Family Finances: An Aussie Mom’s Take

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We all have trouble maintaining the family finances.  Don't we?  You never know when something unexpected will happen or what surprise bill will show up in the mail.

That's why I stress the importance of budgeting, saving, and having that emergency fund.  And also doing whatever you can do to pay off debt and relieve yourself of that financial burden.

In that vain, I asked Zoe from TheMummyLife.com to give us some insight about how she handles her family finances.  She was kind enough to answer some of my questions and I look forward to inviting her back as a guest blogger.

So, now, coming to us all the way from Australia, here's Zoe.  I trust you will find her advice helpful and hope it provides some insight for your own situation.

Discussing Family Finances with Zoe from The Mummy Life

Zoe, can you provide the readers a brief introduction of who you are?

My name is Zoe, I’m 26 and a first-time mum to a beautiful little girl. I live in Australia. My interests consist of helping others, savvy shopping & learning new things every day.

Tell us about your family and finances. What's going well? What could be better?

In my family, there is 2 adults and 1 child. Family finances are tight.

Ensuring all the bills are paid is number one priority, this is going well for us with the help of payment plans, we don’t need to cough up a sum of money within a couple of weeks.

Meal planning has helped us immensely as well. Writing down all recipes and ingredients for each meal and only buying what we need. This avoids over spending on things you think you might need but don’t actually need.

We need to improve our saving plan. Our savings plan at the moment is pretty much non-existent. We need to sit down and work out when and how much we can put aside.

As a first-time mother, what advice do you have for new parents?

As a first-time mum, everything is extremely overwhelming. My only advice would be if you need help, whether it be financially, emotionally or physically, ask for it. I tried to do everything without any help and it just doesn’t work. You burn yourself out way too quickly. It is a very stressful time with many new things to learn. So, if you can, get some help.

Most of our readers are from the US. Are there any major differences in raising children between the US and Australia that you're aware of?

Not that I am aware of.

Tell us about your site, The Mummy Life. How did it come about? What's your goal with it?

The Mummy Life is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I was sitting in front of my computer and I thought ‘nope, I’m just going to do it’ and I created my site – TheMummyLife.com. I want it to be a place where you can sit back and just go “ahhh”. Also, I want my readers to feel my humour and relate to where I’m coming from. I want it to be a place of learning and support. Being a new mother is so tough and overwhelming and I’m hoping that I can offer that sigh of relief and help and support my readers.

Do you plan on keeping it as a side hustle or growing it full time?

The ultimate goal for me would be to make it a full-time job. I love helping and supporting people and if I could do that every day, all day, it truly would bring a smile to my face.

Do you have any suggestions for budget conscious mothers and fathers trying to find great activities for young kids?

The best things in life are free. Love, care, smiles and giggles are all free. The activity that I get most joy out of without spending a cent would be taking my daughter to the park. She absolutely loves the swing. Giggling the whole time. This brings joy to my heart and puts a smile on my face and it is completely free.

What's one important lesson you want people to take away from this interview?

If you need help, ask for it. No matter what kind of help you need. It is so tough trying to do everything with no help or support.

One more question. How can readers get in touch with you?

Readers can find me at TheMummyLife.com. My email address is zoelee@themummylife.com. I do try to reply as soon as I can. I can be contacted at any time -- even if it’s just for a chat or for some reassurance.

Wrapping Up: Dave's Take and More on Family Finances

Thanks again, Zoe for doing the Q&A with me.  I really do appreciate it.

My takeaways from this interview with Zoe center on two things: (1) the best things in life are free and (2) if you need help, ask for it.  How many times in life do we get caught up in wanting more and forgetting about the blessings we already have?  More often than not, those blessings and gifts are the people we love and the moments we share with them.  Don't ever forget that.

Secondly, I can't tell you how many times I've allowed myself to struggle by not asking for help.  When I first started my career after college, I would sit there stuck trying to figure things out for hours because I was too self-conscious to ask for help.  Today, I'm much more confident in who I am and I just "ask the question" as one of my former managers would say.

What about you?  What are you taking for granted in your life?  Where are you not asking for help?  If it's regarding your family finances, well, you're in the right place.  Tell us in the comments below and share this article around.

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