What type of Money Mom are you? Are you the type of mom who has crumpled up receipts all over the house? Maybe you are the kind who loves talking about your investment portfolio and your kids’ 529 accounts? I was recently inspired to write this article after watching a Buzz Feed Video about 5 different mom types. In this video they showed 5 different moms: The Crunchy mom, Hipster mom, PTA mom, The Parenting Mom, and the Hot Mess Mom. See for yourself and watch it below…
I think we can each relate with one of these moms right? I have to admit that I am 100% the hot mess mom. I am the mom that is constantly forgetting that the kids needed snow gear for school, or that fees were due for a field trip. I always dreamt of being the PTA mom (and still secretly hope that some day I will get my act together), but for today I am totally fine being the hot mess mama… (I say this as I am sitting next to a huge stack of unfolded laundry on my living room floor).
Real life… that is what I am all about.
Not only are there different types of parenting styles, but there are many different types of money moms too. Here is what I imagine those moms may look like when it comes to money management:
1.) Hipster Money mom:
You may be a Hipster Money Mom if you don’t own a car and ride your bike everywhere you go. Most of your money is tied up in shopping thrift stores for vintage clothing, and your kids look like they just came out of an Anthropologie magazine.
As a hipster mom, you care less about flashiness and more about authenticity. You encourage your kids to do whatever they want with their money, because if it feels good and authentic, it is the way to be.
You are on a constant quest to simplify life and make things back to the way they used to be.
You don’t buy into the concept of “work and then retire at age 65”. You want to be free now, at the age of 30 so you can travel around the world, free of any obligations.
You spend your money seeking simplicity and authenticity. You want your children to be free to express themselves without restrictions.
2.) Parenting Money Mom:
You may be the Parenting Money Mom if your kids have their own chore charts and their own savings accounts.
You’ve read every article and book about how to raise your kids how to be financially wise. You are great at telling people about all of the information that you know, and are willing to pay big bucks to go to seminars and events to help you learn more about the ‘right’ way to raise financially wise kids.
But do you have your own act together behind all of it? Maybe. Most Parenting Money Moms are still in lots of debt. But you don’t want your kids to make the same mistakes that you did.
You have a few credit cards, but only use these to charge things and pay them off. And your student loans are still following you around everywhere.
You live your money life always wanting more for your kids….
3.) PTA Money Mom:
You may be a PTA Money Mom if your 3 year old child already has their own IRA. You love teaching your kids about chores and how if they invest this money wisely, they will be able to retire at a certain age.
You are so structured that your small children do their own chores and laundry by the age of 3. You have Pinterest worthy chore charts color coded by child, and pay them a paycheck at the end of every week.
You are always on time with your bills, and may even flaunt a beautiful Coach or Michael Kors purse around town. You and your husband have well paying jobs and have no debt. You don’t understand how women can even get into debt.
You have multiple credit cards that you use to earn airline miles. You pay off your bills on time every month and fly for free around the country because you have a pristine record for working the airlines miles to the fullest.
You live your money life having it all together…..
4.) Crunchy Money Mom:
You may be a Crunchy Money Mom if you don’t have any sense of how much money it takes to feed a family of 6 per week. When friends ask you how much money it takes to feed your family, you answer in the price of chicken feed. You have a backyard full of chickens and a garden full of food.
In the warmer months you focus on canning your garden so your food can get you through the winter.
You may shop exclusively at a food co-op for your organic food, and any leftover money you have is left in a jar on top of your kitchen counter.
You make all of your own beauty supplies and love to use essential oils to do that. You love the simplicity in life and that reflects in the way that you view your money.
You went to an expensive private liberal arts college and did well. But you aren’t using your degree right now and have $76,000 in student loans to pay back.
You live a very simple money life with little debt outside of your student loans.
5.) Hot mess Money Mom:
You may be a Hot Mess Money Mom if you find yourself searching through your couch cushions, looking for spare change that you can send with your kids to school for field trip you forgot.
You may have a purse full of crumbled receipts, mixed with dollar bills, and bills.
Shoot – did I miss paying that bill again? You may be often late on paying bills, and are constantly trying too get it all together.
The thoughts of spreadsheets and budgets makes you break into a cold sweat… so you just ignore the issue completely.
You spend your money life always trying to play catch up, and desperately needing someone else to help you.
You can also be a combination of some of these types of money moms. I’ve flopped back and forth between a few of them over the years. These are generalizations also meant to add humor, and you may not fit into any of these groups.
In 2006 I found myself at the Hot Mess Money mom. I was over $40,000 in debt, I had no idea when my bills were due, and the thought of budgeting made me cry. The great thing is that now 9 years later, I am a cross between the PTA Money Mom, the Parenting Money Mom, and the unfortunately still the Hot Mess Money Mom. I know about money now, love to budget, love to teach my kids about money, but unfortunately am not the most organized person.
I successful paid off my debts in 2 1/2 years and have enjoyed a stress free money lifestyle. I’ve taught hundreds of thousands how to get out of debt over the past 6 years and feel like it is my passion to do more to help!
I want to know that if you are any of these money moms and having financial stress in your home, I can help! In just a few weeks I am opening up registration for my Financial Renovation Course. I’ve been working through this course with hundreds of women over the past 7 weeks, and I am ready to open it up again! You can sign up for an email alert when my class is opened up again here.
PS – No matter what type of mom you are, I love what you are doing! Being a mommy of four myself, I understand that hard nights and days that you endure. It is such a great gift to be a mommy!
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