Caring for Our Homemakers and Caretakers: Top Retirement Planning Strategies for Today

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Being a full-time Mom is one of the most demanding jobs you can have, but as we all know, the rates of pay are lousy, which means that you could be storing up some financial problems for later, when it comes to retirement.

Some people find themselves unable to work as a result of an injury, which means that they might need to call upon someone like personal injury law firm Marks and Harrison of Charlottesville,VA, to get the money they need.

If you are a Mom however, you need to find a way of feathering your nest when your little ones have got their wings and left home.

The rise of the stay-at-home mom

There has been a noticeable shift in the trend towards moms staying at home and concentrating on raising a family.

After decades of decline in the numbers, it seems that more moms are taking the decision to take on the job of raising their children as their full-time job, rather than return to the workplace after starting a family.

The number is now close to about 30% of moms who now stay at home to raise their kids. There may be any number of reasons why they are in that position according to government data, such as the high cost of childcare forcing their hand.

Another study, carried out by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, revealed that 75% of stay-at-home moms are planning to rely on their spouse’s income when the time comes to retire, and only just over 40% of homemakers in the U.S are currently actually making any financial provisions for their retirement.

The rise in numbers of the stay-at-home mom is creating a generation who may not enjoy the financial security in retirement that others before them have.

Try to pay yourself a wage

It is clearly going to be quite a challenge to find some extra money from the family budget to pay yourself what equates to a wage for childcare services, even if you do it out of love anyway.

Try to pay yourself a monthly amount that goes away into a savings account, call it a wage if you want. Whatever you call it, if you are not even saving a small amount each month, it is going to make your retirement plans much harder to achieve.

You will probably be adept at making the numbers work when it comes to running the family finances on one wage, so try to squeeze a regular amount of money from your monthly household income, that is automatically paid into a retirement savings account.

Consider prioritizing retirement over educational funding

It probably goes against your parental instincts to consider the idea of prioritizing retirement over paying for your child’s education, but if it came down to a choice, your kids can borrow for their education but you can’t do the same for your retirement plans.

You clearly want to put your kids first wherever you can, but with so many stay-at-home moms around, if you are one of that growing number, give your retirement plans some thought before it becomes too late.

Andrea Adams has a background in personal finance but is now home raising her twin toddler’s and is also carer to her husband’s frail and elderly parents. She writes articles on eldercare and parenting, sharing her tips to help others in similar situations.