We all love our moms, and we want them to lead wonderful lives into their later years. However, many of our moms grew up without the financial education and opportunities to get ahead before retirement.
Many of our mothers depend on social security to get by every month. If you asked them about their dream lifestyle, it would probably be to pay bills and have some money leftover.
Unfortunately, our moms are so used to struggling with their finances that it is part of their soul. Today, there are more silver divorces (later in life) than ever, and so are moms traveling alone into their 70s and 80s.
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What can we do about it? If you are struggling financially, you can’t help anyone. Your top priority is to get your financial house in order. There are many books you can read to help you achieve financial security.
I recommend three books to help you achieve financial security “Know Yourself, Know Your Money,” “I Will Teach You to be Rich,” and “All Your Worth.”
You can go a step further and achieve total financial independence. I recommend these books to assist in this incredible journey. They are “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” “Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant,” “Retire Young Retire Rich,” and “Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing.” These are all Robert Kiyosaki books.
How do you know you’re in a position to assist? If you can accumulate $100,000 in your bank account or brokerage (not a retirement account), chances are you are financially fit enough to help.
Most people will never see the bottom half of a $100,000, so congratulate yourself and pay it forward. And who better to help than your mom.
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I love my mom! My mom sacrificed a lot to keep food on the table when I was a child. She worked 10-12 hours a day in school administration. She always worried about paying bills, and she carried a layer of stress with her.
These tough times change a person. They are very guarded about their finances and don’t want to open up about anything money-related—this will be a challenging journey.
Before having these tough conversations, a couple of good books to read are “Effortless Money” and “Smart Couple Finish Rich.” They give us tips on understanding people’s money habits and approaching tough money conversations.
Debt for everyone. Before you can talk about cash flow, you’ll have to discuss your mom’s debt burden. This may be the most challenging part of the day because she may feel you are judging her.
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Debt is a prison, and it will be difficult to free people from it. Our moms may have lived with debt for years, and they may not even know who they are without it.
Remember, we are trying to make mom’s life easier and more comfortable, not necessarily solve all of her problems. If we can get an excellent overall picture of her debt load, we may be able to reduce debt by taking simple measures.
Creativity is key to whatever you decide. Think outside the box, and fantastic things will come your way. Let’s look at a quick example.
High-Interest credit cards. Many people get into credit card debt because banks prey on those struggling. But, we are not here to blame someone for our problems; let’s solve problems by exercising financial sophistication.
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If mom owes $10,000 on a high-yield credit card at 12% interest, maybe we can assist her. Let’s assume she pays $300/month on this card. Since we have a nice nest egg, we can leverage it to get some special rates.
M1 Finance allows us to borrow 40% of our total brokerage account assets at roughly 2%. So, perhaps we can leverage $10,000 from M1 Finance at 2%. We can pay mom’s credit card off, and she can pay us the $300/month.
Using this technique, she could be debt-free in less than four years. Afterward, we can invest that $300/month into a USDC stable coin (on Voyager) where we EARN 9% interest. Now she has a source of cash flow into her later years.
Find more synergies. Once she understands money, she can find significant synergies that reduce debt and increase savings—giving her a chance to overcome financial adversity. Think about things like getting roommates, where she can partner with other older women to reduce obligations.
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It starts with a dream. Most of our moms never dreamed about their life in retirement. They were laser-focused on producing and raising exceptional children (us). And we turned out great!
We need our mom to dream big! What does she want to do from age 60 to 85? What is her rich life? It may take a few sessions, but keep working with her.
Maybe she has a creative dream where she becomes an artist, writer, or photographer. She can live these dreams, but she can make a little cash flow from her work.
In the end, she may only want to be debt-free, have a paid-off house, and have a little extra money. Maybe she needs an additional $300/month to go to the ballet once a month.
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Using our knowledge of dividends, we can create a monthly income stream that helps her do what she wants. If she doesn’t spend the money, she can reinvest it to build a bigger income stream.
Conclusion. Having money is not the goal, but money creates opportunities for happiness. Our moms deserve to be stress-free and happy. It will take a lot of work to break down these financial barriers.
Everyone has their own money story, usually starting when they were a child. Our moms have had many years to write their money stories—change may be difficult. If their way is working, we may only need to refine their approach.
If their way is not working, we need to be patient. We just want them to experience the joy of complete financial freedom. It could take years to get to that point; however, it is worth it and shows how much we care about them. We love our moms!
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing
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