires have learned working for them.

Saving for retirement while paying down debt

Whether it’s credit card debt or unpaid student loans, the costs can be debilitating. Fortunately, Sharon counsels women through the process and connects them with many different programs to help manage the debt repayment process.

“I have more confidence that I am planting more seeds that will flower in due course,”

she said, recalling her experience so far.

Sharon recommends staying away from credit cards with compound interest rates. While interest can work in our favor when the money is ours, the costs can be enormous when it’s owed to someone else.

“Credit Cards With Compound Interest Rates Can Kill Retirement Savings Plans,” Sharon says.

Many people struggle to pay off their debts, unaware of the tools available to them. Sharon advocates the use of reward cards and work smarter, not harder to manage free systems from credit card companies.

She also finds budgeting helpful with the right mindset: “you have to think of it as a tool.” With the proper budget in place, temporary discomfort can lead to long-term financial security.

Let the children participate in the dream

For many working moms, having to balance a full-time job, kids, and fighting for more financial freedom can be overwhelming. This can manifest as feelings of guilt about his parenthood.

Sharon calls it “mom guilt” and has experienced it firsthand. Children, oblivious to all that their parents do to provide for them, see only the times when they are absent.

Having to take a conference call as soon as you get home from work or leaving the kids with a babysitter to attend a networking event can be overwhelming for kids who don’t know what it’s for.

Sharon encourages conversations with children about what you are working towards in your career, as well as the freedom and opportunities you want to provide them, that you are doing this in response to their needs, as an assurance that you hear and understand them .

Sharon works every day to help mothers save so they can give options and freedom to their children, like sending them to college, if they want to. It is important that the children know that they too benefit.

Letting your kids achieve your dreams of financial freedom can reduce a parent’s feelings of guilt while giving kids the context to better understand your actions.

If you are a mom interested in learning more about saving for retirement and paying off debt, you can find out more about Sharon and her work at home website.

Posted on January 15, 2022