Save for a Better Financial Future with MassMutual

I have always been really good about managing my money. I give my dad credit for that. From an early age he taught me how to work hard for it, how to spend it, and most importantly, how to save it. At least once a month I would take a portion of my allowance and put it into my savings account. As I watched my money grow, I became more and more determined to add more to it. By the time I had graduated college, I had zero debt and I had enough money to put down on a new house. It was such an incredible feeling to accomplish all that on my own.

It’s been seven years since I graduated college and a lot has changed. I am now a married stay-at-home mom to three children. When I stopped working almost four years ago, my husband and I had to rely solely on his income to provide for our family. Thankfully, he has a good job with great benefits so it hasn’t been too much of a struggle for us. I would like to think that it is because we have worked hard as a team to make smart financial decisions. With that said, we are constantly feeling the pressure to get ahead. It’s a challenge to not only take care of our current finances, but also to plan for the future.

A new research study, MassMutual’s State of the American Mom, found that many Moms have strong hopes and convictions about providing financially for their families, but given the multiple demands of the life of a Mom, many also find it hard to achieve. College savings, saving for retirement, managing day-to-day expenses and educating yourself and children all rank as top priorities, yet some Moms shared they may feel overwhelmed about ways to start thinking about all of them. I can definitely relate!

My husband and I are doing our best to plan for our future. We have chosen to cut back on certain things like vacations, entertainment, and clothing to put money into savings. We have two retirement plans that we contribute to monthly. We also have life insurance plans set up just in case. The only thing that has been put on the back burner is a college savings plan for our kids. We just haven’t taken the time to set one up, but it is definitely a goal of ours this year.

As parents, we are so focused on the “now.” It’s so easy to think, “I’ll just deal with it later…” and then later comes and we are not prepared. We should be focusing on planning for our futures now so that we don’t have to stress about it later.

MassMutual has created a cool new quiz to help Moms start thinking about their attitudes toward finances and how they can take small steps forward in the process of planning for their financial future.

After taking the quiz, it identified me as a “successful planner,” and I couldn’t agree more. I feel confident and optimistic about our financial situation. With that said, it would still be great to talk with a financial professional to make sure that we are on the right path.

What steps are you taking to ensure a better financial future?

If you are seeking more guidance concerning your situation, MassMutual has a family finances page with some helpful resources for financial planning, tips for teaching the kids about money, and how to find a financial professional in your town. 

I wrote this post as participation in in a blog tour for Mom Central on behalf of MassMutual and received compensation in the form of an Amazon gift code to thank me for taking the time to participate